Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

"That's the worst of factory work, for girls. They can earn so much when work is plenty, that they can maintain themselves any how. My Mary shall never work in a factory, that I'm determined on. You see Esther spent her money in dress, thinking to set off her pretty face; and got to come home so late at night, that at last I told her my mind: my misses thinks I spoke crossly, but I meant right, for I loved Esther, if it was only for Mary's sake. Says I, 'Esther, I see what you'll end at with your artificial, and your fly-away veils, and stopping out when honest women are in their beds; you'll be a street-walker, Esther, and then, don't you go to think I'll have you darken my door, though my wife is your sister.' So says she, 'Don't trouble yourself, John. I'll pack up and be off now, for I'll never stay to hear myself called as you call me.' She flushed up like a turkey-cock, and I thought fire would come out of her eyes; but when she saw Mary cry (for Mary can't abide words in a house), she went and kissed her, and said she was not so bad as I thought her. So we talked more friendly, for, as I said, I liked the lass well enough, and her pretty looks, and her cheery ways. But she said (and at the time I thought there was sense in what she said) we should be much better friends if she went into lodgings, and only came to see us now and then."

"Then you still were friendly. Folks said you'd cast her off, and said you'd never speak to her again."

(Gaskell, pg. 9)

Through Elizabeth Gaskell's use of sarcasm, she shows the true misogyny that is riddled in Barton's mind. In this excerpt of text Barton is speaking of his conversation with Esther before she had left. The man states that he was simply frank with her, and was nothing short of kind. Although, Gaskell shines through with exaggeration, "My Mary shall never work in a factory, that I'm determined on. You see Esther spent her money in dress, thinking to set off her pretty face; and got to come home so late at night, that at last I told her my mind". Gaskell compares the two sisters through Barton to show his feelings towards Esther in a "kind" way. By saying that Mary would never do such a thing for she is Barton's, and Esther could end up a street-walker by simply being a woman who is in charge of herself and makes her own money, truly exemplifies the man's feelings towards women in general. Barton expresses his dislike for Esther and strong women by saying how distasteful it is to be a woman who does as she pleases instead of one who simply sits still and looks pretty. The sarcasm comes through when Barton states how he truly loves Esther and that is why he is telling her how wrong she is living her life this way, and at the end with "Then you still were friendly.". None of what Barton stated was any of his business, nor was it kind or said from a kind place. Therefore, Barton seems to be a misogynist and Gaskell shows this through comparison, irony and sarcasm.