Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
"Cranford" is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, set in a small English village largely populated by women. The story unfolds in a quaint community where men are scarce, creating a unique social dynamic. The narrative centers on the lives of several ladies, including the kind but financially struggling Captain Brown and his daughters, as well as notable figures like Miss Deborah and Miss Matty Jenkyns, who navigate the challenges of single life and societal expectations.
The novel explores themes of gender roles, class, and the complexities of friendship amid the genteel world of Cranford. Gaskell paints a portrait of a community where appearances and social standing are of great importance, yet genuine kindness and support among the women ultimately prevail. The characters face various trials, including loss and financial hardship, but they consistently demonstrate resilience and solidarity.
As the plot progresses, significant events, such as engagements and tragedies, further shape the lives of the villagers, culminating in a sense of closure and reconciliation. "Cranford" offers a rich depiction of small-town life in 19th-century England, inviting readers to consider the strength and agency of its female characters in their pursuit of dignity and belonging.
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Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
First published: 1851-1853
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of plot: Early nineteenth century
Locale: England
Principal characters
Mary Smith , the narratorMiss Deborah Jenkyns , a genteel spinsterMiss Matilda “Matty” Jenkyns , her sisterPeter Jenkyns , their long-lost brotherMrs. Jamieson , a leader of societyLady Glenmire , Mrs. Jamieson’s sister-in-lawMartha , Miss Matilda’s faithful servant
The Story:
Cranford is a small English village inhabited mostly by ladies. Few gentlemen take up residence there, and most of those who do seem to disappear on various and mysterious errands. The doctor, the shopkeepers, and a few male servants are the only representatives of their sex who cross the ladies’ vision with any regularity.
Most of the ladies live in “elegant economy.” The spending of money is considered vulgar and showy, and one does not mention being poor unless in private to one’s dearest friend. When semiretired Captain Brown moves to Cranford and talks openly about being poor, it is quite an affront to the ladies. The captain is, however, so kind and considerate to everyone, whether they are more or less fortunate than he, that the ladies cannot long resent his vulgar behavior and talk. He has two daughters. The elder, dying of an incurable illness, has a tongue sharpened by pain, but the kind women of Cranford join the younger daughter in trying to make the dying girl’s last days pleasant and comfortable.
The women experience great sorrow when the kind captain is killed while rescuing a small child from an oncoming train. When his elder daughter dies soon after, all of the ladies are hard-pressed to make suitable arrangements for the younger daughter. One day, a former suitor appears and takes her for his wife. The village ladies rest happily in the knowledge that Captain Brown would be pleased with his daughter’s security.
Until her death, Miss Deborah Jenkyns was one of the more dominant spinsters in the town. She made all decisions for her younger sister, Miss Matilda, who is fifty-five years old. Miss Matilda, affectionately called Miss Matty by all but her sister, knew that Deborah had the better mind and did not resent her sister’s dominance. After Miss Deborah’s death, Miss Matty almost has to learn how to live again. Her particular friends are Miss Pole, Mrs. Forrester, and Mrs. Jamieson, who becomes the social leader of Cranford after Miss Deborah’s death. Miss Mary Smith also often visits Miss Matty and brings her the good advice of her father, who is Miss Matty’s financial adviser. Mary is surprised to learn that Miss Matty long ago had a suitor whom she rejected in order to stay with her mother. Not long after Miss Deborah’s death, that gentleman returns to Cranford for a visit. Mary is disappointed that he does not renew his courtship of Miss Matty. Miss Matty grieves, too, but only in secret, for she would never admit to such vulgar sentiments openly. Mary also learns that Miss Deborah and Miss Matty have a brother who disappeared many years before, after being severely punished by their father for playing a practical joke on Miss Deborah. Peter Jenkyns is believed dead, although Miss Matty hears rumors that he is living in India.
The genteel ladies are thrown into a flurry of excitement when they hear that Mrs. Jamieson’s sister-in-law, Lady Glenmire, is to settle in Cranford. Since she is the first noblewoman they will encounter, they spend long hours discussing how they should address her. Their worries are for naught, however, for Mrs. Jamieson subtly but firmly informs them that they will not be included in her guest list. At first, the ladies are greatly hurt. Later, Mrs. Jamieson is forced to relent and invites them to call, for most of the country gentility are away or otherwise occupied. Miss Matty, Miss Pole, and Mrs. Forrester first think they will be engaged elsewhere for the fateful night, but their innate kindness and, perhaps, their curiosity prevail, and they accept the invitation. They find Lady Glenmire delightful and no more refined or genteel than they themselves.
