The UnexpectedBy acceleratedstudynotes (Notes Contributor)

The Unexpected — Kate Chopin

Main Themes:*Male/Female Relationships *Love *Freedom/Restriction*Betrayal *Guilt *Women Amongst Men

Characters: Dorothea, Randall.

Author: Kate Chopin

 

Summary:

Randall has to leave his fiancée, Dorothea, because of his illness.o “The good bye dragged with lingering kisses”

Their parting is difficult.  They stay in close contact, but Randall does not get better as he is expected to, this was ‘torture’ to Dorothea.

o “All this was torture to the impatient Dorothea” He tells her that he will look different and she thinks she has prepared herself for this.

o “She expected to see him wasted; she would not seemed shock; she would not let him see astonishment or pain in her face”

When she does see him, she is indeed shocked and loses her love for him, while he still loves her.  He wants to marry her quickly so if he dies then she would get all of his possessions, showing his nobility.

o “This was not the man who had gone away from her; the man she loved and had promised to marry”

o “If the worst should come i want you to have all I possess” However, she, secretly, vows to never see him again and eventually fled.  She travels for

miles and feeds her desires and again vows to not marry him, ‘not for millions!’o “Dorothea had changed her house gown, had mounted her ‘wheel,’ and was

fleeing as if Death himself pursued her”

Important points to remember:

Physical love, young ‘puppy’ love, passion → The story shows the stage of maturity Dorothea goes through. Beginning: when she was still young and loved someone because of the appearance. Ending: she has learned to grown up, and face the reality.

Dorothea’s fickleness and immaturity → The fact that in the beginning, she was gazing upon Randall’s portrait, suggests that the ideal man is unreal. She only looks at the appearance of Randall at the beginning of the story.

Feminism → some people disagree that Dorothea is selfish. Instead, she is true to her heart and decides to leave Randall for the benefit of them both. Is is argued that she is a BRAVE, HONEST girl.

Freedom → At the end, Dorothea flees to the hands of nature. This is symbolic as it suggests that women in the 19th century were always under control and are expected to stay with the husband for the rest of their lives. MARRIAGE is in fact a financial transaction. Only when they are around ‘nature’ they can be free; suggests that the society is unnatural, nature is natural.

Structure of the story → The whole story was only three pages long, suggests that the Love between Randall and Dorothea is short-lived. Even if they did get together, they would not last long.

This story can be split up into 3 sections: before Randall’s return, after Randall’s return and Dorothea’s escape.

Before Randall’s Return: Randall is portrayed as ‘an almost perfect specimen of youthful health, strength and manly beauty’ in his portrait, the use of triplet here emphasises just how perfect he is to Dorothea, in terms of physicality, before he falls ill. When the two parts, there are ‘lingering kisses’, showing just how hard it is to separate them.  At the beginning of the story, when Randall has not returned yet, the language is sensual, describing how he had a ‘craving for her lips’.  When Randall returns, the amount of sensual language used by Chopin is reduced significantly.

! FOOD METAPHORS! → often used of sexual passion in the 19th century. CONTRAST → the beginning is a contrast to the end of the story.

After Randall’s Return: Randall is characterised in this section as being quite noble as he keeps Dorothea’s well being in mind at all times.  He offers her what he thinks is best for her, which is that ‘if the worst should come, I [Randall] want you to have all I possess’.  On the other hand, Dorothea is characterised here as being quite fickle and vain, simply because Randall now looks withered and ill, her love for him is ‘shuddering, shrinking, shriveling’ (Triplet Structure + Sibilance → Puts emphasis on how Dorothea’s love for Randall is weakening).  When Randall is talking to Dorothea, he tells her his will and tells her that he’s ‘getting morbid’. He implies that Dorothea would stay with him until his death, and this gives a feeling of her being trapped in a relationship that she does not want to be in. The trapped feeling is ‘as if Death himself pursued her’, and this could be the cause of her need to break free and escape → SYMBOLIC (fleeing from the rules and control women have during the 19th century)

Dorothea’s Escape: When Dorothea stops loving Randall, she is left with no way to release these desires, until the end of the story. After fleeing Randall, Dorothea enters an ‘unfamiliar’ location and releases her built up passion, shown by the fact that Dorothea’s ‘every muscle, nerve, fibre abandoned itself to the delicious sensation of rest that overtook’ her body.  When Dorothea escapes, the nature around her is throbbing with life as the air is ‘quivering’ and trees were ‘flinging’ shadows onto the path. This personification brings life to the story as compared to the house which was full of the sense of death. The lively characteristics given to objects of nature can bring the reader closer to Dorothea as they can imagine the liberating feeling that possessed Dorothea (Symbolic to FREEDOM). The writer ends the story with a powerful exclamation, allowing the reader to have Dorothea’s triumph imprinted in their minds. She says ‘Not for all his thousands!’ (Use of punctuation for emphasis, the exclamation mark helps bring the plot to a climax) and this can show that the writer wants to convey a theme of FEMINISM, showing that women are capable of surviving on their own and are not dependant on the men in their lives.

