The Nineteenth Century Novel

Compiled by

Dr. Sarah Barakat

Lecturer of English Literature

Faculty of Education
Benha University
Table of Contents

- Victorian Age
Historical background of Victorian age
The Characteristics of the Victorian age
The features of the Victorian novel
Charles Dickens’ Hard Times

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The Victorian Age

The Reform Bill of 1832 gave the middle class the political power it needed to
consolidate—and to hold—the economic position it had already achieved. Industry
and commerce burgeoned. While the affluence of the middle class increased, the
lower classes, thrown off their land and into the cities to form the great urban
working class, lived ever more wretchedly. The social changes were so swift and
brutal that Godwin Ian utopianism rapidly gave way to attempt either to justify the
new economic and urban conditions, or to change them. The intellectuals and artists
of the age had to deal in some way with the upheavals in society, the obvious
inequities of abundance for a few and squalor for many, and, emanating from the
throne of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), an emphasis on public rectitude and moral
propriety.

19th-Century England

It is probable to be familiar with 19th century England, while not realizing it. The
19th century provided the backdrop for the engaging worlds written by some of
England's most prolific authors, including Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. While
Jane Austen depicted idyllic romantic scenes among the English nobility, Charles
Dickens showed the gritty realities of 19th-century life for many people, and how
class divisions mixed with a new economic prosperity defined 19th-century life in
England.

The Victorian Era and the Industrial Revolution

Queen Victoria ruled over England for a large part of the century, from 1837 to 1901.
For this reason, the period is often known as the Victorian Era. This was also a time
that Britain saw tremendous economic and industrial growth due to the Industrial
Revolution and the invention of the steam engine. The Industrial Revolution

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prompted a large segment of the British population to shift from agricultural to
manufacturing careers, as job opportunities moved to the cities. People flocked to
urban areas like London and Birmingham for work in factories, especially in the
textile industry.

Class Divisions in 19th-Century England

New economic opportunities during this time helped to boost life expectancy and
quality of life, but they also reinforced class divisions that had existed in Britain for
centuries. Previously, England was controlled by the landed gentry, or wealthy land
holders who gained their status through family lineages. During Victorian times, the
landed gentry became wealthy business owners who still controlled politics and the
economy.

One positive social outcome of the Industrial Revolution was the development of
skilled labor, which led to the rise of a middle class. The middle class consisted of
newly educated experts in industrial technologies, along with other college-educated
professionals like doctors, engineers, and lawyers. It also included people who
worked as teachers, governesses, clerks, and other white-collar workers who were
not paid as much but still saw a distinction between themselves and the lower classes.

The rise of the middle class put pressures on the upper classes for increased
representation, which resulted in a series of reform acts giving commoners increased
representation in parliament. Although the middle class was gaining real traction in
19th-century England, a third class of unskilled laborers, known as the underclass,
were a blemish on all of Victorian society. The British underclass worked menial
jobs when they were available, and there were no labor laws to protect them from
abuses. Child labor was prevalent; children were used to crawl into small work
spaces in jobs such as mining and chimney sweeping. Many women turned to

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prostitution, which was considered to be a horrible crime under Victorian values,
which called for dignity and restraint, especially when it came to sexuality.
Prostitution and child labor showed clear contradictions by the ruling class of
claiming propriety on the one hand but showing a total lack of regard for human
welfare on the other.

Nineteenth Century Novelist

The nineteenth-century novelists are also known as Victorian novelists and it was
considered as the greatest age of English novel. During this period, many famous
novelists wrote a number of great novels. Generally the subject matter of the
Victorian novel was social life and relationship such as love, marriage, quarrelling
and reconciliation, social gatherings, gain and loss of money and so on. Some great
novelist of this period also created the complexities of symbolic meaning.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen is the first great English woman novelist. She raised the whole genre to
a new level of art. Though, she wrote her novels in the troubled years of the French
Revolution, which present calm pictures of social life. In her novel, she shows a
remarkable insight into the relation between social convention and individual
temperament. Some of her great novels include Sense and Sensibility, Pride and
Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion and so on. She brought the novel of
manners and family life to its highest point of perfection. Her novels have nothing
to do with the ugliness of the outside world. Her knowledge of social life was very
deep and true. She has painted her characters in a remarkable way, but the young
men in her novels are less attractive.

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Charles Dickens

He is one of the greatest English novelists. He gave the English novel and new life,
place and importance. His novels reveal the social evils of his time caused by the
industrial development in England. He had a keen eye for lively characters and
colorful urban life. Some of his major novels are Oliver Twist, David Copperfield,
Nicholas Nickleby and so on. Most of his novels are crowded with characters like
hungry children, thieves, murderers, men in debt, poor and dirty men and women.
Unpleasant situations, sad and miserable scenes are very common with them.
However, he has presented the exact picture of social evils, and in a deep sense, he
had a corrective desire behind his writing.

Novel

The Victorian era was the great age of the English novel—realistic, thickly plotted,
crowded with characters, and long. It was the ideal form to describe contemporary
life and to entertain the middle class. The novels of Charles Dickens, full to
overflowing with drama, humor, and an endless variety of vivid characters and plot
complications, nonetheless spare nothing in their portrayal of what urban life was
like for all classes. William Makepeace Thackeray is well- known for Vanity
Fair (1848), which wickedly satirizes hypocrisy and greed.

Emily Brontë's (see Brontë , family) single novel, Wuthering Heights (1847), is a
unique masterpiece propelled by a vision of elemental passions but controlled by an
uncompromising artistic sense. The fine novels of Emily's sister Charlotte Brontë,
especially Jane Eyre (1847) and Villette (1853), are more rooted in convention, but
daring in their own ways. The novels of George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) appeared
during the 1860s and 70s. A woman of great erudition and moral fervor, Eliot was
concerned with ethical conflicts and social problems. George Meredith produced

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comic novels noted for their psychological perception. Another novelist of the late
19th cent. was the prolific Anthony Trollope , famous for sequences of related
novels that explore social, ecclesiastical, and political life in England.

Thomas Hardy 's profoundly pessimistic novels are all set in the harsh, punishing
midland county he called Wessex. Samuel Butler produced novels satirizing the
Victorian ethos, and Robert Louis Stevenson , a master of his craft, wrote arresting
adventure fiction and children's verse. The mathematician Charles Lutwidge
Dodgson, writing under the name Lewis Carroll , produced the complex and
sophisticated children's classics Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
and Through the Looking Glass (1871). Lesser novelists of considerable merit
include Benjamin Disraeli , George Gissing , Elizabeth Gaskell, and
Wilkie Collins . By the end of the period, the novel was considered not only the
premier form of entertainment but also a primary means of analyzing and offering
solutions to social and political problems.

Nonfiction

Among the Victorian masters of nonfiction were the great Whig historian
Thomas Macaulay and Thomas Carlyle , the historian, social critic, and prophet
whose rhetoric thundered through the age. Influential thinkers included John
Stuart Mill , the great liberal scholar and philosopher; Thomas Henry Huxley , a
scientist and popularizer of Darwinian theory; and John Henry, Cardinal Newman ,
who wrote earnestly of religion, philosophy, and education. The founders of
Communism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels , researched and wrote their books in
the free environment of England. The great art historian and critic John Ruskin also
concerned himself with social and economic problems. Matthew Arnold 's theories

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of literature and culture laid the foundations for modern literary criticism, and his
poetry is also notable.

Characteristics of Victorian literature are likely similar because the artists were
inspired both by the art that came before them and the events occurring during the
time that they were working. That is Why, something can seem Victorian, but not
have been written in the Victorian era, or something written in the Victorian era
might not actually seem Victorian. For example, Charlotte and Emily
Bronte wrote Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights in what would be considered the
Victorian era, but those novels have much more qualities of the Romantic period.

Major Events of the Victorian Era

Some major events that took place during the Victoria era include:

• A huge growth in population. During Victoria's reign, the population of

England more than doubled, from 14 million to 32 million.
• There were also some significant improvements in technology. The Victorian
era slightly overlaps with Britain's Industrial Revolution, which saw big
changes to the way that people lived, worked, and traveled. These
improvements in technology offered a lot of opportunities for the people in
England but also represented a major upheaval in regards to how people lived
their lives and interacted with the world. Another characteristic of the
Victorian era are changing world views. In addition to the major
developments in technology, there were emerging scientific beliefs,
like Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, and those things were changing
how people in England thought about themselves and how they interacted
with the world around them. Most notably, a lot of people were distancing
themselves from the church.

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 • finally, there were poor conditions for the working class. The Industrial
Revolution led to the distance between the haves and have-nots growing at a
really high rate, and a lot of people (especially artists, like writers) felt
obligated to speak out against what they believed to be societal injustices,
which if you've followed any of the 'We are the 99%' movement, it might
sound familiar to things that are happening right now.

Chief Characteristics of Victorian Period

While the country saw economic progress, poverty and exploitation were also
equally a part of it. The gap between the rich and the poor increased significantly
and the drive for material and commercial success was seen to propagate a kind of a
moral decay in the society itself. The changing landscape of the country was another
concern. While the earlier phase of Romanticism saw a celebration of the
countryside and the rich landscape of the flora and fauna, the Victorian era saw a
changing of the landscape to one of burgeoning industries and factories. While the
poor were exploited for their labor, the period witnessed the rise of the bourgeoisie
or the middle class due to increasing trade between Britain and its colonies and the
Reform Bill of 1832 strengthen their hold. There was also a shift from the Romantic
ideals of the previous age towards a more realistic acceptance and depiction of
society.

One of the most important factors that defined the age was its stress on morality.
Strict societal codes were enforced and certain activities were openly looked down
upon. These codes were even harsher for women. A feminine code of conduct was
levied on them which described every aspect of their being from the proper apparels
to how to converse, everything had rules. The role of women was mostly that of

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being angels of the house and restricted to domestic confines. Professionally very
few options were available to them as a woman could either become a governess or
a teacher in rich households. Hence, they were financially dependent on their
husbands and fathers and it led to a commercialization of the institution of marriage.

