Wives and Daughters

Firstly, I can't believe I didn't know Elizabeth Gaskell died before finishing this book?

Secondly, I can't believe I didn't know Elizabeth Gaskell died before finishing this book??
So to prevent anyone else from feeling the same pain I felt after reading one of the cutest chapters I've ever read and then seeing . . . nothing but tragic news I'm putting this right up at the top of my review.

Book content warnings:
racism
antisemitism
manipulation/abuse/whatever you'd call how Mr. Preston used Cynthia

This has always been one of my favorite English "period dramas" that one of my friends introduced me to. Of course I've never actually read the original book until now (thanks to a reading challenge, mostly). But I'm surprised how much I liked show more Elizabeth Gaskell's writing and characterization. People and places have so much life to them. I would've rated this much higher if not for the racism. "But think of when it was written!" Yeah, okay, but it's still gross--and it makes me uncomfortable enough to make me like the book/author less.

I never know what to say about these Classics because I'm not what you'd call an ""intellectual"", and I'm not the best at the academic language that seem to fill their review pages. But I see a disturbing amount of people talking about how Cynthia manipulated and took advantage of "simple" and good-natured Molly, and while she may have taken advantage her, people are ignoring Mr. Preston in this entire equation (or are even saying Mr. Preston is the victim in his affair with Cynthia as well?).

It may have been an awful scandal on Cynthia's part back in the 1800s, but dang, if Cynthia's situation had taken place today, she might have been better understood. Her childhood shaped her entire character (and I'm about 200% sure she's aromantic from her own words, shaped by trauma or otherwise--she even gets a happy ending with someone who understands her, which is fantastic for someone who'd like to read a novel with great aro rep). Cynthia tries to explain to Molly that her mother's negligence has hurt her so much so that it's pretty much traumatic. No, it's not an excuse for some of her . . . not-so-great actions to Molly, but she might have been better understood where Mr. Preston is concerned because he pretty much took advantage of her when she was penniless and in a very low point in her life. He gave her money, as a gift from a friend, and then later persuaded him to marry him because of his gift.

"But she liked him then!" Yeah, okay, but she was a child, as she said. That he should later blackmail her and hold her letters over her is basically proof that he's one hell of a skeevy character. I can't believe I see reviews that basically state "poor Mr. Preston," or something like that. Or "that flirt Cynthia used Mr. Preston and Roger and Molly!" without ever taking Cynthia's perspective into question, and it just makes me seethe.

So . . . that aside, it's just one example of how the characters in this book are so fully fleshed and individual without being caricatures. They're so different from each other (like Cynthia from Molly), but still love and accent each other enough so that they work well together. It's also probably my favorite thing about this book (besides how it handles grief). show less

Elizabeth Gaskell is a fine writer, who penned admirable heroines and sensitive heroes, but she definitely peaked with 'North and South' - 'Mary Barton', her first novel, is far too melodramatic, and I'm afraid I found 'Wives and Daughters', her final (and unfinished) work, too slow. I class this sort of Austenesque pastoral satire as 'Sunday evening fodder', the sort of gentle, harmless period drama that is a staple production of the BBC around autumn, when the nights are drawing in and the weather is terrible. Like 'Cranford' (which I won't be adding to my Gaskell library), these adaptations usually feature Dame Judi Dench in a bonnet and conclude with a wedding or two. I much prefer Gaskell's 'northern' novels, which are a more show more engaging and instructive blend of humour, romance and social commentary - the body count is usually considerably higher (imagine, only one death in 'Wives and Daughters'!), but on the plus side, there are fewer old women in bonnets.

That said, I did persevere with this story, because the central characters are well drawn and Gaskell knows how to pace a domestic drama with teasers - what is Cynthia's secret? When will Obsbourne's father find out what his son has been up to? Molly Gibson, the pure and selfless heroine, is far too good for my liking, but I loved Cynthia's 'Estella Syndrome', as I termed her fickle behaviour (now there's a girl who knows how to keep her options open!) Cynthia Kirkpatrick is my favourite type of heroine, or perhaps anti-heroine - beautiful, charming, sharp as tack, and ruthless! She knows that men of every age and station find her irresistible, and employs her natural talents to bait them and then reel them in - but only if they can be of advantage to her. And she's so thoroughly attractive that everyone forgives her for using them! Wonderful. Molly truly fell flat compared to her wicked stepsister. And I felt sorry for the oily Mr Preston, but not Roger Hamley, who must have been either gullible or shallow.

