Mary Barton is a story of material temptation, sexual seduction, and spiritual transformation. The character Mary Barton is a poor girl with considerable material ambitions who is seduced by the lavish wealth of her wealthy suitor. Mary's lifelong poverty leaves her with a fervent desire to secure material comforts. Her experience as a dressmaker in a frivolous milliner also imbues her with a trace of vanity. This combination of vanity and materialism turns Mary into an aspiring social climber, which makes her highly susceptible to the seduction of the wealthy Harry Carson. Mary is tempted by Harry's wealth and treats his seduction as a golden opportunity for social progress. For the first half of the novel, Mary focuses on her goal of using her beauty to trap Harry into marriage so she can become a woman of means. Her attraction to Harry is entirely mercenary. By seeking to exploit her physical beauty and marry a man with whom she has no romantic attachment, Mary transforms herself into a sexual commodity waiting to be purchased by a man who can afford her. However, Mary experiences a life-changing epiphany in the middle of the novel that completely alters her outlook on life. This epiphany cleanses her of her vanity and forces her to end her romantic involvement with Harry. After freeing herself from Harry Carson, Mary undergoes a startling transformation from passive lover to self-reliant, independent woman. Mary's experience demonstrates that there is more than one path through which a woman can gain comfort and success. Becoming self-sufficient is far less destructive than selling yourself as a disposable sexual commodity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To understand Mary's initial attraction to Harry Carson, it is important to understand Mary's character. In the first half of the novel, Mary Barton is a vain and materialistic woman. His superficial ambitions are a direct result of his living environment. As a slum dweller in an industrial city, Mary was born into poverty and has always lived in abject poverty. For as long as she can remember, the people around her have been plagued by a lack of the necessities of life. These slum dwellers are known for their intense materialistic obsession. The emaciated and hungry people around Mary are focused on obtaining “food, light, and warmth” (Gaskell 98). Their materialistic outlook is not instigated by greed or avarice, but because they are dying for lack of basic necessities. Surrounded by “pain and want” (209) and witnessing the daily sight of hungry children and worry-stressed parents, it is natural for Maria to develop materialistic goals. She becomes desperate in trying to extricate herself from her position of poverty. Her family's financial needs make her “ambitious” (122) and enterprising. Her practical outlook on life gives her the capacity for “practical cunning” (122) and transforms her into a social achiever. At this stage of her life, Mary's most ardent desire is to climb the social ladder and lift her family from the mire of poverty into a life of relative comfort and well-being (121). Mary's vanity is also the product of her environment. When she finds work as a seamstress in a fashionable millinery, Mary enters a decadent world of frivolity. The millinery is famous for its luxurious atmosphere where most conversations center on "fashion, clothing, and parties" (143). It is an imaginary world, completely out of place with the poverty-stricken conditions Mary returns tohouse. Mary spends her days making dresses and other finery that elegant women will find attractive. His entire existence is dedicated to beautifying his customers with decorations and ornaments. Not surprisingly, Mary's daily contact with these decorative objects makes her susceptible to the seductive influence of beautiful clothes and elegant appearances (122). These beautiful ornaments beckon Mary and awaken a new kind of hunger in her young and impressionable mind (122). As an uneducated woman, Mary only knows what she sees around her, making her even more vulnerable to the temptation of wealth. Serving the elegant customers of the millinery, Mary develops a desire to become a member of that privileged class. She is fascinated by the lifestyle of nobility and holds out hope that she can one day lead a similar lifestyle "doing all the elegant things that belong to nobility" (122). Mary gradually begins to become careful about her appearance and spends her time deciding “what dress she should wear” (63). She dreams of the day when she will become a ladylike lady, living a life full of leisure. He begins to experience pleasure by transforming himself into a decorative object (63) and “making an impression” (63) on others through his appearance. Mary's newfound vanity and materialistic outlook explain her initial attraction to the wealthy Harry Carson. She is ambitious and determined to improve her station in life. Mary's mentality makes her extremely vulnerable to the seduction of rich men like Harry. Mary is attracted to Carson because he has the power to satisfy her materialistic ambitions and lift her family out of poverty. He is the son of an immensely wealthy industrialist who owns vast estates and estates. His refined manners and his “neat and well-appointed” dress (107) all describe a luxurious and self-indulgent lifestyle. Mary sees it as a prize that she is