Victorian Novels

Victorian Era is seen as the link between Romanticism of the 18th century and the
realism of the 20th century. The novel as a genre rose to entertain the rising middle
class and to depict the contemporary life in a changing society. Although the novel
had been in development since the 18th century with the works of Daniel Defoe,
Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Samuel Richardson and the others, it was in this
period that the novel got mass acceptance and readership. The growth of cities, a
ready domestic market and one in the oversea colonies and an increase in printing
and publishing houses facilitated the growth of the novel as a form. In the year 1870,
an Education Act was passed which made education an easy access to the masses
furthermore increasing literacy rates among the population. Certain jobs required a
certain level of reading ability and simple novels catered to this by becoming a
device to practice reading. Also, the time of the daily commute to work for men and
the time alone at home for women could be filled by reading which now became a
leisure activity. As a response to the latter, the demand for fiction, rose substantially.

The novels of the age mostly had a moral strain in them with a belief in the innate
goodness of human nature. The characters were well rounded and the protagonist
usually belonged to a middle class society who struggled to create a niche for himself
in the industrial and mercantile world. The stress was on realism and an attempt to
describe the daily struggles of ordinary men that the middle class reader could
associate with. The moral tangents were perhaps an attempt to rescue the moral

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degradation prevalent in the society then and supplied the audience with hope and
positivity. These moral angles allowed for inclusion of larger debates in fiction like
the ones surrounding “the woman question”, marriage, progress, education, the
Industrial Revolution. New roles for women were created because of the resultant
economic market and their voice which was earlier not given cadence was now being
spotted and recognized and novels became the means where the domestic
confinement of women was questioned. Novels reflecting the larger questions
surrounding women, like those of their roles and duties. In the latter half of the
century, Married Women’s Property Acts was passed, the women suffrage became
an important point of debate, and poverty and other economic reasons challenged
the traditional roles of women. The novel as a form became the medium where such
concerns were raised.

Charles Dickens: A Popular Victorian Author

In the same year that Queen Victoria ascended the throne, Charles Dickens published
the first parts of his novel Oliver Twist, a story of an orphan and his struggle with
poverty in the early part of the century. As the Industrial Revolution surged on, the
class difference between the traditional aristocracy and the middle class was
gradually getting reduced and with the passing of the Reform Act, the middle class
got the right to vote and be politically engaged in the affairs of the nation. While the
aristocracy criticized the work that the bourgeoisie had to do in the factories and the
industries, to maintain the supremacy that they had the privilege of, the middle class
in response promoted work as virtue. The result of this led to a further
marginalization of those struck by poverty and were part of neither groups. The Poor
Law that was passed made public assistance available to the economically
downtrodden only through workhouses where they had to live and work. The
conditions of these workhouses were deliberately made to be unbearable so as to
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avoid the poor from becoming totally dependent on assistance from outside. Families
were split, food was inedible, and the circumstances were made inhospitable to urge
the poor to work and fight a way through poverty. However, these ultimately became
a web difficult to transgress and people chose living in the streets rather than seeking
help from a workhouse. Dickens was aware of these concerns as a journalist and his
own life and autobiographical experiences entered the novel through Oliver Twist.
His novel enters the world of the workhouses, the dens of thieves and the streets and
highlights that while there was economic prosperity on one side, there was poverty
on the other and while morality, virtue were championed, hypocrisy was equally a
part of society. His social commentary entered the world of his fiction.

In 1836, before Oliver Twist, his serials of Pickwick Papers were published which
led him to instant recognition and popularity. It started the famous Victorian mode
of serial novels which dominated the age till the end of the century. It not only made
the reader anxious for the next serial to come and spread the popularity of the book
itself, but also gave the writer a chance to alter his work according to the mood and
expectation of his audience. His works enjoyed continuous popularity and
acceptance and Dickens as a writer became famous for his wit, satire, social
commentary and his in depth characters.

Bleak House, A Christmas Carroll, David Copperfield, Great Expectations are some
of his other great works.

William Makepeace Thackeray: English Victorian Writer

Thackeray was born in Calcutta, India and was also an important writer but one who
expressed his age very differently from Dickens and other writers. He is most noted
for his satirical work Vanity Fair that portrays the many myriads of English society.

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Although he was seen as equally talented as Dickens, but his views were deemed
old-fashioned which hindered his popularity. He did not readily accept the changing
values of the age. His work is seen almost as a reactionary voice. Vanity Fair for
example has the subtitle ‘A novel without a Hero’ and in a period where other writers
usually embarked on a portrayal of the coming of age of a hero, Thackeray himself
very deliberately opposes it. While the protagonist of Dickens’ David Copperfield
invites the reader to identify with him, Thackeray’s Becky Sharp is the conniving,
cynical and clever. Even his novel Pendennis, is a complete opposite of the novel
David Copperfield, although both were published the same year. Thackeray did not
identify with the middle class because hence his novels lack a middle class hero.
When novels were catering to reassure middle class self-worth, Thackeray denied to
give that assurance. Even, Dobbin, a middle class character in Vanity Fair, is not
completely granted hero status and a tone of criticism lingers on the character
throughout the work.

In The History of Henry Esmond, Thackeray deals with questions of not only of the
concerns of society at large but also of individual identity. While most writers
supported the idea of innate goodness in the individual human self, Thackeray
differed. For example the character of Henry Esmond is also not a completely
positive character and the negatives of his self, is perhaps Thackeray’s critique of
Victorian emphasis on the individual. An individualism that focused on personal
virtue and morality is seen as Thackeray to at the risk of selfishness bordering on
narcissism and self-absorption. His discontent with his age became more vocal in
later works like Phillip and The New Comes. While the former is injected with
autobiographical accounts and is goes back to the satirical tone of Vanity Fair, the
latter is a harsh critique of the material greed of the age and a critique of the
contemporary culture of the age.

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As a result of his strong opinions of his society and its issues, and a critical rejection
of the dominant concerns found in works of other writers of the same age, Thackeray
stands in isolation as an outsider to this circle due his skepticism of the changing
Victorian society. His stand did not change with time and lends to a social criticism
and commentary of a very different sort in his works. Catherine, A Shabby Genteel
Story, The Book of Snobs are some of his other works.

Women Novelists of the Victorian Era

The era saw a proliferation of women writers. The novel as a genre was initially seen
as feminine literature and as the literacy rate among women increased, a new need
for women writers catering to this segment was answered by these writers.

Mrs. Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell, popularly called Mrs. Gaskell wrote short stories and novels that
dealt with presenting a social picture of her society in the 1850s. While it was a time
when doubts about material progress reaching the actual lives of the ordinary man
were starting to be raised, Gaskell mostly gave an optimistic view of the time.
Gaskell’s North and South for example, seeks to present an answer to division and
difference by presenting a form of a social reconciliation. There is an attempt at
reconciliation of many divergent streams in the novel.

Mary Barton was her first novel, published in 1848 with a subtitle, ‘A Tale of
Manchester Life’ and sticks to the Victorian concern of presenting the daily life of
the middle class. Cranford came next in the form of a serial and was edited by
Dickens for the magazine called Household Words. It was received positively and
Gaskell gained immediate popularity for it. It centered on women characters like
Mary Smith, Miss Deborah and the others. However the book was also critiqued for

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its lack of a significant story line. She was also famous for her gothic style in some
of her works and this made Gaskell slightly different from other novelist of her time.
Ruth, Sylvia’s Lovers, Wives and Daughters were other significant works by her.

George Eliot

Perhaps the one most famous women writers, George Eliot still maintains a
canonical status. Her real name was Mary Ann Evans or Marian Evans and she
adopted the pseudonym George Eliot to escape the stereotype attached with women
writers and successfully entered the domain of ‘serious’ writing. She had a
controversial personal life and there too was not hesitant to break the norms of
societal feminine boundaries. Adam Bede was her first novel, published 1859, set in
a rural landscape and deals with a love rectangle. It received critical appreciation for
its psychological descriptions of the characters and a realistic description of rural
life.

Mill on the Floss, 1860, revolves around the life of Tom and Maggie Tulliver and
traces their life as they grow up near the River Floss. Historical, political references
to those of the Napoleonic Wars and the Reform Bill of 1832 inform the novel and
lend it a more intellectual and serious strain. Autobiographical elements also form a
part of the novel as George Eliot fuses herself partly with Maggie, the protagonist of
the book. After Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1863), Felix Holt the Radical, (1866)
came Eliot’s most popular novel Middlemarch in the year 1871. The novel revolves
around the life of complex characters and the Reform Bill of 1832. Subtitled ‘A
Study of Provincial Life’ the plot is based in the fictitious town of Midlands. The
greatness of the novel was because of the vast portraiture of country and urban life
that it depicts, its complex plots and characters, and its stark realistic projection of

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the time its set in. The role of education, the women question, politics, social
commentary, idealism are other complicated strands of the novel.

Bronte Sisters

Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte were the three famous novelist daughters of
Patrick Bronte, a well-educated man and a writer himself; and Maria Bronte. The
family together went through a series of tragedies where Maria Bronte died very
early and none of the three sisters could reach the age of 40. Charlotte died at the
age of just 39, Emily at 30 and Anne at 29. All three were educated by their father
at home and all of them were fond of storytelling since childhood. Charlotte Bronte
is famous for her novel Jane Eyre, published in 1847. The titular protagonist of the
book, Jane Eyre, and her struggles in life and love for Mr. Rochester along with the
process of her mental and spiritual growth are traced. The novel is believed to have
a feminist tone to it and the famous ‘woman in the attic’ character of Bertha Mason
raises several gender and feminist issues. Emily Bronte, the second of the trio,
became famous for her novel Wuthering Heights, published in the year 1847 and the
only book written by her. Like George Eliot, Emily wrote under the pseudonym of
Ellis Bell but after her death Charlotte published the novel with her sister’s real
name. The novel is the love story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Anne
Bronte, the last of the three, wrote two novels: Agnes Grey (1847) and The Tenant
of Wildfell Hall (1848). The former was an autobiographical work and the latter is
about a woman named Helen Graham who transgresses marital and social
boundaries to assert her freedom. It is seen a substantial piece of feminist writing.

All three sisters hence larger societal questions through mostly women characters
and the plot focusses on their life with themes of love and passion. They hence
enjoyed a large female readership and have achieved status as classics of literature.

