All Battle is Misunderstanding

          Refreshing as it was to hear Carlyle bash the ones chosen to be the teaching and guiding force of humanity, by not only showing their duty to all persons, and not just by being labeled Aristocracy, but regarding all “hearts [which] are created by Heaven,” as having roles and a possible dream that everyman should be given what is his, along with the responsibility which Carlyle made his persuasive essay points to reveal who the real guilty party in the discontent of the Working Class; with all of the obvious comparisons to irresponsible parties of history, I was most interested in his opening statement of Chapter 6 “Events are written lessons…: the terror and horror they inspire is but the note of preparation for the truth they are able to teach; a mere waste of terror if that be not learned,” since I have been raised to believe that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (G. Santayana) and “history repeats itself” (noted to be attributed to Marx and Hegel). In any case, my Indian adage theory that one must “walk a mile in another man’s moccasin” before judging them is true as the theme for this week, again. 

          In any case, Elizabeth Gaskell’s romantic historical fiction, Mary Barton, the terrible and horrible event, which persuades the Aristocracy, or in this case, Mr. Carson, to change is the death of his most loved, and only son. Mr. Carson’s love for his son, is not what Carlyle views as a legitimate guiding force for leadership though. Gaskell is able to show us that one’s selfishness and greed, self-centeredness and personal gain are the misguiding variables in the upper classes of society. Carlyle states that the true insight and genuine understanding of the upper classes to the needs of the “under” classes, stems from the real battle of misunderstanding. If the parties were to know one another, the battle would cease. Gaskell completes Carlyle’s advice by having Jem and Job Legh converse with Carson about the master’s conduct and Carson’s personal duties. Carson admits that he is not capable of remedying the  evils the Working Class complain of. Legh adds that it is not power that the masters have that would eliminate the evils, but the lack of the master’s own suffering and sympathy towards the Working Class. Carlyle adds to this that “when there is no heart, but a monstrous gangrene pretending to exist there as a heart” is when the soul of Truth cannot create an Idea to solve any disease.