Margaret Hale is the novel’s protagonist. Removed from her comfortable middle-class life in the sylvan south and thrust into the clangorous grime of Milton, she embarks on a journey of growth and enlightenment by humbling herself and challenging the status quo of her social class and gender. Through Margaret’s encounters with the people of Milton, she breaks the barriers of social class reforming her ignorance and developing empathy and understanding for the human condition. Once she becomes connected to the people and spirit of Milton, she releases her Romanticized views of her past and forges a new path for herself paved with the power of her moral convictions and humble service to the unification of her community.

In Margaret, Gaskell draws a character with which modern readers can identify. In the absence of parental stability, an adolescent is left to mind the house and herself: “Not yet twenty! And she had to bear up against such hard pressure that she felt quite old” (320). She is independent and decisive and becomes a strong person despite her parents’ weaknesses. Margaret does what is morally right but is socially unacceptable by society. When Thornton’s life is in danger, she tears off her bonnet and throws herself around his neck, shielding him from harm.