It is a complex story, since if we limited ourselves to saying that the novel portrays Victorian society, it might be a superficial view, as this story marks a milestone in feminist literature.
The plot is simple: after losing their parents, the sisters Margaret and Hester Ibbotson arrive in the peaceful little village of Deerbrook to stay with the Grey family. The author describes the sisters and paints a picturesque scene of rural life, but through Hester, Margaret, and other characters such as Morris, Maria, or Hope, she reveals the equal intellectual capacity of women and men, and the injustice of considering women inferior and restricting them, in case they work, to a few professions.
She also expresses other ideas, such as that marriage should be based on trust and mutual love, and not just on money and offspring, as was common in her time. Because of its content, it could also be considered a romantic novel, as it revolves around the marriage of Hester and Margaret, but it also has a tragicomic tone due to the entanglements caused by Mrs. Rowland, which endanger many people, even those in her own family.
Alongside this, the author presents dialogues and reflections among various members of the village: from the butcher or the haberdasher, to the doctor, the Greys, the governess, etc. Another theme is superstition, and she shows how ignorance leads to it and how it takes root equally among both the needy and the well-off.
She characterizes and contrasts human types, perhaps in a very stark way: kind, generous, frivolous, strong, weak, gullible, gossipy, selfish, hypocritical, or plainly evil, showing how evil or goodness can take root in human nature.
It is an interesting story, with great depth and literary quality, very detailed and dense, reminiscent of the novels of the Brontë sisters, but it reflects the literary tastes of the 19th century more than those of today; it is imbued with a transcendent sense.
Harriet Martineau (1802–1876) was a British writer. Thanks to her father’s good financial situation and his belonging to the Unitarian Church, which supported education for women, she was able to acquire a solid education: she knew Latin, Italian, French, and German, and also studied astronomy, history, physics, mathematics, philosophy, and social sciences.
At the age of 22, her fiancé died (she would remain single her entire life). The poor financial situation her family fell into after her father’s death forced her to work as a seamstress to survive. From 1830 onward, she began writing with great success and became connected with the intellectuals of the time. She made significant contributions to political economy, sociology, journalism, and more.
In 1866, she supported Stuart Mill’s petition to the British Parliament for women's right to vote. Early on, she began questioning the concept of deity, which led her toward atheism. This novel is being published in Spain for the first time.