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Late Victorian Novelists

Thomas Hardy was the most important writer in the later part of the Victorian Era.
He was influenced by both the romanticism of the earlier era and the social
commentary of Dickens. He is famous for the conception of the fictional town of
Wessex. Far from the Madding Crowd published in 1874, The Mayor of
Casterbridge in 1886, Tess of the d’Urbervilles in 1891, and Jude the Obscure in
1895 are his famous novels but Hardy was also known for his poetry. The late part
of the period also saw the rise of the ‘sensational’ novels by writers like Wilkie
Collins and they too were based on the life of the middle class. The Woman in White
(1860) and The Moonstone (1868) are Collins famous sensational novels. Anthony
Trollope, another writer in the second half of the era, was himself from a middle
class background and wrote the Phineas Finn (1869) and The Way we Live (1874).
It was the time when Lewis Carroll wrote his famous Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland published in 1865 and stood very different from other because of the
child fiction genre it became a classic of the Carroll’s different dreamy world that
stood in direct contrast with the realistic tone of novels that was at its peak. George
Gissing, George Moore, Samuel Butler, Henry James, Robert Louis Stevenson were
other novels of the era. Rudyard Kipling and his short stories based in India pointed
to the larger historical process of colonialism happening at the time. It was in 1877
that Queen Victoria became the Empress of India. Then also came George Bernard
Shaw and Oscar Wilde, another two most famous writers of the time.

Overview of Victorian Period

The age hence was important for the rise of the novel as a genre and form which
itself saw transformation within the period. From romanticism to realism, politics to
passion, optimism to pessimism, the novel could successfully deal with the changing

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mood of the society. Class, gender, individualism, society all were given space in
the novel. The period was known to have witnessed the massive change of Britain
from an agrarian to industrial landscape. All concerns informed the novel and the
novel was made into perhaps the most important genre of the age and the ones that
would follow.

History of Realistic Victorian Novels

The Realistic Novel and its Formation

The realistic novel was quite different than what has been seen with earlier literature.
The most popular form of literature had always been poetry. The realistic novel
changed that. This form of literature used journalistic techniques in order to make
the literature something closer to real life with facts and general stereotypes of
human nature. The attention to detail was made to just report the facts, not
commenting or judging on the scene or character.

The novels were about the common man, which also happened to be the struggles of
the lower class. These struggles usually included a lower class citizen trying to gain
upward mobility. Thus, a subgenre called Social Realism was born. One of the most
popular novels of this time is in the Social Realism genre. In Charles Dickens Great
Expectations, the novel goes through a boy named Pip’s life, as he unexpectedly
comes into money and is asked to become a gentleman. The novel follows Pip’s
struggles, and focuses on telling the whole truth about the character, both his good
and bad actions and the reasons behind them. He was meant to be a very tangible
person, one that the average person of this time could relate to. Pip was written to be
very “real”, with all his flaws and positive attributes.

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What is Realism?

Quite obviously, the genre of realism is dedicated to identifying what is real and
what is not. But, what exactly is “real?” Literature in Realism defines reality as
something that exists prior to, and completely separate from, human thought or
speech. Therefore, it is literature’s responsibility to accurately interpret and represent
reality. As literature attempts to do this, it simultaneously depicts the anxieties,
desires, and achievements of the Victorian time period. While Realism certainly
encompasses its own unique ideas, the genre continued to utilize the strengths of
empiricism and romanticism. For example, the topic of nature is still focused upon,
but realistic literature acknowledges the fact that the human mind is a separate entity
from nature. Therefore, realistic literature aims to answer the question of how the
mind can possibly know and/or understand nature accurately.
There are two main theories that assist in answering that question.Realism began as
a literary movement in response to and as a departure from the idealism of
the Romantic period. Realism emerged in literature in the second half of the
nineteenth century, most predominantly in novels. Realism was characterized by its
attention to detail, as well as its attempt to recreate reality as it was. As a result, plot
was no longer the central to the focus of the author, but rather creating interesting
and complex characters took precedence. Realism also placed an emphasis on
describing the material and physical details of life, as opposed to the natural world
as characterized by the Romantic period. Many Realistic novelists veered away from
the softer aspects of Romanticism, such as intense tenderness and idealism, because
they believed those characteristics misrepresented the harsh realities of life. Realism
emphasizes accurate descriptions of setting, dress, and character in ways that would
have appeared inappropriate to earlier authors. Realism, which emphasizes the

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importance of the ordinary person and the ordinary situation, generally rejects the
heroic and the aristocratic and embraces the ordinary working class citizen.

Evolution of the Realistic Victorian Novel

Queen Victoria’s reign lasted until 1901 and the literature that was being produced
closer to the turn of the century shared few characteristics with the earlier works of
the Victorian Era. Those writers at the end of the Victorian Era such as Oscar Wilde
and Thomas Hardy. The novelists at the turn of the century continued to explore the
problems in English social life, but explored other key themes as well. The greatest
departure from the early Victorian era came from these authors exploration of
themes such as sexuality and a focus on the ways in which science and technology
would revolutionize the world in the upcoming century.

Characteristics of the Realistic Victorian Novel

• An emphasis on the here and now

• Attention to specific action and verifiable consequences
• Realists evoke common actions, present surface details, and emphasize the
minor catastrophes of the middle class
• They employ simple direct language and write about issues of conduct
• Characterization is very important. There is often an abundance of characters
and social types

Criticisms of Realism

The Realistic novel was very bold compared to the literature before its time. The
realistic novel was meant to be like real life, so the literature would hold things in it
that were taboo before, such as masturbation. It also showed a lot of the unfortunate

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events. Critics complained of authors only focusing on the negative, that focusing
on the things that were falling apart were too unpleasant. Realistic novels, like real
life, didn’t always have a happy ending. It was also noted that not much really
happened in the plot of the novels. The attention to detail of the character led to little
plot development and payoff.

Representational vs. Revelation Theories and the Importance of the Word

“Idea”

Representational theories are specifically concerned with what separates the mind
from the world surrounding it. Revelation theories, on the other hand, are more
interested in the immediate knowledge of what is considered real, invoking either
perception or intuition to achieve that knowledge. Moreover, in this light, it is
equally important to acknowledge the word “idea.” How exactly does one define the
word? In Victorian Realism, “idea” can be interpreted in two equally meaningful
ways: perceptual or linguistic representation. From these concepts, one can see the
very direct influence of Lockean principles, which affirm that words function as
representatives. To genuinely understand Victorian Realism, it is almost necessary
to first acknowledge that nothing is “real,” (a revelation, as it were). Following that
understanding is the comprehension of the paramount concept of representation:
nothing is real until the human mind perceives it and assigns it valuable meaning.

Sometimes, Victorian realists of this time period admitted to being quite

overwhelmed by the idea of a gap existing between the human mind and the rest of
the world, or reality. One such realist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, an English poet and
artist, acknowledged how frightening this doctrine was, but at the same time, he
expressed attraction to it as well. It seemed that he found these representational

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theories to be endlessly fascinating, as he came to realize that his artistic products
might be entirely divorced from reality and the world around him. Perhaps it can
comfort an artist, if he is able to produce something beautiful through his own
subjective interpretation of reality. It can’t be an easy feat to create such art, and
subsequently allow others, and even one’s self, to search for significance and
meaning under the physical surface.

Victorian Realistic Art

One of the most famous realistic writers, Charles Dickens, directed his attention
more towards revelation theories than the representational. On the topic of reality
being understood as what is immediately available to one’s senses, Dickens further
highlighted the importance of memory, which he described as a kind of vision, or
way of seeing the world. Moreover, in his narrative-style novel Great Expectations,
memory is a key concept in the story, as Pip recalls all of the events from memory.
Some readers complain about the fact that the novel does not offer anyone’s
perspective other than Pip’s, but it is highly likely that Dickens chose to do this on
purpose. He viewed memory and revelation theories as very important to realistic
literature, and a narrative could be described as a kind of “written memory.” To write
the novel from such a perspective begs an important and highly relevant question
from the readers: How do we know that Pip’s descriptions and thoughts are accurate
representations of reality? The honest answer is that we simply do not, and this kind
of ambiguity leads to very interesting discussions about Victorian Realism.

Narratives and Suspense

Narratives were an extremely popular style of writing for Victorian Realism, as it

easily invoked all the theories described above. Along with challenging the notion

21
of what is real and what is not, comes the impression of suspense experienced by the
readers. By suspense, the obvious interpretation of the word means that the reader
experiences tension and anxiety throughout the perusal of a story, but an attractive
one that motivates him to read further. At the same time, though, suspense also refers
to the action of actually suspending judgment as both a Victorian reader and writer.
But what is meant by “judgment?” Of course, it is only human nature to judge a
piece of literature as one reads it, but in the topic of Victorian Realism, the judgment
that should be suspended is actually referring to judgment of what the speaker in a
narrative is portraying as “real.” Moreover, the reader is expected to take what the
narrator says at face value. Additionally, judgment must also be suspended as a
reader makes assumptions based upon his unique beliefs. Doing so brings us back to
the earlier definition of suspense, in which the reader is meant to feel anxious about
the rising action in a narrative. If a reader refuses to suspend his judgment in his
assumptions, beliefs, and subjective interpretations of reality, he will not experience
the pleasures of suspense that are meant to be felt.

For example, in Dickens’s Great Expectations, a great deal of suspense arises from
the fact that Pip does not know, for the majority of the novel, who his benefactor is.
The pleasure of reading the novel comes from readers’ guesswork about the identity
of the benefactor. In general, when a secret emerges in Victorian fiction, and the
suspense is lifted, things often turn out to be entirely different than what was
expected. This realization is meant to be enjoyable for the reader, as it has most
likely kept his attention while he has read the story. Also, in Great Expectations, the
very fact that there are two different endings to the novel serves to create suspense
for readers, and further promotes more thought-provoking discussion.

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The End of Realism

Realism characterized such a valiant parting from what readers had come to imagine
from the novel. Critics, in some occasions, reasoned that Realism seemed to focus
largely on any negative views of life. Things “falling apart” was a large captivation
to most, however, it was quite the opposite for others. In some cases, readers were
complaining about how in realistic fiction, there wasn’t much of interest happening.
Their concern was also about how everything seemed to be more about talking and
there wasn’t enough action to back anything up. Henry James, as a prime example,
was criticized for his loquaciousness.

