Shirley · Chapter
The Wagons explained
Robert Moore awaits the arrival of his new machinery at Hollow's Mill, but the wagons arrive empty and abandoned.
What happens
Robert Moore awaits the arrival of his new machinery at Hollow's Mill, but the wagons arrive empty and abandoned. A note warns him that his machines have been destroyed on Stilbro' Moor by starving workers. The chapter provides historical context on the economic distress caused by the Orders in Council, war, and industrial mechanization, which has thrown thousands out of work and fueled hatred toward mill owners like Moore.
Themes in this chapter
Industrialization and Social Unrest
The destruction of Moore's machinery by starving workers illustrates the violent conflict between industrial progress and the desperate plight of the unemployed.
Social Class and Inequality
Moore's indifference to the suffering of displaced workers highlights the class divide; the workers' hatred of the mill owner reflects deep economic inequality.
Characters to notice
- Robert Moore
Waits in his countinghouse for the wagons; discovers the machinery has been smashed and receives a threatening note.
- Mr. Malone
Visits Moore at the mill, cooks mutton chops, and discusses marriage and domestic arrangements.
- Joe Scott
Moore's foreman; expected with the wagons but is absent when they arrive, having been attacked.
Key passages
“Misery generates hate. These sufferers hated the machines which they believed took their bread from them; they hated the buildings which contained those machines; they hated the manufacturers who owned those buildings.”
Poverty breeds resentment: the unemployed directed their anger at the machines, factories, and owners they held responsible for their suffering.
Explains the psychological roots of Luddite violence.
“Your hellish machinery is shivered to smash on Stilbro' Moor, and your men are lying bound hand and foot in a ditch by the roadside. Take this as a warning from men that are starving, and have starving wives and children to go home to when they have done this deed.”
The note left for Moore announces that his machines have been destroyed and his workers tied up, as a warning from desperate, starving men.
Direct threat from the Luddites, showing their motivation and method.