In the novel Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell, class inequality becomes a major theme from the beginning of the book, especially in light of the possibility of a marriage between Mary Barton and Harry Carson. . While Mary saw Mr. Carson as an escape from her lower-class life full of misery and disappointment, Harry found this partnership exciting for reasons other than love. Although both thought their nuptials involved only them, Elizabeth Gaskell illustrated how a cross-class marriage was more complicated, largely due to the diversity of social classes included. Harry, who is lucky in his biological family, does not understand the disparity between love and lust or, if he does, he chooses not to recognize his actions as those of lust and desire. While Mary suffered the physical loss of her mother, she was also forced to deal with a mentally absent father whose lack of attention and love could have driven Mary into Harry's arms. John, Mary's father, is angered by the prospect of marriage, but not because Carson wishes to possess his daughter; John Barton instead feels that his daughter will become the kind of upper-class citizen who despises him. This is mainly due to the fact that “…the worker has had the feeling…that the bourgeoisie treats him…as its property, and for this reason…he must present himself as its enemy” (220, Engels). This causes John Barton to hate not only Harry Carson's personality, but also his business practices and those of those like him. Although all the characters exist in the same time period and location, each has had a different experience based solely on income and finances. John Barton understood this fact because he knew that “the worker lived in poverty and need…” even though it was “…he, who did more for society…” (221, Engels). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay John Barton, however, was not alone in being aware of the supposedly obscure class structure; those who resided within the elite class were also aware of the social organization that ranked England and its citizens in their rightful place. Harry Carson first mentions it when speaking about his infatuation, Mary Barton, about the feelings her parents would have towards their supposed marriage. “I just want to tell you now how much I love you, because of what I am willing to give up for you. You know (or perhaps you are not fully aware) how little my father and mother would like me to marry you. They would be so angry and I would have to face so much ridicule... I will marry you in defiance of the world... In a year or two my father will forgive me, and in the meantime you will have all the luxuries that money can buy, every charm that love can devise to make your life happy... Now, Mary, you see how much I am willing to -- to sacrifice much for you; I can even propose marriage to you, to satisfy your ambitious little heart..." He believes that winning Mary back involves "...buying all the charms that love can conceive to make your life happy. » As Gaskell proves, Mary is not human to Harry: she is simply an opportunity to prove to himself that he is capable of winning someone's love. As Harry mentions how Mary is "...perhaps...not fully aware...", he comments on her lack of understanding of the politics of her lifestyle. He achieves this, however, by appealing to the power of wealth, a power with whichhe has grown since his birth. The overwhelming privilege evident in Harry Carson only reinforces the fact that he does not understand the lives of the lower class, especially Mary's. It is entirely possible to see how Harry might believe that Mrs. Barton would react positively to the mere mention of expensive items; however, this further proves the differences between the classes. While Mr. Carson charmed Mary with the mere mention of monetary gain, Mary had Jem proclaim his multiple love several times before confessing hers to him. The previously mentioned differences are also evident when discussing the manner in which Mary's suitors confessed their affections to her; only after learning he was going to lose her did Harry Carson choose to tell Mary "...what I am willing to give up for you..." and how he "...would sacrifice a lot for you." Compared to Jem, who could not give Mary such expensive items, but could give her a love that did not rely on the purchases he would make for her, Harry becomes a superficial suitor and loses his "trophy". Considering "...how little my father and mother would like me to marry you", it seems that Carson views his own marriage as an opportunity not only to win Mary back, but also to deviate from his parents' wishes, giving her all the more reasons. to sue Mrs. Barton. This is partly because the Carsons, or rather Harry's father John Carson, having enough money, no longer need to stress themselves with trivial matters such as romance. This is further illustrated when Harry offers Mary a marriage license “…to satisfy your ambitious little heart.” Harry has developed a sense of privilege and it is because of this same privilege that Harry finds no problem ignoring the harsh and difficult lifestyle that Mary faces every day. Mary should find it in herself to push away a man who cannot understand or does not even try to understand the harsh difficulties she had to face. The physical death of a loved one is obviously heartbreaking; However, Mary also had to deal with the mental loss of her father, a man so caught up in his own life that he lost the will to fight for the feelings of the girl he loved. Although she eventually flees the arms of Harry Carson, Mary is also well aware that "...work and study alone were not enough to achieve the same level of comfort as that afforded by inherited wealth and the income that comes with it." » (241, Piketty). Class inequality in Mary Barton is seen not only in the relationship between Mary Barton and Harry Carson, but also in the relationship between Harry Carson and Mary's other suitor, Jem Wilson, someone who shares the same social status than Mary. The link between her two suitors is, of course, Mary; however, this is also where they differ. Their treatment of Mary, whether good or bad, represents their way of life, or rather the result of their social status. Mary’s social pressures only complicate this dynamic: “Women agreed with men that a woman’s place is in the home; they also protested the heavy taxes levied on their own salaries and the stress of working hard for a pittance, insufficient to support their families. (234, Clark) As Anna Clark explains in “The Struggle for the Breeches,” the level of stress placed on the female workers was quite incredible. Although Mary may not have worked in a factory, she faced similar emotions simply by having the responsibility of "...working hard for a pittance, insufficient to