Edith Shaw Character Analysis in North and South

Edith is Margaret Hale’s cousin. Margaret has lived with Edith and Edith’s mother, Aunt Shaw, in London since she was a young girl. As the Shaw family heiress, Edith is spoiled, but too idle to be very strong-willed. She is also frivolous, sheltered, and self-centered, but Margaret loves her and indulges her. At the beginning of the novel, she marries Captain Lennox, and they live in Corfu for a time before resettling in London. They have two children by the end of the book, including Sholto Lennox, a son.

Edith Shaw Quotes in North and South

The North and South quotes below are all either spoken by Edith Shaw or refer to Edith Shaw. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Penguin edition of North and South published in 1996.

“But, Margaret, don’t get to use these horrid Milton words. ‘Slack of work:’ it is a provincialism. What will your aunt Shaw say, if she hears you use it on her return?”

“Oh, mamma! Don’t try and make a bugbear out of aunt Shaw,” said Margaret, laughing. “Edith picked up all sorts of military slang from Captain Lennox, and aunt Shaw never took any notice of it.”

“But yours is factory slang.”

“And if I live in a factory town, I must speak factory language when I want it.”

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker), , ,

Page Number and Citation: 233

Explanation and Analysis:

Edith Shaw Character Timeline in North and South

The timeline below shows where the character Edith Shaw appears in North and South. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Religious Diversity and Conscience Theme Icon

Margaret Hale is with her cousin, Edith Shaw, in the drawing-room of their home in Harley Street, London. The two have been... (full context)

While Edith naps, Margaret thinks about her upcoming move and listens to her Aunt Shaw, who is... (full context)

...pay her a visit there, which Margaret encourages, then excuses herself to turn pages while Edith plays the piano. Then Captain Lennox arrives, breaking up the party. Henry observes the two... (full context)

After Edith’s wedding, Margaret accompanies her father home on the train to Helstone from London. Fresh from... (full context)

Personal Character, Environment, and Change Theme Icon

...Henry Lennox arrives at Helstone parsonage. Margaret greets him happily, excited to hear news of Edith. While waiting alone in the drawing-room, Henry finds the Hales’ place looking “smaller and shabbier... (full context)

...out from them by as thick a fog of circumstance.” Margaret reads a letter from Edith, whose new life at Corfu seems “all out-of-doors, pleasure-seeking and glad.” Margaret reflects on the... (full context)

...that day forward, Mrs. Hale increasingly becomes an invalid herself. As Margaret thinks back to Edith’s wedding a year ago, she thinks that she would have shrunk from the troubles to... (full context)

...the Hales’, Margaret has just finished relating Mrs. Hale’s last days in a letter to Edith and is in a softened mood. Mrs. Thornton is thrown off by this—“her sharp Damascus... (full context)

Back at home, Margaret receives a letter from Edith mentioning that the Lennoxes might move back to Harley Street. Unable to escape from hearing... (full context)

...Aunt Shaw, commanding the indecisive woman rather sharply to come to her niece at once. Edith begs Aunt Shaw to bring Margaret home with her to London. Henry Lennox pretends indifference... (full context)

...Margaret has leisure to reflect on the sudden changes in her life. Aunt Shaw and Edith pamper her, and she gradually resumes her old role of tending to Edith’s needs. In... (full context)

Edith weeps bitterly at coming into indirect contact with someone who might soon be dead. She... (full context)

...Lennox becomes her legal adviser and happily teaches her the relevant “mysteries of the law.” Edith teases her brother-in-law that she hopes their conversations will lead to matrimony, but Henry tells... (full context)

One summer evening at Harley Street, Edith, looking for Margaret, complains to Dixon that “I’m always expecting to hear of her having... (full context)

When Margaret comes in, Edith informs her that Henry has invited Thornton to dinner. Margaret tries to get out of... (full context)

...meeting for much of the next day. When he finds her hovering outside, Henry tells Edith to stop hoping that he and Margaret will marry. He is bringing Thornton with him... (full context)