Editor’s note: Does Dorothea stop loving Randall?

How can you pretend to like someone when you don’t anymore? Is it fair for the both of them to marry each other, but not have a happy marriage? or end

up divorcing each other at the end anyway? Was she suppose to lie? Is Dorothea selfish and irresponsible? Or honest and brave?

Some notes on Nature vs Society:

Escaping → liberation → MORE NATURAL for women to do so. To marry someone because of their wealth is unnatural (Dorothea refuses to marry

Randall, instead she follows her heart, and flees to NATURE) The description of nature: → SETTING; it shows the FEMALE IDENTITY; FEMALE

PERSPECTIVE; also suggests the REJECTION OF LAW by the SOCIETY.

Setting: The setting is crucial in this story to convey a sense of freedom and liberation at the end. The house is a confined space that shows how she was trapped in a relationship that she did not want. The items in the house were not particularly described; just an ordinary sofa, clock and household sundries. Nature, when she escapes, however, was ‘delicious’ and ‘sensuous’, showing the contrast when she had broken free from the grasp of Randall.

Possible Links (Stories):

Similar to Country Living, the ending of this story also leaves the reader with a sense of moral ambiguity; IRONIC ENDING.

In this case, it is as to whether or not Dorothea is right to leave Randall. This is because, while she no longer loves him, she has a responsibility to stay with him and look after him through his illness. She is very insincere to him, letting him believe that they might get married, while ‘to herself she was saying ‘never, never, never!’. However, the repetition of the word ‘never’ here emphasises her unwillingness to stay with Randall, as does the simile of her fleeing him ‘as if Death himself pursued her’ and if she has this level of unwillingness to stay with Randall, one might think that she does have the right to leave him.

Links to the Author:

The story also shows a slight resemblance to Kate Chopin’s life as she is considered one of the earlier feminist writers of her time. Towards the end of the end of the story, Dorothea describes her body as ‘supple’, conveying her freedom when ‘she could perceive no human habitation’. An old ‘fallow field,’ emphasises the sensual and joyful feeling she is experiencing, contrasting to when she was feeling

Additional Points

At the beginning, we see the quotation ‘She was reaching the limit of her endurance’. In the end, she was fleeing as if death was pursuing here. Both are at the end of the stick, hence emphasizing the significant transformation Dorothea goes through.

‘Her pulses beating in unison’…Symbolizes something ‘harmonious’, which shows that she is finally in the natural world with peace.

Literature Analysis: Tony KytesBy acceleratedstudynotes (Notes Contributor)

Tony Kytes, the Arch-Deceiver — Thomas Hardy

Main Themes:*Male/Female Relationships *Betrayal *Love

Characters: Tony Kytes, Unity Sallet, Milly Richards, Hannah Jolliver, Mr. Kytes, Mr. Jolliver

Important Points to Remember:

The title itself, ‘Tony Kytes, the Arch-Deceiver”is ironic. Tony Kytes doesn’fool anyone apart from Milly.

The horse is personified, as if even ANIMALS are mocking the women. o “the horse looked round and stood still”

Melodramatic and cartoon-like o “crying in watery streams”o “Tony looking like a tree struck by lightning”

Misogynistic in some ways: o Women have no INDIVIDUALITY, NO UNIQUE CHARACTER → the fact that

the three girls always obey what Tony Kytes tell them to do i.e. hide under the tarpaulin

o Women in the stories all have intention to secure themselves as Tony’s ‘wife’ → suggests that women in the 19th century depend upon a lot of men → Women all go after men.

o Women have NO DIGNITY → Hannah and Unity, they know that Tony is engaged, but they still flirt with him, and try to get Tony to like them back. The women should not be doing that.

o Women are referred to objects. It suggests that women are not regarded as people. They are insignificant to men, and they are all groups of the same thing.

