North and South The Home Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Volume.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

Did she not? Did she not remember every weather-stain on the old stone wall; the gray and yellow lichens that marked it like a map; the little crane's-bill that grew in the crevices?" (2.2.28)

And of course Margaret remembers every last detail of her house back in Helstone. She even remembers the weather stains on an old stone wall. That may sound obsessive, but how could she forget, considering that Helstone was the last place her family was happy?

Quote #8

"I go there every four or five years—and I was born there—yet I do assure you, I often lose my way—aye, among the very piles of warehouses that are built upon my father's orchard." (2.19.64)

Mr. Bell, Margaret's family friend, was born in the town of Milton. But unlike Helstone, Milton has completely changed since he was a little boy. Where there used to be farms and meadows, there are now factories and shops. It's pretty clear too that he doesn't like the change. 

Quote #9

"I am going down to Helstone to-morrow, to look at the old place. Would you like to come with me? Or would it give you too much pain?" (2.20.6)

Mr. Bell knows that returning to Helstone might cause Margaret some pain, especially since she hasn't been back since she lived there in peace with her parents. Her parents are dead now, and some other family has moved into her old house. It's all very sad, since for Margaret, home is supposed to a something stable and unchanging. But alas, things have changed so much since she left Helstone.