Realism had turned to Naturalism towards the end of the nineteenth century. With
Naturalism, writers defined their character using their heredity and history. Qualities
that people found distasteful in Realism, which was the fixation with character and
the thoroughly dull plots, was intensified by Naturalism. The impact was uniquely
because of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution that inspired other writers to branch
out into something that differs from Realism. Whereas Realism seeks only to
describe subjects as they really are, naturalism also endeavors to govern
“scientifically” the underlying forces, like the heredity and history, manipulating all
of the actions of the subjects.

Popularity of the Realistic Victorian Novel

The most popular novels of the Victorian age were realistic, thickly plotted, crowded
with characters, and long. Describing contemporary life and entertainment for the
middle class. According to Merriam Webster, popularity is the “state of being liked,
enjoyed, accepted, or done by a large number of people”. So the popularity of the
realistic Victorian Novel would be entirely dependent on the people who read them.

23
For example, Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations was originally released
weekly in newspaper publications and people enjoyed it so much that it became in
high demand quickly, and eventually it was turned into a one novel. The realistic
Victorian novels became popular because it was the first time characters in a novel
were similar and connected to the people of the middle class.

The Victorian Era (1832–1901)

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

The Victorian Age—the era when the sun never set on the British Empire, a time
when the upper classes of Britain felt their society was the epitome of prosperity,
progress, and virtue—Dickens’s words, however, could apply to his own Victorian
age as well as they apply to the French Revolution setting of his novel. The Victorian
Era was a time of contrasts—poverty as well as prosperity, degrading manual labor
as well as technological progress, and depravity as well as virtue.

Victorian Conflicts

The Victorian Era was, in many ways, paradoxically “the best times” and “the worst
of times.”

Conflicts of Morality

Queen Victoria embodied ideals of virtue, modesty, and honor. In fact, the
term Victorian has, in the past been almost a synonym for prim, prudish behavior.
At the same time, London and other British cities had countless gaming halls which
provided venues not just for gambling but also opium dens and prostitution. With
24
the influx of population into the cities, desperate working class women turned to
prostitution in attempts to support themselves and their children. Historian Judity
Walkowitz reports that 19th century cities had 1 prostitute for every 12 adult males
(quoted in “The Great Social Evil”: Victorian Prostitution by Prof. Christine Roth).
Because of rampant sexually transmitted diseases among the British military,
Parliament passed a series of Contagious Diseases Acts in the 1860s. These acts
allowed police to detain any woman suspected of having a sexually transmitted
disease and to force her to submit to exams that were considered humiliating for
women at that time. Police needed little basis for such suspicions, often simply that
a woman was poor.

Thomas Hardy’s poem “The Ruined Maid” reveals one reason many women turned
to prostitution (ruined is a Victorian euphemism for an unmarried woman who has
lost her virginity): in the poem, two young women converse. One woman, Melia,
has left the farm to become a prostitute. When she meets a former friend, the contrast
between the two women is pronounced: Melia is wearing fine clothes and is well fed
and well cared for. The virtuous young woman, doing honest work on the farm, is
wearing rags, digging potatoes by hand for subsistence, and suffering poor health.
Hardy forces his readers to question what kind of society would reward prostitution
while leaving the virtuous woman in abject poverty.

Conflicts of Technology and Industry

As an advocate of Victorian progress in science and industry, Prince Albert

commissioned the Great Exhibition of 1851, a type of world’s fair where all the
countries in the British Empire had displays and Britain could show off its prosperity
to the rest of the world. Albert had the Crystal Palace, a huge, modern building of
glass and iron, built in Hyde Park to house the exhibition. After the Great

25
Exhibition ended, the building was dismantled and moved and in its new location
was destroyed by fire in 1936.

Conflicts of Faith and Doubt

The scientific and technological advances celebrated at the Great Exhibition of 1851
led to another crisis in Victorian England: a crisis of faith and doubt. During the
earlier part of the 19th century, the work of Charles Lyell and other geologists with
their discoveries of fossilized remains of animals never seen before led to debates
among scientists about the origins of these creatures. Debates about the age of the
earth for some called into question the Genesis account of creation. In 1859, Charles
Darwin published his On the Origin of Species. Lyell and Darwin were among many
who contributed to scientific theories that some saw as contradictory to established
religious beliefs.

These scientific issues together with apparent lack of concern for appalling human
conditions among the lower classes led some to doubt the presence of a divine being
in the world and others to question the value of Christianity. Literature by writers
such as Thomas Hardy and Matthew Arnold questions the presence of religious
faith in the world.

At the same time, a conviction that Britain had a duty to spread Christianity around
the world became one reason, or to some an excuse, for British imperialism.

Conflicts over Imperialism

A desire to expand industrial wealth and to have access to inexpensive raw materials
led to the British occupation of countries around the globe. Although the United

26
States and other European countries participated in this type of imperialism,
the British Empire was the largest and wealthiest of its time.

Along with their desire for material gain, many British saw the expansion of the
British Empire as what Rudyard Kipling referred to as “the white man’s burden,” the
responsibility of the British to bring their civilization and their way of life to what
many considered inferior cultures. The result of this type of reasoning was often the
destruction of local cultures and the oppression of local populations. In addition, a
religious zeal to bring British religion to “heathen” peoples resulted in an influx of
missionaries with the colonialists.

A backlash of protest against the concept of imperialism further divided a British

nation already divided by class, religion, education, and wealth. While many British
citizens sincerely desired to share their knowledge and beliefs with less developed
nations, others found the movement a convenient excuse to expand their country’s,
and their own, power and wealth.

Conflicts over Women’s Rights

“The Queen is most anxious to enlist everyone who can speak or write to join in
checking this mad, wicked folly of ‘Woman’s Rights,’ with all its attendant horrors,
on which her poor feeble sex is bent, forgetting every sense of womanly feeling and
propriety.”Queen Victoria, 1870

quoted in Lytton Strachey’s Queen Victoria)

Ironically, as seen in this passage from a letter written in the royal third person by
Queen Victoria, even the Queen opposed women’s rights. Nonetheless, the Victorian
Era did see advancement in women’s political rights. The Married Woman’s

27
Property Act of 1870 gave married women the right to own property they earned or
acquired by inheritance. The upper classes were, of course, primarily concerned with
inheritances. Before the passage of this act, money or property left to a married
woman immediately belonged to her husband. By the late 19th century, women had
some rights to their children and the right to leave their husbands because of physical
abuse.

Education for women also improved. The idea Mary Wollstonecraft expressed in her
“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” in 1792 very gradually, over more than
100 years, became a reality.

The first schools for the lower classes, girls or boys, were Sunday schools organized
by churches to teach children basic literacy as well as religious lessons on the only
day they were not working full time. Not until the Education Act of 1870 were public
schools in all areas of the country provided by law. Even then, attendance was not
made compulsory for another ten years and then only for children aged five to ten.

A 19th century Sunday school.

Girls from the lower classes were included in the first public schools; however, girls
from the upper classes continued to receive their basic education primarily in the
home and in finishing schools for young ladies. Cambridge
University and Oxford University established the first colleges for women in the
latter half of the 19th century. Women were not allowed to attend the existing
colleges for men and were not considered full members of the universities until the
20th century.

Although there was an active woman’s suffrage movement during the Victorian Era,
women did not receive the right to vote until the 20th century.

28
Characteristics of Victorian Britain

As seen in Victorian literature, from the 1830s to the 1870s, Britain underwent
changes that transformed the lives of its people:

• British manufacturing became dominant in the world and trade and the
financial sector also grew significantly

• The rail network, begun in the 1830s, was largely completed by the 1870s
and had a great effect not only on the accessibility of travel and speed of
movement but also on the appearance of the countryside

• British power and influence overseas expanded and seemed to be

permanent

• The population grew enormously, from around 12 million in 1812 to 25

million by 1870

• This period also saw a significant shift of population from the countryside
to the towns and the consequent growth of large cities.

An age of optimism

The Victorian age was a turbulent period which, in many ways, saw itself as a time
of confident progress. Many people believed that Britain was leading the world
into a new and better age:

• More enlightened laws

• The benefits of wealth created through industrial development

• Greater political stability than in the rest of Europe.

Other important beliefs included:

29
 • Difference to class and authority

• Respect for the law

• The conviction that work is a duty which is good for the soul.

Social concern

However, these changes were not always positive. The daily needs and problems of
ordinary people included: poverty, poor housing, ill health, a horrifying level of child
mortality, hunger, long hours of grinding labour.

The rapid changes of the time benefited some people long before others. The social
focus of many Victorian novels posed key moral and social questions about issues
such as:

• The need for schooling and the care of orphans and other deprived children
• Cruelty to children and the corruption of children by criminals
• The problems created by emphasis on social class and newly acquired wealth
• The problems created by rapid industrialization and urbanization and the
conflict between employers and workers.

Political reform

The desire for change was reflected by the activity of Parliament in the second
quarter of the 19th Century:

• The Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 removed most of the legal

disadvantages suffered by Roman Catholics

• The 1832 Reform Act enabled more men to vote but electors still had to
possess a minimum amount of property before they could exercise this right

30
• There were several Factory Acts that - among other things - limited the hours
children were allowed to work

• In 1834, the new Poor Law set up the notorious workhouses, where the poor
were sent to work for their board and lodging

• In 1846, the Corn Laws, which kept the price of wheat artificially high, were
repealed, and the price of bread fell.

31
Who Was Charles Dickens?

Charles Dickens was a British novelist, journalist, editor, illustrator and social
commentator who wrote such beloved classic novels as Oliver Twist, A Christmas
Carol, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Great
Expectations. Dickens is remembered as one of the most important and influential
writers of the 19th century. Among his accomplishments, he has been lauded for
providing a stark portrait of the Victorian-era underclass, helping to bring about
social change.