From the supporting cast of thousands, I adored Mr Gibson, who marries in haste and repents at leisure, and Squire Hamley, and found in Lady Harriet the strength lacked by Molly and the generosity missing in Cynthia. The rest of the caricatures - Cynthia's sycophantic and self-centred mother, and her aristocratic match Lady Cumnor, ailing Osbourne and blockhead Roger, and of course the usual gaggle of spinsters - were mildly entertaining but only pale imitations of Austen's stock-in-trade. Although some of the characters and devices reminded me of 'North and South' - a dark-haired heroine with 'soft grey eyes' who dotes on her father, invalid mothers, brothers with secret wives, many misunderstandings, and even a Dr Donaldson! - I missed the earnest grounding in social concerns of real importance that give meaning and impact to Gaskell's 'northern' novels. If I wanted to read about the romantic entanglements of swooning girls in white dresses, I would choose 'Sense and Sensibility'.

And if Gaskell used the phrase 'tete-a-tete' once, she must have used it a thousand times - the constant repetition made me laugh at first, and then slowly started to annoy me.

All in all, a pleasant, if rather lengthy, comedy of manners, for fans of Austen and Heyer. show less

Molly Gibson is a kind-hearted, intelligent, sensitive girl who is thrown into society when her father, the equally sensible but far more sarcastic Mr.Gibson, marries. His new wife is flighty, hypocritical, and manipulative, but all in such a soft, pliant way that it is difficult to oppose her. With her comes her daughter Cynthia Fitzpatrick, who is Molly's own age but beautiful where Molly is pretty, and socially brilliant where Molly is genuine. Cynthia and Molly immediately become best friends, but Cynthia is so constantly charming young men that (by trying to help her get out of scrapes) Molly's own reputation suffers.

Easily one of the most charming, romantic Victorian novels I've ever read. Victorian novels generally put so much show more emphasis on morals or virtues that I find alien and silly, or are so long-winded in their explanations, descriptions, and dialog, that I grow quite out of patience with them. Instead, Gaskell seems to have a good deal of sympathy for characters like Cynthia, who would have been treated very severely by authors like Trollop or Bradden, and quietly pokes fun at the sexist, classist, xenophobic notions of her main characters. She seems to like her characters, and want to explain them to her readers, instead of trying to use them as puppets to force her readers into higher morals. Gaskell is nearly as witty as Dickens, but turns her attention in much the same direction as Austen, with that same satirical edge to her domestic descriptions. Gaskell is particularly adept at portraying characters' personalities and interests through dialog alone. I quite loved this, and was horrified to learn, when I was 75% done and utterly wrapt up in the story, that it was never finished. It ends on a satisfying note, however, so though one does not get to actually read the resolution, one is not left without hope that it did take place. In a way, by ending this novel before the hero and heroine confess their love for each other, one is left to resolve it in the manner most satisfactory to oneself, and not bound to the author's choices. show less

Molly Gibson has been raised by her widowed father, the town doctor. As she approaches the end of her teens, he feels he needs to remarry to have a woman around to help his daughter navigate this coming of age. Enter Mrs Kirkpatrick, aka “Clare”, the governess at The Towers. She has a daughter, Cynthia, of about the same age as Molly. The two of them bond as they navigate their new situation and gain maturity.

I ended up really enjoying this. It was a pleasure to read a classic novel centred on women, and in this one particularly the cast of characters came to life. I adored Molly for her bookishness and her desire to do right and act on moral principles, rather than what society deemed proper. Mrs Gibson as she became was incredibly show more annoying but well drawn in that annoyingness. And as the concluding remarks to my edition stated, the portrayal of Osborne and Roger Hamley was very well done indeed. They were brothers highly different in temperament, but still believable as brothers.

I was reading this on Serial Reader (which sends daily “issues” of public-domain books) and ended up binge-reading the last 15 issues so that I could find out what happened at the end. And then I found out that Gaskell had died before she could finish the book! Nooooooo! The concluding remarks in my edition gave a brief summary of where she’d intended to go with the story, so that was pretty good, but what a shame that she died before she could just finish that off!

This book is highly recommended if you want to read a classic with female protagonists. I really felt like this story was about *people*, not just those of a particular gender. I may have to re-read this someday, but in the meantime I’m definitely going through more of Gaskell’s work. show less

Elizabeth Gaskell's last novel is a classic story of English life in the mid-1800s. Heroine Molly Gibson is the daughter of a widowed doctor in the town of Hollingford. As a teenager she is sent on an extended visit with the Hamleys, one of two wealthy families in the area. Mrs. Hamley takes an instant liking to Molly, making her a companion of sorts. Molly also befriends the younger son Roger, and later meets his brother Osborne. Roger helps Molly work through feelings regarding her father's marriage to Clare, a local widow. Clare also has a teenage daughter, Cynthia, who has been schooled in France for many years. Cynthia and Molly become close friends, even though the two young women couldn't be more different. The story unfolds at a show more very slow and easy pace. Not much happens, and yet everything happens. People become sick, and some die. People visit London, and some travel further afield. Most people are inherently good, but there are one or two bad apples in Hollingford who, of course, get their comeuppance.

