#mr. thornton

[jagzii]

not me rewatching North and South and losing my shit over Mr. Thornton all over again...

I cannot with this dude...

I just...

I will look back at you... Jesus Christ

[bluecatwriter]

Mr. Thornton in Chapter 10 of North and South:

[jaeausten]

I wish to marry you because I love you! You shouldn't, because I do not like you and never have! (requested by anonymous).

[the-labyrinth-of-me]

[bookwormchocaholic]

Less than 24 hours, folks! Voice your opinion!

[agrippinaes]

RICHARD ARMITAGE as JOHN THORNTON in NORTH AND SOUTH (2004)

[koskela-knights]

AW2 characters as JellyCat plushies

Alan

Saga

Casey

Alice

Scratch

Zane

Rose

Andersons & Bob Balder

Ilmo & Jaakko Koskela

Tim

Estevez

Door

Mulligan & Thornton & Nightingale

Ilmari & Jaakoppi Huotari

Bonus Characters

Blum & Ahti

Cult of the Tree

Bookers

Darling

Jesse

Big thanks to @copiasmic for the idea and for picking Alan, Casey, Darling, Ilmo & Jaakko

[obi-wann-cannoli]

I firmly believe that if you put book!Mrs Thornton up against fairies she’d be able to outsmart them pretty easily. She’d be pissed as hell at having to deal with them but she’s a woman careful with her words.

She’s over here playing lawyer for a deathbed promise with Mrs Hale, those fae wouldn’t stand a chance.

[vickyvicarious]

He and they had led parallel lives—very close, but never touching—till the accident (or so it seemed) of his acquaintance with Higgins. Once brought face to face, man to man, with an individual of the masses around him, and (take notice) out of the character of master and workman, in the first instance, they had each begun to recognise that “we have all of us one human heart.” It was the fine point of the wedge; and until now, when the apprehension of losing his connection with two or three of the workmen whom he had so lately begun to know as men,—of having a plan or two, which were experiments lying very close to his heart, roughly nipped off without trial,—gave a new poignancy to the subtle fear that came over him from time to time; until now, he had never recognised how much and how deep was the interest he had grown of late to feel in his position of manufacturer, simply because it led him into such close contact, and gave him the opportunity of so much power, among a race of people strange, shrewd, ignorant; but, above all, full of character and strong human feeling.

I love the way getting to know Higgins has changed Thornton. Actually, it goes both ways. And I think it's really interesting how we are told in an aside that we must (take notice) that they have to do so out of their established roles at first. That took Margaret to have a connection with each of them and encourage them to give the other a fair chance. And even then, it was far from immediate, but they both went out of their comfort zone. They both literally did so, even, with Higgins going to visit Thorton and then the reverse.

I also really like the way that, while Margaret's intervention was crucial in getting them to make that initial effort, she didn't make either of them do anything. She urged Higgins to ask for work, and she spoke up on behalf of the workers to Thornton, but she didn't directly get involved beyond that. When Thornton meets her at Higgins', he was already on his way to rescind his refusal, and actually resents the implication that her scolding is what's making him change his mind:

He came to tell Higgins he would give him work; and he was more annoyed to find Margaret there than by hearing her last words; for then he understood that she was the woman who had urged Higgins to come to him; and he dreaded the admission of any thought of her, as a motive to what he was doing solely because it was right.

Neither of them are changing solely for her sake. Higgins gives Thorton a chance thanks to her convincing him it's worth a shot, but primarily for the sake of the children he's taken in. Thornton gives Higgins the job in the end primarily because he is convinced by Higgins himself, his actions and words. And maybe without loving Margaret first he would be less inclined to notice those, but it's still not done just to please her.

And once they do begin to see each other as actual people and not representatives of concepts, they get along! They build their own respect and sort of friendship in her absence - something that takes active work, since they are accustomed to resentment of the "other side" of this issue. We already head of Higgins offering suggestions and Thornton listening and acting on them to make his workplace better. And this chapter we see the ultimate upshot of this respect for one another, with both men deviating from what they would have done in the past.