Early life and Education

Dickens was born Charles John Huffam Dickens on February 7, 1812, in

Portsmouth, on the southern coast of England. The famed British author was the
second of eight children. His father, John Dickens, was a naval clerk who dreamed
of striking it rich. Charles' mother, Elizabeth Barrow, aspired to be a teacher and
school director. Despite his parents’ best efforts, the family remained poor.
Nevertheless, they were happy in the early days. In 1816, they moved to Chatham,
Kent, where young Dickens and his siblings were free to roam the countryside and
explore the old castle at Rochester. In 1822, the Dickens family moved to Camden
Town, a poor neighborhood in London. By then the family’s financial situation had
grown dire, as John Dickens had a dangerous habit of living beyond the family’s
means. Eventually, John was sent to prison for debt in 1824, when Charles was just
12 years old. Following his father’s imprisonment, Dickens was forced to leave
school to work at a boot-blacking factory alongside the River Thames. At the run-
down, rodent-ridden factory, Dickens earned six shillings a week labeling pots of
“blacking,” a substance used to clean fireplaces. It was the best he could do to help
support his family.

32
Looking back on the experience, Dickens saw it as the moment he said goodbye to
his youthful innocence, stating that he wondered “how [he] could be so easily cast
away at such a young age.” He felt abandoned and betrayed by the adults who were
supposed to take care of him. These sentiments would later become a recurring
theme in his writing. Much to his relief, Dickens was permitted to go back to school
when his father received a family inheritance and used it to pay off his debts.But
when Dickens was 15, his education was pulled out from under him once again. In
1827, he had to drop out of school and work as an office boy to contribute to his
family’s income. As it turned out, the job became a launching point for his writing
career.

Journalist, Editor and Illustrator

Within a year of being hired, Dickens began freelance reporting at the law courts of
London. Just a few years later, he was reporting for two major London newspapers.
In 1833, he began submitting sketches to various magazines and newspapers under
the pseudonym “Boz.” In 1836, his clippings were published in his first
book, Sketches by Boz. In the same year, Dickens started publishing The Posthumous
Papers of the Pickwick Club. His series, originally written as captions for artist
Robert Seymour’s humorous sports-themed illustrations, took the form of monthly
serial installments. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was wildly popular
with readers. In fact, Dickens’ captions were even more popular than the illustrations
they were meant to accompany. He later edited magazines including Household
Words and All the Year Round, the latter of which he founded.

Children

Dickens married Catherine Hogarth soon after his first book, Sketches by Boz, was
published. The couple had a brood of 10 children. During the 1850s, Dickens
33
suffered two devastating losses: the deaths of his daughter and father. He also
separated from his wife in 1858. Dickens slandered Catherine publicly, and struck
up an intimate relationship with a young actress named Ellen "Nelly" Ternan.
Sources differ on whether the two started seeing each other before or after Dickens'
marital separation; it is also believed that he went to great lengths to erase any
documentation alluding to Ternan's presence in his life.

Charles Dickens' Books

Throughout his career, Dickens published a total of 15 novels. His most well-known
works include: 'Oliver Twist' (1837-1838)
Oliver Twist, Dickens first novel, follows the life of an orphan living in the streets.
The book was inspired by how Dickens felt as an impoverished child forced to get
by on his wits and earn his own keep. As publisher of a magazine called Bentley’s
Miscellany, Dickens began publishing Oliver Twist in installments between
February 1837 and April 1838, with the full book edition published in November
1838. Dickens continued showcasing Oliver Twist in the magazines he later edited,
including Household Words and All the Year Round. The novel was extremely well-
received in both England and America. Dedicated readers of Oliver Twist eagerly
anticipated the next monthly installment.'A Christmas Carol' (1843)

On December 19, 1843, Dickens published A Christmas Carol. The book features
the timeless protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly old miser, who, with the
help of ghosts, finds the Christmas spirit. Dickens penned the book in just six weeks,
beginning in October and finishing just in time for the holiday celebrations. The
novel was intended as a social criticism, to bring attention to the hardships faced by
England’s poorer classes. The book was a roaring success, selling more than 6,000
copies upon publication. Readers in England and America were touched by the

34
book’s empathetic emotional depth; one American entrepreneur reportedly gave his
employees an extra day’s holiday after reading it. Despite literary criticism, the book
remains one of Dickens’ most well-known and beloved works. 'Dealings with the
Firm of Dombey and Son' (1846 to 1848)

From October 1846 to April 1848, Dickens published, in monthly

installments, Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son. The novel, which was
published in book form in 1848, centers on the theme of how business tactics affect
a family’s personal finances. Taking a dark view of England, it is considered pivotal
to Dickens’ body of work in that it set the tone for his other novels.'David
Copperfield' (1849 to 1850)

David Copperfield was the first work of its kind: No one had ever written a novel
that simply followed a character through his everyday life. From May 1849 to
November 1850, Dickens published the book in monthly installations, with the full
novel form published in November 1850. In writing it, Dickens tapped into his own
personal experiences, from his difficult childhood to his work as a journalist.
Although David Copperfield is not considered Dickens’ best work, it was his
personal favorite. It also helped define the public’s expectations of a Dickensian
novel.'Bleak House' (1852 to 1853)

Following the death of his father and daughter and separation from his wife,
Dickens’ novels began to express a darkened worldview. In Bleak House, published
in installments from 1852 to 1853, he deals with the hypocrisy of British society. It
was considered his most complex novel to date.'Hard Times' (1854)

Hard Times takes place in an industrial town at the peak of economic expansion.
Published in 1854, the book focuses on the shortcomings of employers as well as
those who seek change. 'A Tale of Two Cities' (1859)
35
Coming out of his “dark novel” period, in 1859 Dickens published A Tale of Two
Cities, a historical novel that takes place during the French Revolution in Paris and
London. He published it in a periodical he founded, All the Year Round. The story
focuses on themes of the need for sacrifice, the struggle between the evils inherent
in oppression and revolution, and the possibility of resurrection and rebirth. 'Great
Expectations' (1861)

Great Expectations, published in serial form between December 1860 to August

1861 and in novel form in October 1861, is widely considered Dickens’ greatest
literary accomplishment. The story, Dickens’ second to be narrated in the first
person, focuses on the lifelong journey of moral development for the novel’s
protagonist, an orphan named Pip. With extreme imagery and colorful characters,
the well-received novel’s themes include wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and
good versus evil.

Other Novels

After the publication of Oliver Twist, Dickens struggled to match the level of
its success. From 1838 to 1841, he published The Life and Adventures of Nicholas
Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge. Another novel from
Dickens’ darker period is Little Dorrit (1857), a fictional study of how human values
come in conflict with the world’s brutality. Dickens’ novel Our Mutual Friend,
published in serial form between 1864 to 1865 before being published as a book in
1865, analyzes the psychological impact of wealth on London society.

36
Travels to the United States and Italy

In 1842, Dickens and his wife, Catherine, embarked on a five-month lecture tour of
the United States. Upon their return, Dickens penned American Notes for General
Circulation, a sarcastic travelogue criticizing American culture and materialism.
Around this time he also wrote The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, a
story about a man’s struggle to survive on the ruthless American frontier. During his
first U.S. tour, in 1842, Dickens spoke of his opposition to slavery and expressed his
support for additional reform. His lectures, which began in Virginia and ended in
Missouri, were so widely attended that ticket scalpers gathered outside his events.
Biographer J.B. Priestley wrote that during the tour, Dickens enjoyed "the greatest
welcome that probably any visitor to America has ever had.” “They flock around me
as if I were an idol,” bragged Dickens, a known show-off. Although he enjoyed the
attention at first, he eventually resented the invasion of privacy. He was also annoyed
by what he viewed as Americans’ gregariousness and crude habits, as he later
expressed in American Notes. After his criticism of the American people during his
first tour, Dickens launched a second U.S. tour, from 1867 to 1868, hoping to set
things right with the public. This time, he made a charismatic speech promising to
praise the United States in reprints of American Notes for General
Circulation and The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. His 75 readings
netted an estimated $95,000, which, in the Victorian era, amounted to approximately
$1.5 million in current U.S. dollars. Back at home, Dickens had become so famous
that people recognized him all over London as he strolled around the city, collecting
the observations that would serve as inspiration for his future work. Dickens also
spent significant time in Italy, resulting in his 1846 travelogue Pictures from Italy.

37
Death

After suffering a stroke, Dickens died at age 58 on June 9, 1870, at Gad’s Hill Place,
his country home in Kent, England. Five years earlier, Dickens had been in a train
accident and never fully recovered. Despite his fragile condition, he continued to
tour until shortly before his death. Dickens was buried in Poet’s Corner
at Westminster Abbey, with thousands of mourners gathering at the beloved author’s
gravesite. Scottish satirical writer Thomas Carlyle described Dickens’ passing as “an
event worldwide, a unique of talents suddenly extinct.” At the time of his death, his
final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, was unfinished.

38
Charles Dickens was described by G. K. Chesterton as a man who possessed the
qualities of a young boy with no boundaries—mischievous and irresponsible, yet
passionately alive and relentlessly hopeful. Indeed, this prolific (he wrote novels,
novellas, plays, short stories, fiction, and nonfiction) and popular (he was the most
requested after-dinner speaker of his time) nineteenth-century author transformed
his own life into vibrant, imaginative fiction. He wrote about everything he saw, and
because his experiences led him from the depths of the poorhouse to the heights of
popularity, his writing established universal appeal. By championing social causes
in his works, creating vivid, unforgettable characters and caring for his audience as
much as he did for his pen, Dickens established himself as the immortal author of
Victorian England.

FACTS AND TRIVIA

• Dickens’s father would make young Charles stand on a tall stool, sing songs,
and create stories for the entertainment of other clerks in the office.

• Dickens admitted that David Copperfield was his favorite work. It was also
his most autobiographical.

• In Boston, four thousand people gathered at the dock to await the ship that
carried chapter seventy-one of Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop. When the
ship arrived, they asked the captain about a beloved character from the novel:
“Is Nell dead?” When the affirmative response came back, a collective groan
rose up from the massive crowd.

• At the age of ten, Dickens was forced to work at a factory to pay off his
father’s debts. Although Dickens himself spoke of this traumatizing

39
 experience only twice in his life, critics and readers agree that the two years
he spent there forged much of the material for his later novels.

• Edgar Allan Poe is said to be the only person who was ever able to predict the
conclusion of the complex plots in Dickens’s novels.

