North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell chapter 40 | Audiobook

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell chapter 40 "Out Of Time" 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:Margaret didn’t expect that Mr. Bell’s visit would make her very happy, but she very quickly feels like he would be a very close friend to her. They jest with each other about their differing views. Mr. Bell, though from the north, has become a southerner, and Margaret, a southerner, has come to sympathise with the northerners. Mr. Hale enjoys his time with Bell too. Mr. Bell isn’t proud of being from Milton. Mr Hale reminds him that Mr. Thornton is coming for tea, and says that Mr. Bell should behave. Mr. Thornton determines not to ask his mother about her conversation with Margaret and he shrinks from hearing her name even mentioned, as he still loves her. He tries to busy himself at work, and determines to arrive later than anticipated at the Hale residence to not seem too eager to be there. At the Hale’s he and Mr. Bell go over their business arrangements and Mr. Thornton finds Mr Bell to be a disagreeable man, and Mr. Bell finds Mr. Thornton to be the same. When they go upstairs, Mr. Hale tries to jest at the two men, saying that they spent so long in the study that they must have tried to convert each other to their own way of thinking. This conversation turns to Mr. Bell continuing to jest with Mr. Thornton, but the manufacturer does not understand the jests and gets increasingly more frustrated with Mr Bell. Margaret tries to change the topic and brings up a letter from Edith, which her father tries to continue on, but Mr. Bell mentions Margaret being a truthful person, and in the anger he felt at Mr. Bell, he snaps out a comment about Margaret not being as truthful as she seems. At this he instantly hates himself and expects Margaret to leave the room, but she stays still and quietly bends over her work and quivers. He gives short sharp answers for the rest of the night and then goes home, resolving to never see her again. When Thornton leaves Margaret starts to pack up her things. When she leaves, Mr. Bells suggests to Mr. Hale that Margaret and he share an affection for each other. Mr. Hale refutes this and says that Bell must be mistakes, or if an affection does exist, then it must only be from Thornton’s side. The following day, Bell goes back to Oxford and invites both Mr. Hale and Margaret to visit him some time in the city. Mr. Bell tells Hale that he should leave Milton and come to Oxford, but Hale says that he cannot leave the city, it is his punishment for leaving Helstone. The Boucher and Higgins families are living under the same roof. Mr. Higgins is making sure that the children are going to be well taken care of. Higgins can’t place a finger on Thornton and seems to believe that the man is split in two, the Maester, and the human. Apparently Mr. Thornton has taken an interest in the children too and wants to ask about their schooling. Margaret wishes to see Mr Thornton, but he is very seldom around. He sends last minute notes to Mr. Hale saying that he cannot come to his lesson that day, which greatly upsets Mr Hale. Mr. Hale finally ventures to ask Margaret about her affections for Mr. Thornton. She ascents that there are feelings between the two, but says that she cannot tell him any more about it, only that she regrets what's happened to his friendship. Mr. Hale’s health is getting worse. He has been seriously affected by his wife’s death. 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.