competing to win. Although Carson has wealth at his disposal, Mary's beauty is his greatest asset. As a low-class seamstress who earns a meager living, she has very little chance of achieving social advancement through honest industry. Mary's only opportunity to climb the social ladder lies in her ability to snare a rich man. At first, Mary is determined to exploit her beauty. Her “awareness” (58) of her physical attractiveness gives her the determination that “her beauty should make her a lady” (58). This mentality reveals his awareness of the monetary value of female beauty. Her beauty gives her the ambition to aspire to great goals, such as marriage to Harry. Seeking to use her desirable body as a ticket into the world of privilege and wealth, Mary unconsciously treats herself as a sexual commodity to be traded. Through this lens, her body becomes something with commercial value. Any wealth that Mary obtains through the commodification of her body is therefore tainted, because it is the product of carnal exchange rather than that of honest industry. Mary's mercenary attraction to Harry turns her into a passive commodity. Secluded in the millinery, she spends most of her time dreaming of the day when she will be swept into a life of wealth and status. She is barely aware of the political turmoil around her (143) and is entirely "caught up in visions of the gilded future" (116) like Mrs. Harry Carson. However, Mary never expresses any feelings of love for Harry's person. When she thinks of him, her mind is always consumed by visions of the fabulous wealth and material abundance that await her. In Mary's mind, Harry is associated only with material things to the extent that his personality fades into the background.The reader soon discovers that Mary's true affection belongs to Jem Wilson, her childhood sweetheart and a man of her own class. Mary blushes scarlet when Jem appears and suffers great pain at the sight of his agony. She has a spontaneous outburst of affection for Jem with a passion she never shows for Harry. Mary's feelings for Jem are therefore natural and genuine, originating from true love and affection. In contrast, her attraction to Harry has no bearing on any emotional attachment or genuine love. Yet despite her affection for Jem, Mary's material goals take top priority. DaMaria treats her body like a commercial commodity. At this stage money becomes the determining factor in choosing a husband. She does not see her husband as an emotional companion. She rejects Jem's marriage proposal because he is only a “poor mechanic” (181), and could never place her in “circumstances of ease and luxury” (181). Maria therefore transforms the marriage into a commercial exchange. By rejecting Jem, Mary sacrifices her affection for the cause of wealth and social progress. Driven by material ambition, Mary is eager to gain value in the eyes of high society by "showing everyone [that Harry is the one who] would be happy to have her" (178). Her firm and emphatic declaration that she "can never be [Jem's] wife" (179) powerfully expresses her practical outlook on life. Mary becomes a pure sexual commodity through her willingness to surrender to the highest bidder, even though she has no serious romantic inclinations towards him. After rejecting Jem's proposal, Mary suddenly experiences a life-changing epiphany. Jem's passionate declaration of love catches Mary off guard. Since Mary has always loved Jem, all it takes is a small passionate statement from Jem for Mary to unleash her repressed feelings of love. After Mary discovers the intensity of her affection for Jem, she realizes that the most important thing in life is love rather than worldly riches. After this epiphany, Mary decides to give up her vanity (181) ending her entire relationship with Harry. He realizes that marriage should be an act of love above all material considerations. He also realizes that all worldly possessions are empty unless they are shared with the person he loves (181). After this realization, her feelings for Carson immediately change from desire to almost hatred (181). She hates Carson for "deviating" her (181) from the life of honest work and emotional truth. Mary transforms from a passive commodity into an autonomous and independent thinking woman. As an autonomous woman, she is free to go wherever her heart leads her. By choosing to marry her true love, Maria is once again a self-governing woman, governed by the dictates of her heart, and no longer a disposable commodity for sale to any rich man. By rejecting Harry, Mary narrowly escaped the fate of becoming a sexual commodity. Mary is right when she says she has escaped the brink of danger (181). In fact, she exposed herself to great danger by encouraging Carson, because his intentions are never honorable towards her. Harry always treats Mary like a sexual commodity. He never seriously thinks about marrying a girl so far below his social class. He simply wants to indulge in a casual romance with Mary by turning her into his lover. In contrast to the devoted Jem who loves Mary “with all his heart and soul” (190), Harry is a pure libertine who boasts of his ability to “get any woman in Manchester” (189). He uses Mary as a tool for physical pleasure, a product he can purchase and use as he pleases. Although Harry eventually proposes to marry Mary, it is entirely the result of impetuosity, 2000.