She simply bowed her farewell although the instant she saw the hand, half put out, quickly drawn back, she was sorry she had not been aware of the intention.You could seriously make a whole saga about their hand touching business because Miss Gaskell really thought this shit through. He tries so hard to gain control of his emotions but he's immediately besotted by her.Ģ) His persistence of wanting to shake her hands It was the frank familiar custom of the place but Margaret was not prepared for it. I have written down his TOP 10 moments (in chronological order) and, of course, I'll gladly share the list with you:ġ) His first meeting with Margaret He almost said to himself that he did not like her, before their conversation ended he tried so to compensate himself for the mortified feeling, that while he looked upon her with an admiration he could not repress, she looked at him with proud indifference, taking him, he thought, for what, in his irritation, he told himself he was - a great rough fellow, with not a grace or a refinement about him.John is just such a precious little boy, like, my man is just damn insecure and confused that he's so shook about Margaret, and honestly, I can relate.

like hun, you can do better!Īnyway, back to my favorite topic: Mr John Thornton. This is some relatable content right there.Įlizabeth Gaskell has such a way with words, I am so obsessed with her beautiful language (and also with all of the fitting poems that she chose as epigraphs for her chapters, gosh!) I literally cannot believe that she was friends with Charlotte Brontë. The way he is (in a non-creepy way) so preoccupied with Margaret and constantly talks about her, so that his mother and sister get super annoyed just by the mention of her name, like HONESTLY SAME, JOHN, I, too, do nothing else but talk about Margaret and you. It's very rare to get such a deep look into the emotions of the male love interest but Gaskell didn't shy away from showing us our beautiful precious son from his most vulnerable side.

I finally figured out why I love North & South so fucking much: John Thornton is as invested in his relationship as I am.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell