John Thornton (North and South)

John Thornton
File:North-south-426.jpg Richard Armitage as John Thornton
First appearance	North & South
Created by	Elizabeth Gaskell
Portrayed by	Richard Armitage
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Title	Mister
Occupation	cotton mill owner, magistrate
Spouse	Margaret Hale
Relatives	Hannah Thornton (mother), Fanny Thornton (sister)

Biography

John Thornton grew up in Milton, in the north of England with his mother, Hannah Thornton, father, and sister, Fanny Thornton. John's father committed suicide when John was a teenager, forcing John to quit school and work to support his mother and sister. John is able to save money with the help of his mother so that he can pay off his father's debts and eventually run his own cotton mill (Marlborough Mills).

Realizing the deficiency in his education, John decides to study under a tutor, Richard Hale. Mr. Hale is a former clergyman who teaches classics to pupils in order to earn a living. Mr. Hale's daughter, Margaret takes an instance dislike to John. She refers to him as a "tradesman" and views him as being part of a "shoppy" class that she does not like. Margaret especially hates the way the workers are treated by the local mill owners, John included. Mr. Thornton comes to represent the harshness of the North that Margaret despises. However, John is immediately taken with Margaret. "He did not understand who she was," when he first saw her, "as he caught the simple, straight, unabashed look, which showed that his being there was of no concern to the beautiful countenance, and called up no flush of surprise to the pale ivory of the complexion. He had heard that Mr. Hale had a daughter, but he had imagined that she was a little girl."

John's attraction to and eventual love for Margaret causes him to lose the control of himself that he is so proud of. He begins to display "feminine" characteristics such as being emotional and irrational. John's display of "feminine" tendencies was meant to challenge Victorian gender norms.