Chapters 53-57: 0.00—Rural & urban militancy. 6:25—Students & professors. 9:22—Leonor & Edelmira. 10:50—A passionate embrace. 12:01—Martin & Raphael. 14:25—Letter to Leonor. 15:23—On to the revolution. 16:57: Comedy & cowardice. 21:17—Interlude.

Chapter 58: 21:45—Loss of faith. 25:09—“La sociabilidad chilena.” 26:54—Secular Chile. 33:28—The bloodiest moment. 37:06—R.I.P. Rafael. 39:33—Rebels routed. 41:59—The larger picture. 44:10—Fragmentation of elites. 47:26—Chile in the global economy. 49:01—A regional conflict. 53:13—Why the small picture? 56:10—Interlude.

Chapters 59-65: 56:38—In Leonor’s bedchamber. 1:00:40—Martin jailed. 1:06:54—Exile & execution. 1:08:36—The prisoner. 1:10:00—Escapism. 1:17:24—Bathed in tears. 1:19:37—Epistolary epilogue. 1:22:58—Noble sentiments. 1:24:50—Los Almanes. 1:27:00—Remembering Rafael. 1:28:59—Interlude.

Conclusion: 1:29:29—Closing the book. 1:32:50—Characters’ fates. 1:36:50—Byronic Rafael. 1:39:15—The fate of the Molinas. 1:44:09—Don Dámaso, master-weaver. 1:48:55—Ruling class conflict. 1:57:04—Requisite reading. 2:04:24—Closing.

Text: Alberto Blest Gana, Martin Rivas. Translated by Tess O'Dwyer. Oxford Univ. Press, 2000.

Interludes: Frederic Chopin, Waltz No. 1 in E-Flat, Op. 18, "Grande valse brillante," performed by Arthur Rubenstein, 1954 ((Internet Archive).

Image: Alberto Blest Gana, 1860, (Biblioteca Nacional Digital de Chile).

Sound effects: Pixabay.

Click here for transcript

Contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Chapters 23-28: 0:00—Learning about lace. 8:53—Novel patterns. 9:56—Looking the part. 11:24—Dark eyes upon her. 15:10—A mysterious force. 16:59—Hopeless love. 19:49—Lover’s revenge. 21:11—Augustin & Matilde. 22:14—Bewildering emotions. 25:15—Coitus interrupted. 28:57—Dark passions. 31:39—A storybook hero. 32:33—Greed & blackmail. 33:44—Interlude.

Chapters 29-37: 33:56—Moist with dew. 37:08—Animal spirits. 40:46—Rafael & Matilde. 41:20—Melancholic voluptuousness. 42:31—Marriage & money. 44:28—The prototypical lowbrow. 46:33—Amador at the door. 50:10—Martin to the rescue. 50:51—The businessman. 55:32—Martin the savior. 58:16—Independence Day. 1:00:48—Making a spectacle. 1:02:17—Interlude.

Chapters 38-52: 1:02:29—Temerity & severity. 1:05:03—Suffering sisters. 1:08:44—Blacks in Chile. 1:15:37—Doña Bernarda’s rage. 1:17:56—Edelmira, bride-to-be. 1:19:10—Wedding gifts. 1:20:46—A message from Matilde. 1:22:12—Reeking of the would-be. 1:23:51—Her proletariat pride. 126:10—Victims & villains. 1:27:41—Blest Gana’s background. 1:29:14—Doña Bernada’s parting words. 1:30:02—Cutting the stems. 1:31:15—Sin & forgiveness. 1:34:47—Rafael’s retreat. 1:36:04—Joyous revery. 1:36:49—A glimpse of paradise. 1:39:51—Aiding Edelmira. 1:43:07—Suspecting Martin. 1:44:41—Singular haughtiness & majestic arrogance. 1:48:14—A tearful Martin. 1:49:07—Martin retreats, Leonor regrets, Rafeal returns, Edelmira remains. 1:50:21—Closing.

Text: Alberto Blest Gana, Martin Rivas. Translated by Tess O'Dwyer. Oxford Univ. Press, 2000.

Interludes: Frederic Chopin, Waltz No. 1 in E-Flat, Op. 18, "Grande valse brillante," performed by Arthur Rubenstein, 1954 ((Internet Archive).

Image: Alberto Blest Gana, 1860, (Biblioteca Nacional Digital de Chile).

Sound effects: Pixabay.

Click here for transcript

Contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Chapters 9-11: 0:00—Waltz time. 3:38—Martin benched. 9:33—Leonor apologizes, sort of. 15:14—The clubbing. 23:16—Leonor’s adversary, Martin’s woe. 26:05—Interlude.

Chapters 12-14: 26:38—Light & dark. 31:40—Balzac’s influence. 34:33—Visiting the Molinas. 37:09—The image of reality. 39:11—Adelaida & Edelmira & Amador. 41:56—The life of the party. 43:16—The quadrille & the zamacueca. 44:58—Barrios Altos. 47:08—Having fun. 50:38—The would-be’s. 53:02—A forlorn dandy. 55:14—Martin & Edelmira. 56:44—Would-be revelry. 59:27—Roping him in. 1:00:08—Interlude.