Mrs. Jamieson departs from Cranford for a time, leaving Lady Glenmire in charge of her home. Soon after, Lady Glenmire becomes engaged to the doctor of the town, a man whose presence the ladies do not even acknowledge except when his services are needed for bleeding. He is no higher socially than a shopkeeper, but it is exciting that the ladies at last know someone who is to be married. They await Mrs. Jamieson’s return with fear and anticipation, and they are not disappointed, for Mrs. Jamieson, deciding to cut Lady Glenmire, states that she always knew her to be of low taste.
The engaged couple are married before Mrs. Jamieson returns. By that time, a great tragedy befalls Miss Matty. The bank in which her estate is deposited closes its doors, and she is left with only thirteen pounds a year. She makes no complaint; her biggest worry is whether Mrs. Jamieson will allow the ladies to continue their friendship with her. Mary Smith sends for her father to see what he can plan for Miss Matty. Careful that she should not know of their gift, Miss Pole, Mrs. Forrester, and another friend give up some of their own small incomes so that they can help their friend. Mary and Mr. Smith persuade Miss Matty to sell tea, but it takes a good deal of convincing to assure her that this will be a genteel way for a lady to supplement her income. Miss Matty’s faithful maid, Martha, forces her young man to marry her sooner than he anticipated so that they can rent Miss Matty’s house and have her for a lodger. In this way, Martha can continue to look after her old mistress without injuring Miss Matty’s pride. Everyone is happy when Mrs. Jamieson returns and says that the ladies can continue to call on Miss Matty because her father was a rector and his daughter, who never married, is entitled to the position he left her.
More good fortune follows. Mary writes to Miss Matty’s brother in India. When he receives the letter, Peter Jenkyns sells his property and returns to Cranford to keep his sister in comfort and in some prosperity. Peter also brings about a reconciliation between Mrs. Jamieson and Lady Glenmire, who now calls herself Mrs. instead of Lady. Once more, there is peace in Cranford.
Bibliography
Auerbach, Nina. Communities of Women: An Idea in Fiction. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1998. Stresses the virtues of Cranford as a cooperative female community and speculates that the novel may have been influenced by Gaskell’s friendship with Charlotte Brontë.
Foster, Shirley. Elizabeth Gaskell: A Literary Life. New York: Palgrave, 2002. This accessible introduction to Gaskell relies on the best available biographies. It offers interesting comparisons of Gaskell’s novels with others of the period and emphasizes women’s issues as addressed by Gaskell.
Hughes, Linda K., and Michael Lund. Victorian Publishing and Mrs. Gaskell’s Work. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999. Places Gaskell’s writing in the context of the Victorian era, describing how she negotiated her way through the publishing world by producing work that defied the conventions of her times but was also commercially successful. Cranford is discussed in chapter 3.
Keating, Peter, ed. Introduction to“Cranford” and “Cousin Phillis,” by Elizabeth Gaskell. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1976. An informative introduction that stresses Cranford’s representations of social change.
Nash, Julie. Servants and Paternalism in the Works of Maria Edgeworth and Elizabeth Gaskell. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2007. Examines the servant characters in Gaskell’s stories and novels, including Cranford, to show how her nostalgia for a traditional ruling class conflicted with her interest in radical new ideas about social equality.
Schor, Hilary M. Scheherezade in the Marketplace: Elizabeth Gaskell and the Victorian Novel. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Explores Cranford’s experimentation with narrative, which is especially interesting for its references to other literary works and for its narrator’s attentiveness to Miss Matty’s hidden “woman’s story.”
Stoneman, Patsy. Elizabeth Gaskell. 2d ed. New York: Manchester University Press, 2006. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987. A survey of Gaskell’s works that stresses Cranford’s depiction of women as limited and marginalized by society. Includes a useful bibliography on Gaskell, Victorian women and women writers, and feminist theory and literary criticism.
Uglow, Jennifer. Elizabeth Gaskell: A Habit of Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1993. An excellent biography that describes Gaskell’s writing of Cranford and discusses perceptively the novel’s themes, characters, and structure. Sees the novel as “an appeal against separate spheres” for men and women.