“loved them in shoals” “… and out rolled the three maidens into the road in a heap. The horse

looked round and stood still”o Women are weak. They cannot control the wagon. Again, suggests a point that

they are always chained to MEN for SUPPORT.o Women have to wait to be chosen. Women in fact have no right to choose they

want to marry.The final decision is up to men. Immaturity

o Tony has no facial hair → not reached adulthood yeto Fickleo Childish act of Hannah

“Hannah had seen her father, and had run to him, crying worse than ever”

“tantrum”

There are many themes that are addressed in ‘Tony Kytes, the Arch Deceiver’. One of them is love.  The author suggests that love is fickle.  Tony Kytes easily forgets about his engagement with Milly Richards after seeing Unity and Hannah and he ‘couldn’t for the life of him’ recall why he offered to marry Milly after meeting Unity and Hannah.  This shows how love changes from one person to another easily and there is no lasting love in life.  Furthermore, the author suggests that love is superficial.  This can be seen through how the women within the story are never given deeper qualities except that they were ‘pretty’, ‘dashing’ or ‘handsome’.  This shows that the author believes that we base everything on looks and that personalities are irrelevant in love and attraction.Betrayal is another evident theme.  Tony Kytes betrays Milly and thinks of marrying other women when she is betrothed to he.  Milly, however, stays faithful and says ‘I don’t mind to oblige you (Tony)’ and ultimately agrees to marry him despite everything.  The contrast shows how differently men and women treat each other and view love.  Also, there is betrayal amongst the women.  Hannah and Unity attempt to take Tony away from Milly, despite the fact that he is already betrothed.  They fight at the end of the story and seem to be constantly comparing themselves to each other, seen through the question that Unity asks Tony, ‘Prettier than she (Milly)?’.  The comparative used emphasises the constant struggle that the women have to try and grab Tony’s attention.

The author also makes interesting suggestions about gender.  He suggests that men are dominant. Tony offers marriage to all three women and shows how the women are interchangeable and that none of them have any individuality.  Also, Tony Kytes is said to have ‘loved ‘em (women) in shoals’.  The simile shows how the author feels women are submissive and are not unique in any way.

Techniques used: Quotation: Explanation:

Humour

‘He was quite the women’s favourite, and in return, for their likings he loved’em in shoals’

Humour is used to draw the attention of the reader into the story. This helps build up the characterization of Tony Kytes, suggesting he’s a lady’s man.

Tone

‘Who should we see waiting for him at the top of the hill but Unity Sallet’ / ‘Milly Richards, a nice, light, small, tender little thing’

Throughout the story, it is set in a playful mockery tone of voice, which makes the story more interesting.

Sarcastic Tone‘You don’t suppose I could refuse ‘ee?’

The humour is portrayed through sarcasm and Irony

Tripling / Rule of three

‘she smiled a smile, and up she hopped, and on drove Tony’ / The whole story is also set in a tripling because there are all together 3 women

The tripling helps set the sense of comedy, again through sarcasm and irony

RepetitionRepetition of the 3 women climbing into the carriage

The use of repetition rein-forces the theme of love is fickle but can also be used as a technique of humour

Situational Humour‘And there was no help for it but to take her up beside him’(Milly)

Humour is presented by the irony of the situation where Milly is sitting next to Kytes, and Unity is in the back of the carriage

Characterization‘She was a much more dashing girl than Milly Richards’

Tony Kytes is presented as insincere and capricious when it comes to love or respecting women

Irony

dramatic irony

situational irony

‘He spoke tenderer and tenderer, and called her ‘dear Hannah in a whisper at last’

This is ironic as Hannah thinks Tony is being tender and sweet although he is just whispering so that Milly and Unity don’t hear them, Irony is effective by the way it emphasizes language rhetorically

Pauses (effective use of commas)

‘My sweet Hannah! He bursts out, taking her hand, not being really able to help it, and forgetting Milly and Unity, and all the world besides’

In this sense, commas are used to help the reader read the text in a humorous way

 

Significant use of setting:

The writer mentioned that Tony had to walk up the hill to find Unity Sallet , which conveys a sense that he was always the one who makes an  effort. There is irony because the writer made Tony sound like he attracts all the girls but instead it was him who made it happen.

The writer engaged the readers by having Milly on one end of the waggon and ‘Unity being snug at the other end’. There’s a dramatic irony here, and this symbolises that there will be a big problem when they both meet each other.

Milly lives at ‘Upper Longpuddle’.  This is ironic because upper gives a sense of high class yet a puddle could only be found low on the ground.

