Mary Smith may be the novel’s narrator, but the fictional village of Cranford itself acts as the novel’s protagonist. Cranford, a small rural pocket outside the industrialized city of Drumble, almost seems like a fantasy that exists in a realm of its own, untouched by the modernized city a mere 20 miles away. The village of Cranford symbolizes pre-industrial England and the era of rural aristocracy. Instead of bustling with industrial innovation and the rise of capitalism, Cranford is bustling with female camaraderie and a collective dedication to their old ways.

The first major event that points to Cranford’s function as a symbol of the old era is the death of Captain Brown. The women of Cranford may turn a blind eye to the drastic changes happening outside their walls, but they can’t stop the changes from gradually invading their peaceful pastoral space. The Cranford women “vehemently petitioned against” the “obnoxious” railroad that neighbors their little town (9), their disdain symbolic of their resistance to change. When Captain Brown is “killed by them nasty cruel railroads” (33), the Cranford women are shocked and devastated. His death symbolizes the Cranford women’s fear of the rapid industrialization of the world outside their little village, but like a speeding train, they can’t stop change in a progressing society.