Delhi, India

In North and South, Delhi, India enters the narrative when Margaret wears the shawls to show the guests before Edith's marriage. The shawls were imported, expensive, and a sign of wealth. Gaskell's incorporation of the Indian shawls into her narrative is meant to bring forth the importance of colonialism in British economics and society. Furthermore, it gives background to the importance of the manufacturing sectors that she weaves into the narrative later in Milton.

Shortly before the publication of Gaskell's novel, the British had been involved in two wars in India called the Anglo-Sikh Wars. These were fought between Indian Sikhs and ostensibly the British East India Company. The company had been backed by the British government, but it was not formalized until 1858 when the crown expropriated the company and India was officially absorbed into the British Empire. This event occurred only four year after the publicaiton of North and South.

The exploitation of India permitted the growth of Britain's economy especially in the textile industry. Prior to British colonialism, India was world-famous for its textile industry. A quote from Cornell University is quite à propos for our reading: "In the nineteenth century a Kashmir shawl was one of the rarest and most beau­tiful gifts that could be offered to any woman." But, for Britain, this industry was competition for their own manufacturers. Britain schemed to encourage the profits of corporations by placing tariffs on imported Indian textiles. This made fabrics like Indian shawls more expensive and a sign of material wealth for English peoples. Additionally, it had the effect of stunting Indian economic growth. Thus, cotton manufacturers in Britain--in Milton--owed their fortunes to the loss of prosperity of Indians (and on the backs of Black-American slaves, but that is for another project).

With this historical context in mind, the reader can see why the Indian shawls were so lauded by the women in the scene. They were a sign of one's place within British society. To be able to afford them meant that the person enjoyed a great deal of wealth. Additionally, because Gaskell is writing in the social-issue tradition, she means for her reader to consider how and why those shawls came to be so expensive and luxurious. It happened only because of the exploitation and murder or many Indian peoples. Not only is she concerned with the exploitation of British workers, but she asks her audience to remember the Indian peoples who are also victims within the colonial system. 

Water Gate of Palace, Dehli. From the British Library and taken by Dr. John Murray in 1858 after the Uprising of 1857 which led to the expropriation of the British East India Company. 

Works Cited

“East India Company.” MANAS, University of California, Los Angeles, southasia.ucla.edu/history-politics/british-india/east-india-company/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2021.

“Indian Textile History.” INDIAN TEXTILE HISTORY, Cornell University, char.txa.cornell.edu/IndianTex.htm. Accessed 23 Mar. 2021.

“The Fabric of India: Textiles in a Changing World.” Closed Exhibition - The Fabric of India, Victoria and Albert Museum, 11 Jan. 2016, www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/the-fabric-of-india/textiles-in-a-cha…. Accessed 23 Mar. 2021.

Murray, John. “Water Gate of Palace, Delhi.” British Library Online Gallery, British Library, London, England, 1858, www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/w/019pho000000052u00031…. Accessed 23 Mar. 2021.