The story takes place in 19th century industrial Manchester where cotton factory workers go on strike on account of what they perceive to be their unfair treatment.
The heroine of the story envisages a workplace where the manager treats his staff humanely. In the beginning we see the manager treat staff very harshly. The heroine persuades the manager to improve his treatment of staff.
The story ends with the manager's factory being closed down due to lack of finance. But the heroine comes into a fortune and is able to buy the factory. As fortune would have it, she also ends up marrying the manager.
The heroine of the story envisages a workplace where the manager treats his staff humanely. In the beginning we see the manager treat staff very harshly. The heroine persuades the manager to improve his treatment of staff.
The story ends with the manager's factory being closed down due to lack of finance. But the heroine comes into a fortune and is able to buy the factory. As fortune would have it, she also ends up marrying the manager.
This was also a marriage of the ownership of the company with the management. I could be wrong, but I think Elizabeth Gaskell may have meant this as a conscious reference to the Limited Liability Act, putting forward her view that if you want a humane and well-run factory, or workplace, then ownership (South) and management (North) need to marry, not separate.
This story is set around the time of 1855 when the Limited Liability Act would have been introduced. Limited liability separated ownership of a company from the management, by limiting the liability of the owners for any losses incurred by management.
The Quakers thought the Limited Liability Act was morally irresponsible because it meant that people were not responsible for their actions.
The Quakers thought the Limited Liability Act was morally irresponsible because it meant that people were not responsible for their actions.
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