Shirley

This section is characterized by action and suspense: including riot, illness, and secrets. The battle at the mill in Chapter 19 is one of the most symbolically significant events in the novel and, along with its aftermath, it highlights several key characteristics of the characters involved. Caroline’s faithful love for Robert and her instinct to protect him is a focus of this section, and Shirley has to physically restrain her from putting herself in danger. Caroline argues that “It is natural that I should be at his side,” yet Shirley rejects this, sarcastically asking if she would do so “As queen of his heart?” and warning Caroline “His mill is his lady-love, Cary! Backed by his factory and his frames, he has all the encouragement he wants or can know [...] Don't be sentimental; Robert is not so” (330). The fact that Robert and his few men are able to take down a mob of two hundred also highlights his preparedness and, as Shirley notes, how he loves his factory above all else. Although Shirley was essentially a business partner of Robert’s and a close friend of a few of the other men involved, the fact that none revealed that they knew a riot was to occur shows how little these men trust the women, who might have been attacked by the mob if not for the Helstones’ dog barking. However, in the aftermath of the attack, Shirley’s eagerness to be of use to those involved shows her great interest in charity along with her quick and decisive demeanor. The sidelining of the women during and after the crisis, and their resentment of this, exemplifies how the novel challenges the conventions of A Woman’s Place. As a whole, the way the news of the battle spreads throughout the neighboring towns also illustrates how the neighborhood functions along the divisions of its personal politics, class, and gender. When Shirley receives visitors throughout the day, they notably all have different opinions on what happened the night before, which underscores the disparity between several factions within the area.

Caroline’s illness is another pivotal event in this section Shirley and it begins a trend of illness being used as a metaphor for heartache or personal angst throughout the novel. At one point or another, Caroline, Shirley, Robert, and Louis all fall ill or become injured or bedridden. Each of these instances occurs suddenly and follows shortly after a heartbreak. Just before Caroline falls ill in Chapter 24, she is present when Robert receives a bouquet of flowers from Shirley and his sister teases him about their relationship, continuing to crush Caroline’s hopes of ever marrying him. In the first paragraph of this chapter, the narrator foreshadows this illness and presents it as something that reflects Caroline’s state of mind, her frustration, and lack of purpose. During her illness, Caroline literally reveals her feelings for Robert while talking in her sleep, along with letting Mrs. Pryor see a lock of his hair she always wears in a necklace. Illness is used as a metaphor for heartbreak, with Caroline’s emotional tumult manifesting in her physically, and also as a device to allow Caroline to reveal things she could never reveal with modesty if she weren’t delirious.

The relationship between Caroline and Mrs. Pryor is often foregrounded in these chapters, leading up to Caroline’s discovery that she is her long-lost mother. For instance, Mrs. Pryor cares a great deal for Shirley, more than her other pupils, as readers learn in this chapter, and she and Shirley have a rather mother-daughter dynamic. In Chapter 21, after Shirley becomes angry with her former governess Caroline must console Mrs. Pryor and assure her (the motherly figure) that Shirley (the daughterly figure) is not really angry with her, thus filling in the daughterly role. Mrs. Pryor makes her desire to be attached to Caroline known, especially when she tells her how she wishes they could live together after Shirley marries and how she takes care of Caroline when she is ill. Before she reveals her secret, Mrs. Pryor’s growing relationship with Caroline leads her to understand that, though she outwardly looks like her father, Caroline is like her kind and loving mother inside. Shirley, a harbinger of truth, is not shocked by the revelation that Caroline is Mrs. Pryor’s daughter, as she knows the two of them better than anyone and has noticed their similarities from the beginning. As the onset of Caroline’s illness is representative of her heartbreak, the cure of discovering a real mother in someone who already feels like family to her further connects her physical and emotional state. She is enabled to grow in confidence and self-esteem.