North & South discussion

This topic is for a game that I think should work quite well, in which we attempt to ascertain the effect on the story if one event or another had/had not happened. Quite simply, to start off with I will post a question starting with "What if...". The next person must try and answer that question, and then write a new "What if..." question.

So, to start off;

What if Margaret Hale had never seen John Thornton beating a worker?

They would not start of the way they did but they would never be what they were at the end because not one of them would really know each other and influence the other to change their ways.

What if Mr. Bell never left Margaret his money?

Margaret might not have been brave enough to find Thornton again, so it would have taken longer but I think they'd have ended up together anyway.

What if whatshisname hadn't died in his fall from Margaret's brother's push?

Then Thornton wouldn't have been brought into the matter of the inquest, and therefore would perhaps not have earned Margaret's gratitude for covering the matter up. Again, hopefully they still would have ended up together, but it may have taken longer.

What if Boucher hadn't died?

Then the problems between worker and master would have been harder to overcome - particularly between Thornton and Higgins as Thornton wouldn't have given Higgins a job as he wouldn't have had Boucher's children.

What if Margaret had accepted Thornton's first proposal, even feeling the way she did?

Ooooh, wow. That is an interesting one. I should like to think that the two of them would have come to know and love each other, seeing as they'd be spending so much time together. But it's also quite possible that would have meant Margaret would have been pulled down into poverty with Mr. Thornton, instead of being able to save his mill with her inheritance from Mr. Bell. That's definitely a hard one...

What if Bessy Higgins hadn't died?