 

Links to other stories:

The theme of fickle love can also be seen in the story ‘Nightingale and the Rose’, where the girl rejects the student’s advances simply because the chamberlain’s nephew has

given her jewels instead, much like how Tony Kytes decides to marry Hannah instead because she is the prettiest of them all.

Humour → ‘The Stolen Bacillus” Contrasting Portrayals of women – The woman’s rose, The yellow wallpaper

News of the Engagement — Arnold BennettMain Themes:

Love *Family Relationships *Childhood

Characters: Philip, Mother, Mr Nixon, (Agnes)

Important Points to Remember:

The story illustrates the process of Philip growing up. From being egocentric, thinking that he should be the only thing that his mother cares about, to being considerate and mature at the end of the story.

Woman portrayed in the society:

The narrator, Philip, expects his mother to be a normal housewife. As a mother, the child is supposed to be the ultimate reality of life yet, she expects Mr. Nixon to arrive at the door as they are engaged. How weak and “delicate” a mother is represented- “Mothers are kittle cattle”

*The fact that Philip’s Mother is already 45 years old, Philip assumes that his mother would no longer have any love affairs of her own. He stereo-types her as a women at the house, fulfilling the expectations of society in the 19th century of the role of a woman → to be a good housewife.

o “I was the only son of a widow” →  shows that the son assumes that his mother is solely dependent on him, and he is her everything. That explains why he is not aware that his mother needs to find a partner. SELF-CENTRED

o The world revolves around him, so he expects his mother would be able to feel it. → OBLIVIOUS to his mother’s life or needs or feelings.

Egoism

The story is set in first person from the narrator’s perspective, which manipulates how the readers think and leads to the twist in the story.  He puts himself before everything and expects the world to revolve around him “I was all that my mother had” A simile is used to describe how his mother “hovered” around him “like a seagull hovering around a steamer”. He thinks he is more superior to his “little plump mother”. He “never thought of my mother as a woman with a future” as “his mind was full of Agnes”.  Also, his self-centered attitude causes him shame as he

then realizes that the world does not only revolve around him.  He also pigeon-holes his mother as a mother with no future.

Family

They are portrayed to be very close despite the fact that they both think that it was not a suitable time to reveal the secret that they’re getting engaged (→ Ironic “She couldn’t well have written, ‘ my dear Philip, an old friend, Mr Nixon, is falling in love with me and I believe I’m falling in love with him”) Mr. Nixon is showed to be a fatherly figure and is also called an uncle by the narrator, which shows irony, as Mr. Nixon will take on the role of being a father. The time to reveal the secret suggests that they both have similar mindsets, hence mother and son.

Relationships:

Philip and his mother:

Humour and irony is suggested as he cannot confess his true feelings even to his mother. “But you can’t write even to your mother and say in cold blood: ‘I think I am beginning to fall in love with Agnes.” They are too embarrassed to talk about their ‘love affairs’ with each other, despite the close relationship.

o “I wrote to my mother regularly every week”o “she had always other things to do; she was ‘preparing’ for me”o “and she said, as usual, kissing me”

Philip and Mr. Nixon:

The narrator considers him as his “mother’s trustee” and nothing further. It is least expected that he will become Philip’s father therefore jokes about him being “Uncle Nixon”. In the end, he is willing to accept the relationship and “shake hands” symbolizing the bond between them.

Philip’s Mother and Mr. Nixon:

They are very close and “aided her in troublous times”.  It is presented that his mother constantly waits for him behind the door and rushes the door with “tears in her smiling eyes, and she was as nervous as a young girl” when she is waiting for his arrival. This gives the idea that being in Love rejuvenates her.( → Love can rejuvenate the spirit of a forty-five year old woman, also suggested that even an aged widow can experience Love as well)   This also shows the immediacy and eagerness which changes Mr. Nixon as the subject rather than Philip.

Characters

·     Philip: A self-centered person who often pigeon-holes people, such as his mother, and Mr. Nixon, which of course he names “uncle Nixon” as a joke; engaged to AGNES. .

·     Philip’s Mother:  A widow, that is thought to have no future, but finds out that she falls in love with Mr. Nixon in the later stages of the story.

·     Mr. Nixon: A person with a well established background, nice and is falling in love with Philip’s mother.

