In 1858 A Woman's Thoughts about Women was published, 7 years after The Half-Caste. In the work, Gaskell discusses the nature of gender and argues that current gender theory "totally [ignores] the fact that each sex is composed of individuals, differing in character almost as much from one another as from the opposite sex" (90). This later thought has roots in The Half-Caste because we have Miss Pryor deciding that she's on her own when it comes to Zillah and she shoulders the responsibility (71). Craik believes in how women are capable and shouldn't be shoved into a box as a whole sex.

Craik, Dinah Mulock. The Half-Caste, edited Melissa Edmundson. Broadview Editions, 2016