Chapter 40
When Words Cut Deeper Than Intended
L. OUT OF TUNE. “I have no wrong, where I can claim no right, Naught ta’en me fro, where I have nothing had, Yet of my woe I cannot so be quite; Namely, since that another may be glad With that, that thus in sorrow makes me sad.” WYATT. Margaret had not expected much pleasure to herself from Mr. Bell’s visit—she had only looked forward to it on her father’s account, but when her godfather came, she at once fell into the most natural position of friendship in the world. He said she had no merit in being what she…
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Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"enjoyment of the power and influence which money gives. You are all striving for"
The sentence is left deliberately incomplete: 'striving for' cuts off at a point where the sentence's implication is clear but its target unspoken. The incompleteness performs the observation's meaning: the striving has no specified end. Gaskell uses the fragment to make the critique more suggestive than a completed sentence would allow.
In Today's Words:
The speaker is observing that what Milton men are really pursuing, beneath the language of trade and industry, is the power that money produces: the ability to direct other people's circumstances, to be influential, to have one's preferences respected. The sentence breaks off before completing its predicate, which leaves the object of striving unnamed and therefore universal. In plain terms, everyone in the room is after power, and the social conversation about trade and business is a polite surface over this simpler truth.
"she neither looked nor spoke. Her round taper fingers flew in and out of her sewing"
Margaret's deliberate withdrawal from a conversation she cannot engage in without giving herself away is rendered through physical detail. The flying fingers perform concentration; the absence of eye contact performs absence. She is managing her own emotional state through the discipline of her hands.
In Today's Words:
Margaret is sitting with her sewing and refusing, very deliberately, to look at or speak to Thornton, because the conversation in the room has moved to territory where she cannot trust her own response. Gaskell gives us her hands rather than her face because the hands are doing the work of concealing what the face would show: the rapid, controlled movement of the fingers is the physical evidence of emotional effort that is not being allowed to surface anywhere else.
"I tell him some of my mind that I reckon he’d ha’ been the better of hearing when he were a younger man."
Higgins's observation about Thornton, that he tells him plainly what he thinks and that Thornton would have benefited from hearing it earlier in life, is both presumptuous and exactly right. It is the kind of frank appraisal that only a person who genuinely respects someone can offer.
In Today's Words:
Higgins is saying, in his direct way, that he gives Thornton his honest opinion even when it is uncomfortable, and that Thornton would have been a better man if he had had access to that kind of frank assessment when he was younger. In plain terms, Higgins is offering the observation that Thornton's strength has come partly from never being challenged on his own terms by his social equals, and that Higgins, who is his social inferior, is the first person to speak to him with the equality of full honesty. Thornton, to his credit, accepts this.
"Margaret was sure that it would not be well done until he could look upon it with some kind of zest."
Margaret's observation about Thornton's state, that his work will not be well done until he can bring genuine enthusiasm rather than mere duty to it, is both critical and caring. She is thinking about his wellbeing in terms of the quality of his engagement rather than his external circumstances.
In Today's Words:
Margaret is observing, privately, that the work Thornton is doing on whatever project occupies him will not be truly well done until he can feel genuine interest in it rather than simply grinding through it under a sense of obligation. In plain terms, she is diagnosing his emotional state accurately, recognising that he is going through the motions rather than being fully present in his work, and she cares enough about the quality of his life to notice the difference and to want the better version for him.
Thematic Threads
Pride
In This Chapter
Thornton's wounded pride makes him publicly cruel to Margaret, attacking her honesty when he feels betrayed by her apparent disloyalty
Development
Evolved from earlier defensive pride to active cruelty when combined with jealousy and hurt
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when you find yourself being harshest with people you care about most during times of personal stress or disappointment.
Communication
In This Chapter
The lack of honest conversation between Margaret and Thornton allows misunderstandings to fester and transform into weapons
Development
Continues the pattern of crucial conversations avoided, now showing the toxic consequences
In Your Life:
You see this when important feelings go unexpressed in relationships, creating space for assumptions and hurt to grow unchecked.
Class
In This Chapter
Bell's teasing about Oxford versus Milton reveals ongoing tension about different worlds and values, triggering Thornton's insecurities
Development
Shows how class differences continue to create misunderstandings even in friendly contexts
In Your Life:
You might experience this when different backgrounds or education levels create unspoken tensions in workplace or social situations.