“Th’ measter’s a deal to potter him,” said Higgins, one day, as he heard Mr. Thornton’s short, sharp inquiry, why such a command had not been obeyed; and caught the sound of the suppressed sigh which he heaved in going past the room where some of the men were working. Higgins and another man stopped over-hours that night, unknown to any one, to get the neglected piece of work done; and Mr. Thornton never knew but that the overlooker, to whom he had given the command in the first instance, had done it himself.

Higgins makes the choice to see past Thornton's brusque/harsh attitude and recognize the stress he is under. He sacrifices his own time and unpaid labor to try and help out.

There was nothing for it at last, but that which Mr. Thornton had dreaded for many weeks; he had to give up the business in which he had been so long engaged with so much honour and success; and look out for a subordinate situation. [...] So he waited, and stood on one side with profound humility, as the news swept through the Exchange of the enormous fortune which his brother-in-law had made by his daring speculation. It was a nine days’ wonder. Success brought with it its worldly consequence of extreme admiration. No one was considered so wise and far-seeing as Mr. Watson.

The beginning of this chapter tells us that Thornton initially valued the idea of far-flung respect and riches, that "That was the idea of merchant-life with which Mr. Thornton had started." But he's grown to value his own town, the people he works with here, as represented by Higgins. And when he has to choose between risking it all on a chance to earn big, or stepping down and willingly choosing a smaller position, he does the latter. This isn't all about Higgins - his sense of duty to his creditors is a huge reason - but it represents him choosing to see the smaller picture of the people here, and to do right by them rather than just greedily grasping after what he wants. And in the end, the venture was a success, and no one would have known that he had gambled with their money rather than his own... but he clearly made the right choice in refusing.

All this reminds me of the much earlier debates about being a gentleman/true man from Chapter 20. (I believe the idea recurred a bit when Thornton first proposed to Margaret as well, when she kind of accused him of just doing what he felt he had to as a gentleman.) At the time, Thornton scoffed at the term 'gentleman' being overused and said "I take it that ‘gentleman’ is a term that only describes a person in his relation to others; but when we speak of him as ‘a man,’ we consider him not merely with regard to his fellow-men, but in relation to himself,—to life—to time—to eternity."

Which is a fair point, insofar as it goes, but his idea of himself as a 'true man' was lacking because he lacked enough consideration for other types of people. He needed more concern for 'his relation to others'. He was never terribly dishonourable or anything like that, but his inner world has widened even in the act of narrowing his focus closer to home. Higgins, meanwhile, has done the opposite a bit in becoming willing to look past the immediate negative consequences to workers like himself and recognize the pressures or difficulties that the bosses may be facing too.

Both of them are shown to be 'true men' now, even if only one would be recognized as a 'gentleman' by society at large... and in fact is knowingly retreating somewhat from the kind of role/social capital he could have held. And both of them do so silently, never revealing what they did for others. Higgins doesn't try to get credit or recognition for his overtime. Thornton stands to the side with humility as his brother-in-law (who refused to help him out in what seems a fit of pique at being rejected) is hailed as a wise man, never mentioning that his principles held him back from achieving the same adulation.

[nuclearwastetoday]

i should stop doing this

there will be more... anyway...

[driveintheaterofthemind]

Are You Being Served

Art by Quinlyn Nixon

[my-little-random-world]

DANIELA DENBY-ASHE 𝒂𝒔 MARGARET HALE 𝒂𝒏𝒅 RICHARD ARMITAGE 𝒂𝒔 JOHN THORNTON | Episode 1

NORTH & SOUTH (14 November – 5 December 2004) Screenplay by Sandy Welch Directed by Brian Percival

[twinklingwatermellon]

John “I hadn’t noticed the color of this fruit” Thornton 🤝🏼 Fitzwilliam “this is a charming house” Darcy

[a-finnish-janitor]

Alan Wake 2 Out of Context Part 3 - Part 2 - Part 1

[questions-about-blorbos]

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[morgan1413]

none of them are coping let's be real