Men and Gentlemen
- Margaret goes home feeling terrible about the suffering she's seen at the Higgins' house. She chats with her mother about Bessy's illness and mentions her plan to bring the Higginses some food.
- Mr. Hale comes in and tells them that it looks like Thornton has decided to bring in cheap Irish laborers to replace his workers. Hale also promises Margaret to seek out Boucher and find out what can be done for him.
- The next day, Margaret puts on her dress for the Thorntons' dinner party and shows it off for her mother. It cheers the old woman up. Mrs. Hale makes Margaret promise to pay attention so she can come home with lots of details to tell her.
- When Mr. Hale and Margaret get to the Thorntons', they find that Mr. Thornton has to finish up a few business things before joining them. To make conversation, Margaret asks Mrs. Thornton whether she minds living so close to a noisy factory. Mrs. Thornton insists that the sounds of productivity make her feel great.
- Eventually, the guests start showing up. Thornton spends as much time as he can with the Hales because they don't know anyone at the party, but time and again he needs to join some of his business friends.
- Margaret and John Thornton briefly talk about what makes a man a "true" man. Before she can get her final word in, though, John is called away to speak with an associate. It's clear that they're talking about issues with the labor strike.
- It seems that the other bosses are worried about blowback for hiring Irish workers. John Thornton is the only one who decides to go ahead with it anyway.
- Meanwhile, some other businessmen talk about Margaret and her dad, wondering who they are. Word soon gets around that Mr. Hale is John's tutor. The businessmen can't believe that John spends his free hours learning ancient Greek poetry, especially with a strike going on.