Gaskell is well-known for exposing and exploring the social issues of her day (an earlier novel, North and South, centered on working conditions and class differences). On the surface Wives and Daughters is less daring, and more like Jane Austen's work in its depiction of romance and social strata. However, Gaskell directly challenges the traditional role of women in 19th-century English society. All of the male characters treat women as fragile children, incapable of managing their own affairs. In contrast, Molly is a strong female protagonist. She is respectful and kind, and yet uses a subtle strong will to steer events in the right direction. She comes to the aid of several characters, and proves herself indispensable during a crisis towards the end of the novel.

The novel ends abruptly, because Gaskell died before it could be finished. This could have been a very bad thing indeed, but it appeared the story was close to wrapping up (and after 650 pages, shouldn't it?!). While some of the details are unknown, eventual outcomes are certain. While reading Wives and Daughters requires a significant time commitment, Gaskell writes beautifully and often with great wit, and this story held my interest to the very end. show less

It’s always difficult to portray genuinly good characters - they can easily come out flat and uninteresting - but I didn’t feel that with the heroine of this story, Molly Gibson - she has a good heart, truthful and sincere.

Molly is confronted with secrets, mysteries, love entanglementss and gossip directed at her that put her into many moral difficulties, loyalty-issues and will test her character to the utmost. (Not unlikely that Gaskell has drawn some inspiration from Austen’s Fanny Price here).

Molly Gibson is the daughter of a widowed country doctor. When he decides to marry the conceited and selfish Hyacinth Kirkpatrick Mollys life will change dramatically. Mrs. Gibson is not the wicked stepmother from the fairytales, but show more close. Although she’s not without a heart, she makes life really insufferable for everyone with her formality and many schemes to enter higher society - and get her daughter and stepdaughter married well. She’s one of Gaskells great inventions - as is her daughter Cynthia - the opposite of Molly - in all her beauty, folly and vanity she stirs up the Gibson household.

And then there’s the squire at Hamley Hall and his two sons (one of wich Molly come to care deep about), the sweet sisters Miss Browning and Miss Phoebe and the gossiping Miss Hornblower and Mrs. Goodenough - and all the exciting life at Cumnor Hall.

Great narration by Nadia May - she’s beginning to be one of my favorites - at 27 hours Gaskell’s masterpiece is a doorstopper, but the reader is rewarded with some memorable and nuanced characters. show less

Wives and Daughters is surely unique among Victorian novels featuring scientists, in that the scientist turns out to be an excellent romantic choice. (I'm actually working on verifying this.) And it's because he's a scientist that he's an excellent romantic choice.  What woman wouldn't want to marry Roger Hamley?  His scientific powers of perception carry straight over into his personal life, where he knows what you're thinking and what you're worried about and how to take care of it.  Of course, he can't tell that you are the one he is meant to be in love with and not your flashy stepsister, but I suppose we can't have everything. 

I was struck by the contrast between the two scientific characters, Roger and Mr. Gibson, and Mrs. show more Gibson.  Mrs. Gibson is no scientist, just a woman, but her self-interest is far stronger than either of theirs-- as is her rationality.  She does things not because they are morally right, but because they will help her, or because she is socially obligated to.  Mr. Gibson, a surgeon, spends his time with dying patients, but she criticizes him, pointing out that he doesn't help them at all, it just makes the family feel better.  "Rational self-interest," as we might call this attitude, is then not aligned with scientists, but with people who are not scientists: a scientist's perception of others is too acute for him to behave this way.  Similarly, the poet Osborne Hamley is constantly described as "sensitive," and normally we'd expect an author to like a poet more than a scientist, but Osborne is sensitive to no one other than himself.

Wives and Daughters is a cute romance, though by no means is it little; it's Gaskell's longest book, and she died before finishing it!  Had she finished it, I am confident it would be her best book, filled with a level of psychological insight that only George Eliot exceeded her at, but also plenty of charm and humor.  The book's opening chapter, where young Molly Gibson spends a fairy-tale night at "the Towers," is probably the best bit, but it is all good.  Sometimes wishes Molly might do a bit more, but she is as well-realized internally as any of Gaskell's uniformly excellent heroines. show less