The title of the novel, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell reinforces the idea of ​​the conflicts surrounding urbanization since the north (Milton) represents industrialization and all things new while the south (Helstone) encompasses city life and the past. This essay aims to discuss the different layers of conflict between the north and the south and how the novel can be read as both an industrial novel and a romance novel. This essay aims to discuss how the novel addresses conflicts in society, which ultimately leads to the romantic interests of the novel representing a connection between the two worlds of the past and the present. The Victorian era prevailed during the reign of Queen Victoria, thus the realistic novel appeared at this time, with industrialization and the era of improvement, society felt both optimistic about the future and pessimistic about the uncertainties it contains. Realistic texts like North and South are a mimetic novel because they attempt to hold up a mirror to society, the conditions that prevailed in England at the time, and the conflicts that surrounded it so that readers become a reflection of the world. Gaskell lived at this time and therefore presents himself as a didactic writer, that is to say a writer who intends to teach a lesson. The North and the South reflect the consequences of industrialization by revealing, responding to and interpreting public conflicts, individual conflicts and societal conflicts. . Gaskell then uses the theme of romance to attract readers. The train and the invention of the steam engine play an important role in the novel as it is a modern invention and the creation of the train also led to the construction of railways which essentially changed urban areas.. .... middle of paper ...... with modernity and their resolve held hope and understanding for the future. This essay explained how the novel addresses conflicts in society, which ultimately leads to the romantic interests of the novel representing a connection between the two worlds of the past and the present.Works CitedB. Knezevic, “The novel as cultural geography: the north and the south of Elizabeth Gaskell”, SRAZ LVI, 85-105 (2011). Beck, RH “What is Romantic Love?” Margaret Hale and Ruby Ruggels respond. The Victorian Web. 1995, URL available: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/trollope/rhbromance.htmlCraik, WA “Elizabeth Gaskell and the English provincial novel”. London: Metheun and Co Ltd, 1975. Gaskell, E, “North and South”, London: Penguin Books, 1986. Walker, Hugh. Literature of the Victorian Era. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1910