Social Classes of Industrial England in Charles Dickens' Hard Times

• Social Classes of Industrial England in Charles Dickens' Hard Times in his

novel, Hard Times, Charles Dickens used his characters to describe the caste
system that had been shaped by industrial England. By looking at three main
characters, Stephen Blackpool, Mr. Josiah Bounderby, and Mr. Thomas
Gradgrind, one can see the different classes that were industrial England.
Stephen Blackpool represented the most abundant and least represented caste
in industrial England, the lower class (also called the hands) in Charles Dickens'
novel. Stephen was an honest, hard-working man who came to much trouble in
the novel, often because of his class. He came to Mr. Bounderby one day
seeking a divorce from his alcoholic and runaway wife who did…show more
content… Because he was just a hand, he was quickly suspected whereas young
Tom was not until much later, because he was of a higher social order. The
ordeals that Stephen Blackpool faced were used by the author to show the
troubles that the entire lower class faced. Mr. Josiah Bounderby was used as an
example of the growing middle class or bourgeoisie. He constantly talked of
how he had grown up on nothing (which was slightly exaggerated, but he still
did grow up poor) and was constantly flaunting his wealth. He bought a country
estate, something that many middle class members did to imitate the upper
classes. He married a daughter of a wealthy man and hired a former member of

40
 high society to keep house for him. In general, he and other members of the
bourgeoisie attempted to become high society by acting like them.

• The final class in industrial English society was the upper class, a class
represented in Hard Times by Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, the elder. This class was
presented in the novel as being less worried about money than the bourgeoisie
but having plenty of it. The Gradgrind estate, Stone Lodge, was said to have
"everything that the heart could desire" (9). Mr. Gradgrind spared no expense
when it came to his children's educations (although he later found his methods
to be flawed) and was quick to donate money to those who helped him, such as
Mr. Sleary who helped young Tom escape to America. The novel portrayed
Mr. Gradgrind and the upper class as people who did

Charles Dickens Motivation

Every pore of Charles Dickens being, it not only gave him fame, it gave him
pleasure and even pain. Yet it also gave him a sort of super power that allowed
him to decisively express his criticism on significant topics such as the
Industrial Revolution and perhaps as equally important the French Revolution
and how these issues created unfavorable side effects on society. Likewise his
abilities delivered a voice for the neglected and overlooked lower class of his
time. Charles Dickens was beyond just

Charles Dickens was one of the Brightest and Most Influential Writers of His
Time
The British writer Charles Dickens was one of the brightest and most
influential people of his time. His many writings, including Great
Expectations and A Christmas Carol, have been efficacious in many lives and

41
have created a legacy of classics that will be read forever. Dickens, who was
born in Portsmouth, England, was raised in a poor family, in which he had to
work instead of attending school. Although not being able to go to school was
detrimental to Charles, it gave him a chance to begin his

Social Class And Child Labour During The Victorian Era

Peace & Prosperity Social Class & Child Labour during the Victorian Era The
year is 1837. The king is dead. It is the start of a new era as the new queen
takes place. An era of change and transition. Queen Victoria is to sit on the
throne, Empress of India, and last monarch of House Hanover. Queen Victoria
reigned from 1837 to 1901; this is referred to as the Victorian era. She was an
icon for a time of change even though she really did not sit with a lot of power,
as the United Kingdo

Industrialization in Nineteenth Century Europe

century of war, of industrialization, of urbanization, and of nationalism. The
major development of the nineteenth century was the Industrial Revolution.
Every aspect of the nineteenth century is most likely directly influenced by
the Industrial Revolution, from normal everyday life of commoners to the
rulers of countries and major powers of Europe. The Industrial Revolution
encompassed every area of nineteenth century Europe. Whether it was the
technological marvels of the day that influenced

During The Mid.-Nineteenth Century

Victorian England was divided into distinct social classes. The three social
classes included the working, middle, and upper leisure class. As the
Industrial Revolution advanced, the working class became very isolated from

42
 the leisure class and often had low paying jobs such as a blacksmith,
tradesman, and farmer. The wealthy ladies and gentlemen of the leisure class
lacked awareness that their frivolous lifestyle was built on the laborious work
of the working class. Charles Dickens wrote Great

What Are The Characteristics Of The Victorian Era

Influence by social and political problems of 19th century England. The
Victorian Era was a period spanning Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to
1901. This period proceeded the Romantic period in English History which
had poetry as its main source of literature. Nevertheless, the most important
genre in the Victorian Period was the novel. In contrast, the Romantic Era, the
era prior to the Victorian Era, most influential genre was poetry. Most of the
major literary artist came from England, even though

Marriage and Divorce in Dickens’ Hard Times: A Statement on the Religious

Morals of 19th Century British Society The Victorian era in England gave
birth to the first real industrial society the world had ever seen. With the rise
of industry came large cities, an expanded working class population and the
rapid rise of imperialism. Although England was progressing towards a more
powerful place in the world, its citizens seemed to be drifting in the opposite
direction. Oppressive laws and working conditions

Introduction of Hard Times

Hard Times is one of the books, Charles Dickens wrote to criticize the process of
industrialization and its impacts on different social divisions of life in England. It
was published in 1854. The novel proved a masterpiece of satire. Despite its being
the shortest, it is still more biting than other novels by Dickens. With the absence of
illustrations and preface as most of the novels of Dickens have, this novel presents

43
the town of Coketown with its stereotypical characters to lash out at materialism,
utilitarianism, and industrialism.

Summary of Hard Times

Thomas Gradgrind, the supporter of the philosophy of facts. He currently resides in

Coketown, a fictional city in England, with his children Tom and Louisa. Wherever
he goes, he propagates his rationalism of facts through his philosophy of eliminating
imagination and fancy ideas. To spread his ideas, he opens a new school where he
hires teachers for this purpose. To show himself more generous and charitable, he
also takes the responsibility of raising, Sissy Jupe, a girl whose father disappeared
after having to work for some time in Circus.

Mr. Gradgrind brings up his children with facts and beyond creativity. Therefore,
Toma becomes a self-centered pleasure seeker, while Louisa becomes a confusing
girl, who does not know herself fully. Although Gradgrind finds a better future for
her by marrying her to Bounderby, the old factory tycoon, he still feels that facts
have proved useful. On the other hand, despite marrying Louisa, 30 years younger
than him, the girl of the age of his daughter, Bounderby still flaunts himself an icon
as a self-made person left by his mother and grandmother. Bounderby, therefore,
apprentices Tom in his bank while he uses Sissy to take care of the domestic chores
and younger Gradgrinds at the house of Mr. Gradgrind, who is Mr. Bounderby’s
father-in-law.

On the other side, a poor laborer, Stephen Blackpool, called “Hand” in the novel, is
trapped in a love affair with Rachael, who also works in the same factory. The
problem, however, arises as Rachel is already married to a person, who leaves her,
vanishing from the scene for months. When Stephen tries Rachael’s divorce, he

44
comes to know that it is a very expensive affair and unaffordable for them. He
consults Bounderby but he, too, does not prove of much help to them. Though, he
meets a strange character during this occasion, Mrs. Pegler, who comes to meet Mr.
Bounderby.

Later, Mr. Grandgrind becomes a parliamentarian and James Harthouse becomes his
deputy. He tries to groom Louisa and manipulates situations through Mrs. Sparsit,
who lives with Bounderby. He fails in his attempt. Meanwhile, the laborers try to
forge a union to which Stephen does not join on his feeling that it only plays in the
hands of the factory owners. The punishment meted out to him from both these
parties, however, is unjust. Mr. Bounderby fires him and other laborers shun him.
Heartbroken, Stephen leaves Coketown, and, Louisa helps him before his departure.
Although Tom suggests him otherwise and Stephen follows that suggestion. Sadly,
there is no assistance from Tom. Finally, he leaves the town for good to some rural
area to work and live. However, when the bank robbery occurs shortly after that,
Stephen becomes an alleged robber.

When Mrs. Sparsit sees Harthouse and Louisa taking interest in each other, she tries
to intervene. She soon comes to know that Louisa has gone to Gradgrind to disclose
her predicament, giving Gradgrind a soul-searching opportunity. Sissy Jupe,
Louisa’s friend, then goes to Harthouse to advise him to leave the town before he
becomes the victim of capitalists’ fury. Despite this, Bounderby goes after Stephen
Blackpool, who falls into a pit. He is later discovered by Louisa and Gradgrind.
Eventually, it is revealed that Stephen is not a robber. Instead, Tom has robbed the
bank who escapes the country through the support of the circus administration and
Bitzer stops the entourage. However, timely help from Sleary, the circus manager,
helps Tom escape.

45
Mrs. Sparsit, too, is anxious to help Bounderby to find the robber of his bank.
Interestingly, she brings in Mrs. Pegler and it comes to light that she is Bounderby’s
mother to whom he orders not to meet. All of his boasts of being a self-made man
come down crashing. Though he fires Mrs. Sparsit, Bounderby is left alone and dies
with his philosophy later. Gradgrind, witnessing his daughter and son involving in
different defaming events, abandons his philosophy and finally starts helping the
destitute. Tom dies out of the country. Sissy marries and lives a happy life. Louisa
never marries again and helps Sissy in her domestic chores.

Major Themes in Hard Times

Human Nature: The novel exposes oddity human nature subject to change in
different situations. Bounderby has built a house of cards around his self-styled
self-made life, showing his true nature and even disowning his own mother.
However, when it turns out that he is not what he pretends to be. It comes to light
that he only wants to win public fame out of this antic. On the other hand, the
philosophy of facts propagated by Thomas Gradgrind fails as he finds himself in
hot waters that his daughter has left the loveless household of Bounderby and his
son has died far away from the country after his escape. The abandonment of his
philanthropy finally proves that human nature is most of the time generous,
loving, and not factual and dry.

Imagination and Facts: Charles Dickens also stresses the need for imagination
and facts in life. Through Thomas Gradgrind’s character along with his family’s,
Dickens highlights that everything is not a fact. Through the character of Sissy
Jupe and Louisa how one loses her future while the other, who has been placed
at the lower order in thinking about facts and fancy, become a successful wife in
her life. Dicken shows the importance of imagination in life. Her successful life

46
shows that imagination has as much importance in life as material things or facts.
It, however, is also a fact that had Gradgrind not adopted her, she might have lost
her future which means that facts also have significance in life.