Chapters 15-22: 1:00:41—Street of ashes. 1:02:48—California scheming. 1:05:54—Martin & Adelaida. 1:08:11—The ignorance of men. 1:10:15—An obstacle to progress. 1:13:48—Political rhetoric. 1:15:43—“I believe in love, Senorita.” 1:18:38—Rafael’s aimlessness. 1:19:16—Horse fodder. 1:20:01—Radical & reactionary, liberal & conservative. 1:22:01—Seeking status. 1:25:36—The hacienda. 1:32:17—Stendahl’s influence. 1:34:44—Adelaida & Agustin, Edelmira & Martin. 1:36:18—Romantic recap. 1:38:00—Closing.

Text: Alberto Blest Gana, Martin Rivas. Translated by Tess O'Dwyer. Oxford Univ. Press, 2000.

Interludes: Frederic Chopin, Waltz No. 1 in E-Flat, Op. 18, "Grande valse brillante," performed by Arthur Rubenstein, 1954 ((Internet Archive).

Image: Alberto Blest Gana, 1860, (Biblioteca Nacional Digital de Chile).

Additional music: Igor Stravinsky, "Ballet: Grande Valse Brillante," Les Sylphides, 1909, performed by Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire, 1958 (Internet Archive);

"La Belle Carolina," The York Quadrilles, 1819, performed at the Royal College of Music, London, 17 May 2021 (University of Southampton);

"La Palma," performed by Alfredo Antonini and His Viva America Orchestra, circa 1940 (Internet Archive).

Sound effects: Pixabay.

Click here for transcript

Contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Chapters 1-3: 0:00—Criollo, Castizo, Mestizo. 7:00—European culture. 9:20—The poor provincial. 12:03—Out of fashion. 13:49—Authorial comment. 15:41—Martin’s appearance. 18:08—Tarnished silver. 19:07—A rich vein. 22:46—Family separation. 25:15—A silver lining. 27:54—An ideal beauty. 30:41—Noble Leonor. 32:39—Ignoble Agustin. 34:42—The ruling class. 37:17—Interlude.

Chapters 4-8: 38:00—Lost in thought. 42:09—Class question. 50:54—The divine Leonor. 55:43—Cultural allusions. 58:38—Seeing the Encinas. 1:01:31—A fight at the opera. 1:03:21—A fight on the plaza. 1:04:33—Skipping classes. 1:07:27—Bourgeois salon. 1:09:09—Meeting Matilde. 1:11:04—Political parasites. 1:14:01—Radicals & oligarchs. 1:17:44—1848. 1:19:20—The Society of Equality. 1:21:23—Doña Francisca. 1:24:15—Marriage plans. 1:25:20—Martin’s feat. 1:26:27—So-called liberals. 1:29:12—“She doesn’t despise me!” 1:1:30:33—University education. 1:32:21---Befriending Rafael San Luis. 1:35:46—A shield of indifference. 1:37:04—Closing.

Text: Alberto Blest Gana, Martin Rivas. Translated by Tess O'Dwyer. Oxford Univ. Press, 2000.

Interludes: Frederic Chopin, Waltz No. 1 in E-Flat, Op. 18, "Grande valse brillante," performed by Arthur Rubenstein, 1954 ((Internet Archive).

Image: Alberto Blest Gana, 1860, (Biblioteca Nacional Digital de Chile).

Click here for transcript

Contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Thanks to N.C. State University Professor Greg Dawes for responding to a draft of my analysis of Martin Rivas.

Chapters 31-32: 0:00—Mary’s trials. 4:47—Jem’s trial. 7:01—Beatrice Cenci. 12:20—Dear reader. 31:56—Interlude.

Chapters 32-33: 33:03—Courting Jem. 38:14—Where is she? 43:16—Mothers. 46:43—A wan, feeble figure. 48:30—Interlude.

Chapters 34-38: 49:36—Mary opens her eyes. 51:12—The blood-shedder. 55:43—Jem’s job. 56:22—Words of love. 59:20—Carson’s pain. 1:03:51—Child care. 1:07:27—The oppressed creature. 1:09:27—God’s plan. 1:15:58—Taught by suffering. 1:17:39—Crushed butterfly. 1:20:15—Canada. 1:21:07—Interlude.

Conclusion: 1:22:14—Unrepresentative representations. 1:25:36—Blaming the poor. 1:26:41—The animosity of irritated workmen. 1:27:47—Fear of violence. 1:29:00—Ideological confusion. 1:29:52—Extreme and unrepresentative. 133:13—Good masters. 1:34:34—Too many deaths. 1:35:40—Love & labor. 1:37:26—An evasion. 1:41:48—Avoiding the problem. 1:44:48—Closing.

Text: Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton. 1848. Oxford Univ. Press, 2006.

