The Industrial Milieu and Exploitation of Poor Women in Elizabeth Gaskells Mary Barton

Abstract

This paper sheds light on the deplorable conditions of the working class in the early years of the nineteenth century, the change in the social structure as a result of the industrial revolution and the factory system which fostered what came to be known as the great social evil. In Mary Barton she portrays a realistic tableau of the industrial milieu, and reflects the feeling of hostility between workers and employers and the stark wretched living conditions of the working class. She also takes a feminine interest in the appalling conditions of working women and the deception, seduction, and the sexual exploitation to which they were subjected in harsh economic situations. Moreover, the paper tries also to answer the accusations of lack of unity and to show how Gaskell?s clever concoction of the tale of industrial conflict and the story of deception and seduction reflects her originality and makes Mary Barton an admirable and remarkable book.