Femininity: Hard Times shows the theme of femininity through feminine

compassions and sympathies. The novel also shows that though Louisa has lost
her feminine quality, she still longs to help Sissy, while Mrs. Sparsit, despite
living with Mr. Bounderby, does not lose her feminine touch. The same goes for
Bounderby’s mother who always waits for her son, while Sissy Jupe shows this
when she becomes a mother of children despite the stress upon her education
about facts and nothing else.

Industrialization: The novel sheds light on the theme of industrialization

through the city of Coketown, the establishment of factories as well as the
employment of human beings. Coketown shows the impacts of industrialization
through its environment and the condition of the working class. Examples of
environmental pollution and the situation of Stephen Blackpool are cases in point.
Where the establishment of factories is concerned, Mr. Bounderby and the
establishment of banks in Coketown sheds light on it and its impacts on the life
of “hands,” the laborers who are at the receiving ends. Although they find work,
they also find it hard to live in that polluted environment that has stunted their
mental and physical growth.

Utilitarianism: The theme of utilitarianism is presented in the novel through the

characters of Mr. Thomas Gradgrind and Mr. Bounderby. Although both of them
are practical, they suppose that human happiness depends on the acquisition of
money and material resources and not human relations, compassion, and love.
That is why Mr. Bounderby supports the education that places stress upon facts

47
and practicality, abandoning his mother. Mr. Gradgrind, however, receives a rude
shock when he sees his daughter becoming a victim of his pragmatism and his
son dying away from the home town after he becomes a criminal in the bank
robbery case.

Education: The presentation of Thomas Gradgrind, his school, and the

characters of M’Choakumchild and Kidderminster show
Dicken’s attitude toward education prevalent during the newly industrialized
Victorian period. Although the industrialists, like Mr. Bounderby, use to stress
the acquisition of education, they also stress the practical utility of education and
not upon the education of humanities and arts. That is why Louisa loses her
femininity and Sissy Jupe becomes able to face the world with her family by her
side.

Power: The use of power has been shown through Mr. Bounderby and the escape
of Tom. Mr. Bounderby manipulates the situation and people using his money in
such a way that he marries Louisa, a girl of his daughter’s age and 30 years
younger. Despite robbing a bank, Thomas Gradgrind exploits the situation to
make Tom escape the law. It shows the use of financial as well as bureaucratic
power.

Love: The novel sheds light on the theme of love through the character of Sissy
Jupe who is attached to her father so much that she does not think that he could
leave her. The story even exposes false love that leads to the predatory behavior
of Harthouse toward Louisa.

Familial Setup: The novel stresses the issue of the family setup and family love
through Sissy Jupe as she is left alone by her father. Although she becomes a

48
 good woman, the novel also shows through Louisa that balanced family life is
important for the healthy growth of children.

Wealth and Status: The character of Josiah Bounderby and Thomas Gradgrind
show the use of wealth and status that keep the upper strata of the society in
power. They also use this power to their selfish ends. The marriage of Louisa,
escape of Tom, and above all Mr. Gradgrind’s good lifestyle show these thematic
strands in the novel.

Major Characters in Hard Times

Mr. Josiah Bounderby: Mr. Josiah Bounderby, known as Bounderbay

throughout the story is the epitome of industrialism and new money. He sets
up factories and also established banks to supplement his sources of income.
With a very little background and boasts of having emerged from nowhere,
Boundary is a pathological liar and hides his murky background
and poverty during his childhood. His mental degradation has been
demonstrated through his manipulative marriage with Louisa and the
exploitation of Gradgrind. Later when his bank is robbed, it appears that he
was lying all along about his lineage and mother, showing his hypocritical
character.

Mr. Thomas Gradgrind: As the founder of the educational system of facts,

Mr. Thomas Grandgrand is a respectable British citizen of Coketown who also
happens to be a parliamentarian. In his system, there is little room for
imagination as he shows during his treatment of Sissy Jupe. He also brings up
his own kids through his notions of facts. However, it dawns upon him later
that Louisa has lost her femininity in the rigors of his facts and that his son

49
has lost his moral sense, the reason that he has committed a robbery. It is
another thing that his status and wealth save the neck of his son but not the
social life of his daughter.

Louisa Gradgrind: Loving daughter of Mr. Gradgrind, Louisa becomes

the victim of his education system and also of her father’s manipulative
behavior. First Gradgrind plays havoc with her future by denying her the
right kind of education and secondly, he destroys her life by marrying her
to Mr. Bounderby, the old industrialist. Although she suffers from an
emotional breakdown and faces dissolved marriage, she finds it impossible
to lead a balanced life again.
Tom Gradgrind: Referred as “the whelp” in the novel, he is the only son
of Mr. Gradgrind who gets a good job with Mr. Bounderby’s help, who
has an eye on his sister, Louisa. However, it happens that Tom junior is
morally deprived and he robs Bounderby’s bank. He gets involved with
Mr. Stephone Blackpool by dishonestly exploiting his poverty and
innocence. His father, however, succeeds in saving him at the end through
the circus people whom he uses to smuggle him out of the country.
Sissy Jupe: Popular in the Gradgrind circle as Sissy Jupe. Cecelia Jupe is
the daughter a circus performer. She is abandoned by her father who sees
her as a burden due to a lack of income. However, it is noteworthy that
despite sending her away, he loves her dearly. She is taken in by the
Gradgrind household as a family member and plays with Tom and Louisa.
However, her imaginative ability stays alive and intact despite Mr.
Gradgrind’s various onslaughts to uproot it and introduce his notion of
facts. She marries at the end of the novel and has a successful domestic life
with Louisa as her helping hand.

50
Stephen Blackpool: He is the popular “hand,” whose daughter brings a
change in the Gradgrind household. Although he marries a drunk woman
from Coketown and loses his job due to his activities in the unions,
Stephen is a passionate person who tries to do his best to save his daughter
from the looming poverty yet with little success. He gets rather involved
in bank robbery due to the shrewdness of Tom Gradgrind. However, flees
the police, and when he tries to return and exonerate himself.
Unfortunately, he dies when he falls into a pit.
Mrs. Pegler: Mrs. Pelger is quite significant in the novel as she emerges
as the mother of Mr. Bounderby. She reveals the truth later to put him to
shame for his lies and worthless boasts. She becomes popular for her
annual pilgrimage to Coketown to see her son, Bounderby.
Bitzer: Bitzer plays his minor role by pointing his finger at Tom as the
robber. He identifies him as he has been his playmate along with Sissy and
Louisa and has been working in the bank as a clerk, too.
Mrs. Gradgrind: The role of Mrs. Gradgrind is minor and yet important.
She follows her husband in letter and spirit in the upbringing of her
children believing that facts are important and creativity must be banned
as trained by Mr. Gradgrind. She, however, leaves her children in the
middle.
James Harthouse: Harthouse’s role is significant in that he agrees with
Gradgrind over his philosophy of implementing facts in his school. He tries
to groom Louisa but fails. Besides him, Rachael, Mrs. Sleary, and Mrs.
Sparsit are also important characters in the novel.

51
Writing Style of Hard Times

Hard Times shows Charles Dickens at his best in making characters stand for
abstract ideas. The overall style of the novel seems dry, witty, and satirizing but
the sentence structure is highly calculated and measured. Sometimes sentences are
quite long but they come up to the standard of stylish writing, showing the
requirement of the context. He mostly used formal diction in an ironic sense.
Sometimes the conversation of different characters specifically Chokamchild, Mrs.
Sparsit, Mrs. Pelger, and Mr. Bounderby show their down-to-earth behavior.
However, it mostly stays formal except for Mr. Bounderby’s, who often boasts of
his achievement from rags to riches.

Analysis of Literary Devices in Hard Times

Anaphora: Hard Times shows the use of anaphora. For example,

i. No little Gradgrind had ever seen a face in the moon; it was up in the moon
before it could speak distinctly. No little Gradgrind had ever learnt the silly
jingle, Twinkle, twinkle, little star; how I wonder what you are! No little
Gradgrind had ever known wonder on the subject. (Book First, Chapter-III)
ii. He was a rich man: banker, merchant, manufacturer, and what not. A big,
loud man, with a stare, and a metallic laugh. A man-made out of a coarse
material, which seemed to have been stretched to make so much of him. A
man with a great puffed head and forehead, swelled veins in his temples, and
such a strained skin to his face that it seemed to hold his eyes open, and lift
his eyebrows up. A man with a pervading appearance on him of being inflated
like a balloon, and ready to start. A man who could never sufficiently vaunt
himself a self-made man. A man who was always proclaiming, through that
brassy speaking-trumpet of a voice of his, his old ignorance and his old

52
poverty. A man who was the Bully of humility. (Book First, Chapter-IV)
iii. Because those two were one. Because they were never asunder. Because,
up
to this time, he seemed to dote upon her,’ said Childers, taking a step or two
to look into the empty trunk.. (Chapter-IV)
These sentences show the repetitious use of “No little Gradgrind” in the first,
“a man” in the second, and “Because” in the third. These repetitions show the
use of anaphora.

Antagonist: Hard Times shows the character of Mr. Bounderby, who is a liar,
brutish, horrid and lecherous to the point of selfishness. Therefore, he is the
real antagonist of the novel.

Allusion: There are various examples of allusions given in the novel.

i. To be sure, the better and profounder part of her character was not within
his scope of perception; for in natures, as in seas, depth answers unto depth;
but he soon began to read the rest with a student’s eye. (Book-Second,
Chapter-VII)
ii. He sat writing in the room with the deadly statistical clock, proving
something no doubt – probably, in the main, that the Good Samaritan was a
Bad Economist. (Book Second, Chapter-XII)
iii. …the sturdiest physical manhood will be morally stark death, and the
plainest national prosperity figures can show, will be the Writing on the Wall,
– she holding this course as part of no fantastic vow, or bond, or brotherhood,
or sisterhood, or pledge, or covenant, or fancy dress, or fancy fair; but simply
as a duty to be done, – did Louisa see these things of herself? (Chapter-IX,
Final)

53
The first example alludes to Psalm, the second to the parable in the Gospel of
Luke, and the third to a biblical phrase “Writing on the Wall.”

