If Richard Armitage had lips he'd look Avon-y, wouldn't he? And I think My Client would rather enjoy running a cotton mill. I did think that the excessive number of proposals made it a bit MargaretSue, and there's no real explanation about why the ex-Rev. knew Thornton in the first place (presumably through the Rich Old Guy, but why would *he* know Thornton?)
I didn't so much see it as the tragedy of Mrs. Thornton as (like Little Dorrit) Portnoy's Conplaint With Goyim.
Armitage is a bit sharper of nose than Your Client, but the Nose Does Dominate. The Margaret-Sue-ness has been significantly toned down from the novel (where Bell sings her praises several too many times), but I find it quite touching, as she's easy to read as Gaskell's self-insertion (Gaskell was, of course, brought up by her aunt; Knutsford isn't quite the south, but it certainly hits the rural/industrial divide).
Oddly enough, I'm told that the bit I found most unlikely - Thornton's trip south in his shirtsleeves to pick a flower which seemed to be remarkably well preserved many hours of a hot day later - was authentic.
Authentic in the sense of from the novel? Not exactly -- he does visit Helstone & pick a rose, but much earlier -- the one he offers M is pressed, as I recall. And the shirtsleeves-on-train bugged me too, though I suppose it's an outward indicator of his social & personal failure. (One of the things I hate about novels of this period is the need to emasculate the men in order to make them safe for an equal relationship with a strong woman; though I suppose I should be glad he didn't lose a hand or an eye in a machine accident.)
The bit I found most unlikely, T sitting down to eat with his workers, turns out to be authentic, it's just summarised within the novel.
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I didn't so much see it as the tragedy of Mrs. Thornton as (like Little Dorrit) Portnoy's Conplaint With Goyim.
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The bit I found most unlikely, T sitting down to eat with his workers, turns out to be authentic, it's just summarised within the novel.
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