The first day of Beginning of Winter

Finished North and South by Mrs. Gaskell, in which the authoress advocates peaceful reconciliation between capital and labour. The plot of the novel seems unnatural and inappropriate to me. Mr. Thornton and Mr. Lenox offer their hands to Margaret in turn but both are rejected mercilessly. She is graceful and feels sympathy for the poor. Then I find it difficult to pinpoint her other merits. At first she conceals the truth about her brother from Mr. Thornton. But she is always anxious about being misunderstood. At last she tries to have Mr. Bell tell Mr. Thornton the truth. When Bell fails to do the job before his death, the authoress assigns Higgins to finish the task. That episode is a mistake in an otherwise very good plot.