Setting:

The setting – The mother’s home o This also shows the safety zone (house) noted in the story which can show how

Philip’s mother does not really want to face the reality and is uncomfortable if she is out of her safety zone.

o The drawing room has new incandescent light, and postcards, which suggest that the mother has “renewed” her life, and is being welcomed to a life with a complete family.

o Dinner table the supper is set for three – this suggests that there may be a surprise – this

also relates back to the self-centered attitude of the protagonist, which shows how he only thinks of himself, and not his mother.

A table is shown where a whole family settles down to share and communicate within the family, it is ironic that Mr. Nixon’s seat is also prepared although Mr. Nixon is not known as a father or part of the family in the eyes of Philip yet.

The Half Brothers — Elizabeth Gaskell

Main Themes:*Family *Guilt *Childhood *Sacrifice

Characters: narrator (second son), Gregory (first son), Helen (mother), Aunt Fanny, William Preston (step-father of Gregory)

*Relates to Author*Relates to 19th Century

Important Points to Remember:

The reason why Helen re-married → in need of money; in hope that William Preston would able to give her first son, Gregory, good education. THERE IS NO LOVE.

William Preston is JEALOUS of Gregory, because he got all the love from HELEN. After Helen’s death, he is able to put all his ‘positive dislike’ onto him by treating him bad.

After second marriage, Helen was never happy. o “Helen did not wish to live, and so just let herself die away without trying to take

hold on life” →  Not just physically, but mentally as well. Her spirit has already died.

William Preston: he is also a victim of an unhappy marriage. He fell in love with a woman who never loves him. Marriage was short. The love melted his hatred towards Gregory. Unity in spirit was resumed in the family.

o “a quiet smile (he had hardly ever smiled in life) upon his still, cold face” Feeling of REPENTANCE and REGRET → William Preston and narrator. As they never

treated Gregory well, but he was still so nice to them. He even sacrificed himself to save the narrator → fulfilled the role of being a brother.

Gaskell →  Unitarian religion (like Christianity) emphasizes the tolerance and reason.

o    Not once did the father tried to reason with Gregory and understand his problems.

o   He did not tolerate with Gregory and Lassie.

o   In the end à ends up regretting what he has done.

o   Jesus sacrifices his life for humanity →  like Gregory.

In the story of ‘The Half Brothers’, the narrator’s mother (Helen) was married twice, due to the early death of her first husband. They lived in the bleak and remote area of Cumberland, and also

due to poverty, Helen’s first baby girl died out of illness. The early death of her husband left Helen in a state of emotional and financial breakdown. The desperate need of money led her to remarry a man called William Preston, as he promised her to give Gregory, her eldest son, education. This marriage reflects upon the resilient love that was shared between the mother and Gregory as she marries William Preston for the sake of Gregory, not herself. Soon, the third child (the narrator) was born but unfortunately, not too long after this child survived his childbirth, his mother Helen died in despair. This left the two half-brothers in the hands of their Aunt Fanny and the stepfather. As a child, Gaskell’s mother died when she was one years old. Similarly, in the ‘Half brothers’, the protagonists are brought up by the aunt as well. The narrator tells his own story of his complicated relationship with his half-brother and also the reconciliation of the family that finally comes in the end.

The significance of the setting is important to reflect the life of people during the Victorian era. Cumberland, a relatively poor location in the north of England, is a great piece of evidence implying how the people who live there receive no education, and women need to rely heavily on men to survive. Once a marriage is wrecked by the death of the husband, the wife would lose all support and their fate will turn miserable. It is exactly what happens to Helen and Aunt Fanny at the beginning of the story – with the death of Helen’s husband, the two women need to struggle hard in order to combat poverty and to raise the young children. Through these two characters, the author, Elizabeth Gaskell, portrays how poverty remains a dominant social and economic problem in the north of England at that time. Throughout the whole story, Helen is silenced. This is conveyed through the structure of the story as Helen does not get to a lot of chances to speak. This deliberate silencing is how of the author suggests that women at that time have no say in their lives and fate, adding to the sense of misery women experienced. The repetition of “She cried day and night, day and night, till my aunt and the other watcher looked at each other in dismay” shows how distressed Helen’s life is. Furthermore, the imagery “Aunt Fanny heard her cry as if her heart was breaking” conveys the idea of utter despair.

With a desperate need to survive, Helen has to marry a man whom she never loves. In fact, between Helen and William Preston, there has been only been a single-sided love ever since the moment they are married. The line, “She love Gregory but not him”, shows that Helen’s relationship with Gregory is much closer than with him (the second husband). It demonstrates how the marriage was a mere exchange based on monetary gains rather than genuine love and affection. Again this description reflects on the effort, decisions and sacrifices that the mother made for Gregory which also places emphasis on the bond between them.

