Abstract：Mary Barton is a great novel which describes the conflicts between the working class of Mary Barton and the capitalist class of Hunter Carson on the background of English Industrialization in the Victorian era. The author figures out the increasingly intense labor-capital relationship and the poor life of the working class in realistic style. This paper is going to analyze the social hierarchy in the Victorian United Kingdom from the economic and political aspects and work to reason out the polarization and find causes for the gap between the poor and the rich. By doing so, it reveals Mrs. Gaskell’s social concern and the enlightenment to modern society.

Key words: Mary Barton; Victorian era; labor-capital relationship; social hierarchy; social concern

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1. Introduction to Mrs.Gaskell and Mary Barton-1

1.2. Previous Studies on Mary Barton-2

2. The Social Circumstance in Victorian UK-5

2.1. Political System-5

2.2. Economic Form-6

2.3. Thinking Pattern-8

3. The Social Hierarchy in Mary Barton-9

3.1. The Poor’s Starving to Death and the Rich’s Lavish Party-9

3.2. Different Attitudes Towards Love between the Rich and the Poor-10

3.3. John Barton’s Assassination-12

4. Class Conflicts and the Way to Balance the Gap-13

4.1. The Two Rising Class Conflicts-13

4.2. The Struggles and Yell of the Poor-14

4.3. The Way to Balance the Gap between the Poor and the Rich-15

5. Conclusion-17

Reference-18