North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell chapter 35 "Expiation" narrated by Isaac BirchallSubscribe on YT or Join the Book Club on KO-FI and support me as an independent creator :Dhttps://ko-fi.com/theessentialreadshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfOFfvo05ElM96CmfsGsu3g/joinSummary:Mr. Thornton stays longer and longer with Mr. Hale, and wonders why Margaret has not returned, but stays interested in his conversation with her father. It is interesting how Mr. Hale is able to open up to Thornton; he can completely unburden his mind with his friend, and when Mr. Hale struggled to finish a sentence, Thornton is able to complete it for him. This conversation knits them together forever, even though they never speak of it again. In the study, Margaret is finally giving up carrying the weight she has carried all these months. She slowly wakes up with a little quivering lip, and then more slowly the rest of her body follows. She hardly remembers the conversation with the inspector, but know that she lied, and lied to protect her brother. If the Inspector comes before they hear from the Inspector, then she will lie again, but is uncertain of how this would come out. Dixon enters the room after letting out Mr. Thornton, who outside is stopped by the police inspector. The man was helped into the force by Mr. Thornton and seeing him leave the Hale residence, sparked his interest. It is revealed that Mr. Thornton was the magistrate who took down the last words of Leonards. The inspector tells him that a man told him that Miss Hale was seen with the man who pushed Leonards to his death, but Miss Hale denies her presence. This conversation troubles Thornton, and when he hears that there is likely to be an inquest, which would force Margaret to take the stand, he asks the inspector to hold off on interrogating Margaret again just yet, and to meet with him at his factor in an hour. Thornton then goes off to his home and locks himself in his office and tries to think about every detail of the night he saw Margaret and this strange man at the train station. After his self-interrogation, he determines, that he will protect Margaret, and writes a note to the Investigator saying that no inquest will be held, as the doctors said that Leonards had a preexisting medical condition that was exacerbated by his fall, and it was this that caused his death, and the drinking, and not the fall. At the Hale residence, inspector comes again after receiving a note from Thornton to tell Margaret that there will be no inquest. While waiting for the inspector to come, Margaret is forced by her father and Dixon to go to bed, as she is too tired and sick looking, but as she tells her father that he should not delay himself either, she hears a knock on the door, and flies down to open it for the inspector. In the office, the inspector tells Margaret that they is not going to be an inquest and that Mr. Thornton was the magistrate. This makes Margaret panic, and she is very confused as to why Thornton would protect her but is even more concerned about Mr. Thornton knowing her to be a liar. Once the Investigator leaves, Margaret goes to her room. She is thankful that all of this business relating to Frederick is over but tries to go over everything that the Inspector told her. Mr. Thornton had seen her on the platform, and he had been told that she denied her presence there. She has been degraded in his eyes. In the morning, she awakes late, and Dixon comes in to give her a letter from Fredrick which was sent 2 days ago saying he is safely out of England and that Mr Henry Lennox would try and protect him.SEO stuff I don't want to do. Elizabeth Gaskell's classic, "North and South" sees Margaret Hale's live uprooted as her family moves to the north of England. Initially disgusted by the ugliness of the industrial town of Milton, Margaret develops a strong sense of social justice after seeing the poverty and suffering of local mill workers.
