Comparison Of Mary Barton And Charles Dicken's Bleak House

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Recommended: Socio economic effects of industrial revolution

Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton and Charles Dicken’s Bleak House show many similarities and differences of poverty and offer slim opportunities to resolve the character’s situation. Addressing these issues in this essay, I shall explore how the characters try to improve their situations along with outside influences that either help make their environment better or worse.

Starting with a historical viewpoint with the Industrial Revolution, which was gathering momentum, having begun life within the heart of Manchester. A steady technological and economical progress was gaining momentum in the Shipping Industry, the Cottage Industry, along with new developments in factories. Due to these improvements made saw an increase in food production, resulting from new investments having been spent on machinery and up grading factories. Further afield, profit from foreign trade and further growth and development in the banking sector, now had the ability to provide flexible credit facilities to those who could afford the repayments.

Comparing Elizabeth Gaskell’s life to that of her main character Mary Barton from the novel Mary Barton, is very similar in that fact that Elizabeth’s mother died when she was thirteen months old, leaving her father to care for his daughter who was then cared for by her aunt. Whilst Elizabeth’s Aunt is described as a cripple and becomes a companion to young Elizabeth, this is then reflected in Mary Barton, the character is shown as Margaret Jennings who is blind, whilst Mary Barton becomes her companion.

Whilst on the other hand, young Charles Dickens experienced poverty first hand, with his family in debt, his father ended up in a Debtors prison unable to pay the debt. At the tender age of twelve ...

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... and his associates, the working environment and the social implications of the working class had a huge effect on the everyday lifes of the working classes; which are seen via these two texts by Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton and Charles Dicken’s Bleak House showed that a darker side still existed despite all the prosperity within England. That a major amount of reforms had to be endured by the likes of Frederick Engels to help improve working conditions and the living conditions for the Working Class to going forward, but sadly it didn’t come soon enough for many people who died because of substandard living conditions, ill health resulting from various fevers that did the rounds, lack of sanitation. But these issues did not just exist in London or Manchester alone, these problems and issues knew no boundaries, as they reached the length and breath of England.

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