Values?

In Cranford it seems as if the ladies are hesitant about doing anything that is out of the ordinary or doesn’t fit their status. Dr. Hanrahan mentioned on Monday that in Cranford, Gaskell “explores the framework of meaning where the juxtaposition of dissonant codes of belief leads to a more tolerant understanding of the values that unite humanity” (x). I guess that is apparent in the incident in chapter 8. The ladies are trying to figure out what to call Mrs. Jaimeson’s house guest. Lady Glemire. Mrs. Jaimeson tells them not to worry about it because the ladies are not going to be talking to Lady Glemire anyway. The ladies of Cranford decide to snub Mrs. Jaimeson because they didn’t like her attitude. But later, their intolerance is forgotten when they attend the get-together held by Mrs. Jaimeson. It is not clear if the ladies are going to the party just to be nosy, or if they really want to be tolerant of the other person. I am having a tough time understanding this dialogue and getting to the heart of the different matters, I guess I just don’t get British humor. There are a lot of subtleties and innuendos that go right over my head. In the end, it seems they all got along just swimmingly.