The burden of Helen’s death triggers conflicts between Gregory and his stepfather and kindles the many complicated relationships within the family. The stepfather is strongly biased, for he puts the sole blame of Helen’s death on Gregory. If Preston does love Helen, he would also love Gregory, but Gaskell writes as though Preston’s jealousy towards Gregory is greater than his love for Helen. The hatred and coldness between Gregory and his stepfather influence the narrator to justify his dislike towards his half brother as well. Immediately after Helen’s death, Preston is able to transpose all his “positive dislike” onto Gregory, claiming that he was the reason why his wife passed away. Life is unfair for Gregory, as Preston’s promise of “taking good charge of her boy” and giving him education did not happen. Instead, he was made to work

as a shepherd with ‘Old Adams’ in the farms. Gaskell cleverly uses contrasts to make readers sympathize for the poor Gregory.

The conflicts between the two half brothers are somehow brought about by the sense of superiority that the narrator felt over Gregory. The fact that “At home I [he] was the darling of my [his] aunt, the tenderly beloved of my [his] father, the pet and plaything of the old domestic, the ‘young master’ of the farm-labourers” shows that everyone in the family adores the narrator. Because of this over-pampering by his father and aunt, subconsciously, this makes the narrator vain and arrogant. Even though in the story, the narrator does not show a very conspicuous hatred towards Gregory, his mistreating of the dog Lassie may subtly suggest that. Lassie, in many senses, can be viewed as a symbol of Gregory, for he is always receiving maltreatment from both the narrator and his father. For example, Preston “always kicked whenever he saw” Lassie shows that he is very violent and brutal and vents his anger on the poor dog. Luckily, despite the mistreatment by his stepfather and half-brother, Gregory remains a young man who is “patient and good-natured”. The huge contrast between the beginning and the end exaggerates his feeling of deep remorse, and this helps to convey Gaskell’s message to the readers.

The pathetic fallacy, “it seemed so weird and strange in that noiseless expanse of black darkness” foreshadows that something ominous is going to occur. As the narrator is sent to an errand by his father, he is forced to leave his support and walk independently. Again, the use of pathetic fallacy, “Suddenly the air filled thick with dusky flakes, my face and hands were wet with snow”, shows that the narrator’s vision is blocked, and portrays an idea as if the narrator’s future is uncertain. The metaphor, “Only the noiseless, pitiless snow kept falling thick, thicker – faster, faster!”, suggests that even nature is going against him. It is ironic to the beginning as the narrator would “greet her [Lassie] with a blow”, and now he is relying on her to save his life. The line, “Gregory might have noticed the coming storm, and gone out silently to meet” the narrator further supports the point that he does not have a grudge on any of his family members. Instead, he shows his responsibility as a brother by sending Lassie to rescue the narrator. The imagery, “Lassie came home, with my handkerchief tied round her neck”, parallels to the idea of Gregory saving the narrator’s life in exchange for his. The handkerchief is significant as well as it tells the worrying Preston and Aunt Fanny that he is safe (Symbolic!). This incident again, highlights the fact that Gregory is a courageous, forgiving and self-sacrificing young lad.

At the end, both the narrator and the stepfather show a sign of reconciliation and repentance towards Gregory. The line, “I felt that I was tenderly covered up by my brother”, suggests that the narrator finally feels the brotherly love they have between them. The diction, “my brother”, is never used at the beginning of the story. The fact that the narrator calls Gregory his “brother” now suggests that he has accepted the fact that he is part of the family. Furthermore, the description, “my father’s stern old face strove in vain to keep its sternness his mouth quivered, his eyes filled slowly with unwonted tears”, suggests that Preston is beginning to show his inner emotions, which contrasts to the beginning when he is described as a “stern and hard man”. He says, “God forgive me my hardness of heart towards the fatherless child”, and this suggests that Preston regrets for being so harsh to Gregory. He realizes that he has done wrong in the past, and his hatred towards Gregory melted away. The imagery, “he [Preston] desired that he might lie at the foot of the grave, in which, by his desire, poor Gregory had been laid with our mother”, suggests that in the end, they are reunited after death.

To add on, Gaskell’s Unitarian religion influenced her to writing this story, which emphasized the importance of tolerance and reason. These ideas are explored throughout the text as she writes that Preston does not try to reason with Gregory and understand his problems. He did not tolerate with his stepson or Lassie.