Love
In This Chapter
Hidden feelings between Margaret and Thornton become sources of pain rather than connection, poisoning their interactions
Development
Shows love unexpressed becoming destructive rather than healing
In Your Life:
You recognize this when caring deeply about someone makes every interaction feel loaded with unspoken meaning and potential hurt.
Identity
In This Chapter
Higgins observes that Thornton seems like 'two different chaps,' showing how internal conflict fragments public persona
Development
Reveals how unresolved emotional conflicts create inconsistent behavior that confuses others
In Your Life:
You see this when you find yourself acting differently depending on your emotional state, leaving others unsure who you really are.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
This is not a test. Five prompts guide you through the chapter, from how it opens to how it closes, so you notice context and rhythm rather than facts to memorize. Sit with each question in your own words. When you see "One way to read it," treat it as a starting point, not the only answer.
- 1
The chapter's social gathering brings Thornton and Margaret into the same space under formally neutral conditions. How does Gaskell use the social surface of the scene to register the emotional reality beneath it?
One way to read it
The social forms, polite conversation, social calling, conventional dinner-table exchange, function as pressure vessels in Gaskell's social scenes: the more carefully the surface is maintained, the more visibly the emotional reality beneath it strains against containment. Margaret's flying fingers and refusal to look or speak are the tell; Thornton's anxious attentiveness, hovering for a word or look, is his. The social surface makes the emotional pressure visible precisely by covering it.
- 2
Higgins tells Thornton plainly what he thinks, and suggests that Thornton would have been the better for hearing it earlier. How has the relationship between Higgins and Thornton developed from adversaries to something closer to mutual respect?
One way to read it
The relationship has moved from organised opposition during the strike to something more personal through the mediation of the Boucher crisis, Thornton's willingness to hear Higgins's account, and Higgins's willingness to give Thornton his honest opinion rather than either deference or hostility. The frank assessment that Thornton would have benefited from plain speaking earlier is only possible between people who have arrived at enough mutual respect to risk it. Gaskell shows this transformation as earned rather than declared.
- 3
Margaret's observation about the 'power and influence which money gives' is a critique that could apply equally to the class she came from and the class she is living among. How does this moment position her socially?
One way to read it
The observation reveals that Margaret has developed a more complicated view of class-based motivation than either pure southern condescension toward northern materialism or naive admiration for northern directness. She can see that the pursuit of power through money is not uniquely northern but is dressed differently in different social registers. This double vision places her in an uncomfortable no-man's-land between classes, which is precisely where the novel needs her to be at this stage.
- 4
The chapter is titled 'Out of Tune.' Who or what is out of tune, and what does the musical metaphor suggest about the chapter's emotional register?
One way to read it
Several relationships are out of tune in this chapter: Thornton and Margaret have not resolved the discord between them; the social conversation is pitched at a register that does not match anyone's actual feelings; Thornton's engagement with his work lacks the zest that would make it resonant. The musical metaphor suggests that the problem is not a fundamental incompatibility but a matter of adjustment: things that are out of tune can be tuned, and the chapter is about the distance still remaining before any of these relationships reach their right register.
- 5
Margaret's close observation of Thornton throughout the chapter, including the final judgement about his zest, reveals how much her attention has remained on him. How does Gaskell use this attentiveness to develop the romantic plot without making it explicit?
One way to read it
Gaskell advances the romantic plot through observation rather than declaration: Margaret's careful watching of Thornton, her ability to read the quality of his engagement, her private conclusion about what he needs, all communicate feeling more precisely than any explicit statement would. The attention is its own form of love, and Gaskell trusts the reader to read it as such without having Margaret name it. The indirection is both realistic and artistically more powerful than a direct statement would be at this stage.
Critical Thinking Exercise
Trace the Pain Pattern
Map out Thornton's emotional journey in this chapter: What triggers his initial hurt? How does that hurt transform into cruelty? What happens after he lashes out? Then think of a recent conflict in your own life and trace the same pattern, what was the original wound, and how did it manifest as behavior toward others?
Consider:
- •Notice how the original hurt (feeling betrayed/jealous) is different from the expressed behavior (attacking Margaret's character)
- •Consider how unspoken feelings create more damage than honest communication might have
- •Think about whether addressing the real issue (his feelings for Margaret) could have prevented the cruelty
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when your own emotional pain caused you to hurt someone else. What was the real wound driving your behavior, and how might you handle similar situations differently now?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 41: Death Comes Without Warning
Margaret finally opens up to her father about Thornton's proposal and her refusal, but the conversation reveals deeper truths about her feelings than she's ready to admit. Meanwhile, the question of Frederick's future hangs in the balance..