Interludes: Frederic Chopin, Scherzo no. 3, in C# minor (1839), performed Jacob Katsnelsonm, 2015 (www.jacobkatsnelson.com).

Image: Portrait of Elizabeth Gaskell by George Richmond, 1851 (Wikipedia).

Click here for transcript

Contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Chapters 15-18: 0:00—Barton’s burden. 2:30—Communism manifesting. 4:46—A strike in Manchester. 7:27—Harry vs. Jem. 9:39—Masters & Men meet. 12:54—Drawing contempt. 15:26—Drawing lots. 20:50—“Good-bye to ye.” 23:23—The Irish. 38:28—Murder! 46:37—Interlude.

Chapters 19-30: 47:25—Anosognosia. 53:33—Arrested romance. 1:00:54—Victorian melodrama. 1:03L52—Esther returned. 1:08:58—A piece that fits. 1:10:54—Seeking an alibi. 1:13:35—House of correction. 1:15:59—Mary & Jane & Margaret. 1:19:11—Purple haze. 1:25:51—Going down to Liverpool. 1:27:51—Crossing the bar.

Text: Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton. 1848. Oxford Univ. Press, 2006.

Interlude: Frederic Chopin, Scherzo no. 3, in C# minor (1839), performed Jacob Katsnelsonm, 2015,(www.jacobkatsnelson.com).

Additional music: "Crossing the Bar," by Alfred Tennyson (1889), music by Joseph Barnby (1893), performed by the Edison Mixed Quartet (1913); UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive.

Image: Portrait of Elizabeth Gaskell by George Richmond, 1851 (Wikipedia).

Click here for transcript

Contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Chapter 7: 0:00—Morose & sour. 4:33—Typhoid. 5:03—The underworld. 11:31—Brute tribes. 13:53—The Davenports. 16:20—City life. 19:07—Rags to riches. 20:49—Meeting the master. 25:22—The ghoul. 32:17—Unpolished Jem. 34:39—Mary’s fantasy. 36:49—Interlude.

Chapters 8-10: 37:26—Unrelenting depression. 42:44—Criminal sentence. 45:47—Chartism. 49:17—When Harry used Sally. 52:04—Chartist failure. 54:26—“Song of Slaughter.” 56:26—Crawling through life. 57:41—Visions of the future. 59:34—After angry words. 1:02:58—Bad parenting. 1:05:01—Jem & Jane. 1:06:15—Opium for the masses. 1:09:56—A woman of no doubtful profession. 1:13:00—Interlude.

Chapters 11-14: 1:13:36—Dear Mary. 1:18:13—Mary, Mary quite contrary. 1:20:32—A little touch of Harry in the night. 1:24:39—An impossible distance. 1:26:05—Will & Alice. 1:27:21—Courts & grubs. 1:32:21—The story of Esther. 1:35:15—The seeds of vice. 1:45:11—Someone should die. 1:47:13—1848. 1:49:21—Closing.

Text: Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton. 1848. Oxford Univ. Press, 2006.

Interlude: Robert Schumann, Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor (1847), performed by the Claremont Trio, Jan. 26, 2025 (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum).

Image: Portrait of Elizabeth Gaskell by George Richmond, 1851 (Wikipedia).

Click here for transcript

Contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com

Chapter 1: 0:00—Backwater Manchester. 4:08—Cottage industry. 5:33—Proto-industrialization. 8:55—Urbanization & Industrialization. 11:42—Childhood in Knutsford, school in Stratford, marriage in Manchester. 14:38—The novel begins. 18:18—Factory girls. 22:36—A murky blot. 26:54—The Bartons & The Wilsons. 29:35—Lanky maggots. 31:49—Working women. 36:22—Class resentment. 40:15—Meeting Mary. 40:53—Interlude.

Chapter 2-6: 41:36—Meeting Manchester. 42:50—The Bartons’ home. 45:33—Some nettles. 48:10—Alice’s residence. 49:42—Silver Fork vs. Industrial novels. 50:50—Hidden lives. 53:46—Real lives. 55:42—Dirty looks. 59:17—“Oh, mother, mother!” 1:02:16—A changed man. 1:03:21—The necessaries of life. 1:07:42—Gaskell’s loss. 1:08:53—Mary’s work. 1:10:52—Meeting Margaret. 1:11:58—Mortality rates. 1:16:21—Alice & Will. 1:16:55—Scientific men in humble life. 1:20:50—Job Legh. 1:22:43—Mary’s coldness. 1:26:12—Extinguishing the fire. 1:29:20—Closing.

Text: Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton. 1848. Oxford Univ. Press, 2006.

Interlude: William Schumann, Cello Concerto in A minor, opus 129 (1859), performed by the Bamberg Symphony, with Gaspar Cassado, conducted by Jonel Perlea, 1956 (Internet Archive).

Image: Portrait of Elizabeth Gaskell by George Richmond, 1851 (Wikipedia).

Click here for transcript

Contact me: jimjneilson@gmail.com