In Chapter 7, as the Hales approach Milton, the sensory details foreshadow the industrial city's unwholesome environment and its stark contrast to Helstone's relative health and rural beauty:
For several miles before they reached Milton, they saw a deep lead-coloured cloud hanging over the horizon in the direction in which it lay. [...] Nearer to the town, the air had a faint taste and smell of smoke; perhaps, after all, more a loss of the fragrance of grass and herbage than any positive taste or smell.
Everything about Milton and its outskirts is dingy and uninviting. Even before they arrive in the town, the Hales see that the horizon is dark—a detail that foreshadows a not-very-promising future for them and a dreary existence for the population as a whole. Once they get there, their impressions are confirmed by the atmosphere's acrid smell and taste, a direct result of burgeoning industry. The loss of "grass and herbage" adds to the unwholesome atmosphere and the contrast with Helstone's green countryside.
The imagery persists in Chapter 8 as the Hales settle down in Milton. Though they are troubled by the palpably unhealthy environment of "smoke and fogs," they can't afford to go anywhere else.
They were settled in Milton, and must endure smoke and fogs for a season; indeed, all other life seemed shut out from them by as thick a fog of circumstance.
The "fog of circumstance" is a metaphor for the Hales' sudden removal from Helstone, sense of dislocation in Milton, and uncertainty about the future. Since fog makes it difficult or impossible to see where one is going or to move at all, fog imagery also reflects the Hales' financially reduced and emotionally strained circumstances. They don't have the means to live in a healthier place, and they feel cut off from the genteel village lifestyle they've always known before.
In Chapter 7, as the Hales approach Milton, the sensory details foreshadow the industrial city's unwholesome environment and its stark contrast to Helstone's relative health and rural beauty:
For several miles before they reached Milton, they saw a deep lead-coloured cloud hanging over the horizon in the direction in which it lay. [...] Nearer to the town, the air had a faint taste and smell of smoke; perhaps, after all, more a loss of the fragrance of grass and herbage than any positive taste or smell.
Everything about Milton and its outskirts is dingy and uninviting. Even before they arrive in the town, the Hales see that the horizon is dark—a detail that foreshadows a not-very-promising future for them and a dreary existence for the population as a whole. Once they get there, their impressions are confirmed by the atmosphere's acrid smell and taste, a direct result of burgeoning industry. The loss of "grass and herbage" adds to the unwholesome atmosphere and the contrast with Helstone's green countryside.
The imagery persists in Chapter 8 as the Hales settle down in Milton. Though they are troubled by the palpably unhealthy environment of "smoke and fogs," they can't afford to go anywhere else.
They were settled in Milton, and must endure smoke and fogs for a season; indeed, all other life seemed shut out from them by as thick a fog of circumstance.
The "fog of circumstance" is a metaphor for the Hales' sudden removal from Helstone, sense of dislocation in Milton, and uncertainty about the future. Since fog makes it difficult or impossible to see where one is going or to move at all, fog imagery also reflects the Hales' financially reduced and emotionally strained circumstances. They don't have the means to live in a healthier place, and they feel cut off from the genteel village lifestyle they've always known before.