support..." her family (234 ).Gaskell presents the motivation behind Mary's methods of upward mobility, or as Harry Carson puts it, "ambitious" methods by illustrating the strained relationship between Mary and her father, and the lack of progress her paychecks seemed to make to as they arrived. entered without saying a word to Mary in exchange for her joyful and astonished greeting. In the context of this quote, it's not entirely fair to say that John Barton's mood is based solely on his relationship with his daughter, but his lack of even simple recognition shows how even Mary , who loves him so much, can't cheer him up. , as she wishes to do. Obviously, it is not John Barton's fault, at least not entirely, that Mary found joy in Harry Carson's attention, but his neglect can be attributed to her need for "love." » from Harry. The fact that John Barton was a strong believer in the Chartist movement also placed a heavy burden on the already difficult father-daughter relationship. If Mary was already lacking a maternal parental figure, her father's absence only reinforced her need for some sort of familial interest. While John Barton implored Parliament to pay attention to the needy lower class, Mary earned money for the family, an action which the Chartists considered to be almost offensive in nature because "...labor Cheap female and immigrant women were often used to reduce the wages of male workers...” (Hudson). Additionally, it didn't help John or Mary's situation when Mary took on the role of breadwinner while her father struggled against near-impossible odds against the mill owners. Today, it is widely accepted that women in Mary's situation simply helped the household with childcare and housework while "...in practice, many households were dependent on women's income, particularly those run by widows” (Hudson); although Mary is an orphan rather than a widow, she performs the tasks necessary to provide for her family. A mentally unstable father combined with the lifestyle she had grown up in pushed Mary to work, and although John's Chartist ideals asserted that "...working women undermined the virility of male workers and demoralized communities...", he There was no other option in the Bartons' situation. It is very possible that Mary also wanted to marry rich because she knew that many Chartists believed that "...cheap female and immigrant labor was often used to undercut the wages of male workers..." (Hudson) . While Mary Barton was subjected to neglect and forced into a supporting role within her family, Harry Carson was never forced to lift a finger in his life. His luxurious upbringing gave him opportunities unknown and unimaginable to those who worked for him and his father. "Mr. Carson tried to refuse his sweetheart, but she convinced him to acquiesce, telling him that she had to have it. Although this exchange takes place between Amy, Harry's younger sister, and his father, John Carson, he reflects the general attitude regarding money in the Carson household Amy's request for a new rose, even though it costs "half a guinea", is instantly granted as Gaskell says: "'He knows. that his little girl cannot live without flowers and perfumes.” Gaskell reveals one of Harry's motivations for having a new relationship with Mary in this exchange; wants as quickly as Amy, so he may decide to pursue something that will not come easily to him Even Mary, being the daughter of a Chartist, is not easily won over.while she flirts and proposes, she is never fully convinced of her own feelings, making her a prime target for Harry's predatory actions. It's also more than possible that Harry wished to disobey in an attempt to gain his father's actual attention rather than the monetary attention given to all of his siblings. Harry's unexpected fight with Mary could be the result of absent parenting and a son's attempt to stop such behavior through an unforeseen and unwanted love interest. Both Mary and Harry could be motivated by the need for parental care and love, instead of the blatant ignorance seen in their fathers. Although a sad truth, the social hierarchy that existed within 19th century England was exactly that, a truth. However, this reality was not silenced by the upper class, as many wanted; the lower class found it within themselves to continually protest the treatment they were receiving. Many at the highest levels of the hierarchy found the workers' protests unnecessary; despite this, workers continued to protest “…simply because they must protest against any reduction…because silence on their part would be a recognition of these social conditions…” (226, Engels). These Luddites or "English workers of the early 19th century destroying labor-saving machines in protest..." (Merriam Webster) found themselves in this novel a representative of John Barton, an enemy of these wealthy owners of factories which felt in no way responsible for the grievances of the working class. It was a blatant class war between the wealthy and those who served “beneath” them; both classes firmly believed that “…the harm of one party is the benefit of the other…” (230, Engels) and it seemed that no kind of peace could be achieved. Where the lower class found their wages and working conditions infamous, the bourgeois found that “…the crude mule spinners had abused their power beyond all endurance…” (230, Engels). These textile and factory workers harbored “a bitter hatred of the workers against the propertied class” (227, Engels). Whether one belonged to a higher or lower class, it seemed impossible to avoid conflict, as was the case when several factories were stoned and closed by their former workers. Specific examples include “…an explosion caused by a packet of powder…in the Bently & White sawmill…” which “…produced considerable damage…” (228, Engels) as well as “…an attempt…to detonate the saw- works of Padgin, in Howard Street, Sheffield” (227, Engels). The living conditions of the working class had gone on long enough and they saw violence as the only option to help them make their point. The social inequality that prevailed within Mary Barton was also a major problem in 19th-century England; unfortunately, it is usually the richest who prevail, their financial situation giving them room to maneuver against the police and workers who cannot afford to strike. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, the rich would apparently be wrong, especially after treating their workers as they did; however, this may not be the whole case. As Pope Leo XIII declared, “…the authority of divine law adds its sanction by forbidding us in the most severe terms even from coveting what belongs to others…” (4, Rerum Novarum), which means that those of the lower class were wrong to covet. the lives of those in the classes above them. However, they are not. 2015.