Conflict: The are two types of conflicts in the novel. The first one is the
external conflict that is going on between the industrialists and the “hands” on
the wider scale and between Stephen Blackpool and Mr. Bounderby and the
system at a minor level. There is also a conflict between Mr. Gradgrind and
his children and between different sets of values.

Consonance: The novel shows the use of consonance in its rhythmic pattern.
It is rare that a prose uses such devices, allowing the reader to enjoy the
descriptive parts. For example,
i. The same Signor Jupe was to ‘enliven the varied performances at frequent
intervals with his chaste Shaksperean quips and retorts.’ (Book First, Chapter-
III)
ii. No little Gradgrind had ever learnt the silly jingle, Twinkle, twinkle, little
star; how I wonder what you are! (Book First, Chapter-III)
These examples show the use of consonants in the shape of the sounds of /s/
and /t/.

Characters: Hard Times presents both static as well as dynamic characters.

The young girl, Louisa, is a dynamic character as she goes through a
transformation during her growth. However, the rest of the characters do not
see any change in their behavior, as they are static characters like Mr.
Bounderby, Mr. Gradgrind, and even Sissy Jupes.

Climax: The story reaches the climax when Louisa tries to run away with
Harthouse but then returns to her father’s house.

54
Foreshadowing: The novel shows the following examples of foreshadowing:
i. ‘Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.
Facts alone are wanted in life.. (Book First, Chapter -I)
ii. A sunny midsummer day. There was such a thing sometimes, even in
Coketown. (Book Second, Chapter -I)
These examples show the use of foreshadows in the novel as both predict what
is going to happen next.

Hyperbole: Hyperbole or exaggeration occurs in the novel at various places.

For example,
i. With a rule and a pair of scales, and the multiplication table always in his
pocket, sir, ready to weigh and measure any parcel of human nature, and tell
you exactly what it comes to. (Book First, Chapter-II)
ii. You are to be in all things regulated and governed,’ said the gentleman, ‘by
fact. We hope to have, before long, a board of fact, composed of
commissioners of fact, who will force the people to be a people of fact, and
of nothing but fact. (Book First, Chapter-II)
The first example shows exaggeration about the character of Mr. Gradgrind
and the second about his application of facts.

Imagery: Imagery is used to perceive things involving five senses. For

example,
i. The scene was a plain, bare, monotonous vault of a school-room, and the
speaker’s square forefinger emphasized his observations by underscoring
every
sentence with a line on the schoolmaster’s sleeve. (Book First, Chapter-I)
ii. The square finger, moving here and there, lighted suddenly on Bitzer,
perhaps because he chanced to sit in the same ray of sunlight which, darting
55
in
at one of the bare windows of the intensely white-washed room, irradiated
Sissy. (Book-I, Chapter-II)
Both of these examples show the use of different images such as touch, sight,
and movement.

Metaphor: Hard Times shows good use of various metaphors. For example,
i. It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys, out of which interminable
serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever, and never got
uncoiled. (Book First, Chapter-V)
ii. Seen from a distance in such weather, Coketown lay shrouded in a haze of
its
own, which appeared impervious to the sun’s rays. (Book-Second, Chapter-
1)
iii. So many people are employed in situations of trust; so many people, out
of so many, will be dishonest. I have heard you talk, a hundred times, of its
being a law. (Book-III, Chapter-VII)
These examples of metaphors show the comparison of smoke with serpents,
Coketown, with some mystery, and people with law.

Mood: The novel shows various moods including ironic and satirizing but it
turns to tragedy and comedy at times and then again turns to satirize.

Motif: Most important motifs of the novel are industrialization, reason and
imagination, childhood experiences and love.

Narrator: The novel is narrated from a third-person point of view, which is the
author.

56
 Protagonist: Stephen Blackpool and Sissy Jupe are both protagonists of the
novel.

Setting: The setting of the novel is the fictional town of Coketown in the
northern part of England during industrialization.

Simile: The novel shows good use of various similes. For example,
i. They had been lectured at, from their tenderest years; coursed, like little
hares. (Book First, Chapter-III)
ii. …the Great Bear like a Professor Owen, and driven Charles’s Wain like a
locomotive engine-driver. (Book First, Chapter-III)
iii. Louisa asked these questions with a strong, wild, wandering interest
peculiar to her; an interest gone astray like a banished creature and hiding in
solitary places. (Book First, Chapter-IX)
These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between
different things.

Hard Times Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 1-5

1. Book the First: SOWING

2. Chapter One: The One Thing Needful
3. The novel begins with a short introduction. Inside a classroom, "the speaker"
repeats the exclamation "Now, what I want is, Facts." He presents the
argument that the formation of a child's mind must be rooted in the study of
fact. The schoolroom is as hard and plain as the teacher's teaching style. All
of the children are focused on him. Besides "the speaker" there is also "the
schoolmaster and the third grown person" who stand before the pupils.
4. Analysis:

57
Character Summary

Characters of Hard Times by Robert James Reese, 2000

Stephen Blackpool The represented the most abundant and least represented caste in
industrial England, the lower class (also called the hands) in Charles Dickens' novel.
Stephen was an honest, hard-working man who came to much trouble in the novel,
often because of his class. He came to Mr. Bounderby one day seeking a divorce
from his alcoholic and runaway wife who did nothing but drink his earnings away.
When he asked about if there were any laws that could separate them, Mr.
Bounderby replied that there was but "it's not for you at all. It costs money. It costs
a mint of money" (70). Later, Stephen was framed for the robbery of a bank, in part
because of his class. Young Tom Gradgrind made it appear that Mr. Blackpool
robbed the bank by telling him that he would help him and to wait outside the bank
for several nights. Because he was just a hand, he was quickly suspected whereas
young Tom was not until much later, because he was of a higher social order. The
ordeals that Stephen Blackpool faced were used by the author to show the troubles
that the entire lower class faced.

Mr. Josiah Bounderby was used as an example of the growing middle class or
bourgeoisie. He constantly talked of how he had grown up on nothing (which was
slightly exaggerated, but he still did grow up poor) and was constantly flaunting his
wealth. He bought a country estate, something that many middle class members did
to imitate the upper classes. He married a daughter of a wealthy man and hired a
former member of high society to keep house for him. In general, he and other
members of the bourgeoisie attempted to become high society by acting like them.

The final class in industrial English society was the upper class, a class represented
in Hard Times by Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, the elder. This class was presented in the
58
novel as being less worried about money than the bourgeoisie but having plenty of
it. The Gradgrind estate, Stone Lodge, was said to have "everything that the heart
could desire" (9). Mr. Gradgrind spared no expense when it came to his children's
educations (although he later found his methods to be flawed) and was quick to
donate money to those who helped him, such as Mr. Sleary who helped young Tom
escape to America. The novel portrayed Mr. Gradgrind and the upper class as people
who did not care so much about their finances.

Charles Dickens used Stephen Blackpool, Mr. Bounderby, and Mr. Gradgrind to
display the lower, middle, and upper classes in the English caste system created by
industrialization. He showed that the lower class often faced troubles and unfairness,
the middle class attempted to impersonate the upper class, and the upper class
seemed not to care about money at all

MAIN CHARACTERS

NELL TRENT: a beautiful 13 year old girl who lives with her grandfather

THE GRANDFATHER (OF NELL): an elderly man who owns a curiosity shop

CHRISTOPHER (KIT) NUBBLES: a lad with a comical expression and odd

mannerisms who works for the grandfather

RICHARD (DICK) SWIVELLER: a friend of Fred Trent who lives above a

tobacco shop

DANIEL QUILP: a shady associate of the grandfather’s who is involved in many

occupations (sometimes referred to as the dwarf).

59
SAMPSON BRASS: an attorney of ill-repute that works for Quilp

BETSY QUILP: a pretty, mild woman who is the wife of Daniel Quilp

MRS. JINIWIN: Betsy Quilp’s shrewish mother, who disapproves of her son-in-
law

TOM SCOTT: Boy who works for Mr. Quilp who has an odd affection for him
(also referred to as the tumbling boy or boy who stands on his head)

MRS. NUBBLES: Kit’s hard-working, good-humored mother.

BABY NUBBLES and JACOB NUBBLES: Kit’s siblings

MR. GARLAND: club-footed elderly gentleman

MRS. GARLAND: Mr. Garland’s fat wife

ABEL GARLAND: The Garland’s 28 year old only son, a quiet lad

MR. WITHERDEN: a Notary who handles paperwork for the Garlands (often
referred to as the Notary)

MR. CHUCKSTER: works for Mr. Witherden

BARBARA: The Garlands’ servant girl.

60
MR. MARTON: Schoolmaster of a small village that takes in grandfather and Nell
(usually referred to as the schoolmaster)

MRS. JARLEY: Owner of a wax work caravan.

MISS SARAH (SALLY) BRASS: The sister of Sampson Brass, who assists him in
his practice

SMALL SERVANT GIRL: A little girl who is a servant to the Brasses (later
referred to as Marchioness or Sophronia Sphynx)

BEVIS MARKS: A mysterious man who rents the room in the Brass house and is
interested in finding Nell and her grandfather (often called the lodger, the single
gentleman, Mr. Garland's friend, or the younger brother)

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

(*) indicates a character that is referred to rather than one that has an active part
in the story

THE NARRATOR: an elderly gentleman relating a story about a little girl he

encountered on one of his habitual walks

FREDERICK TRENT: Nell’s 21 year old brother

SOPHIA WACKLES: 20 year old girl Dick Swiveller is romancing that runs a
school with her mother and sisters
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MELISSA WACKLES: Sophia’s 35 year old sister, who doesn’t approve of Dick
Swiveller

JANE WACKLES: Sophia’s 16 year old sister

MRS. WACKLES: Sophia’s shrewish mother, who disapproves of Dick Swiveller

REBECCA SWIVELLER (*): Dick Swiveller's spinster aunt

ALICK CHEGGS: a market-gardener who is in love with Sophia Wackles

MISS CHEGGS: Alick’s sister who advocates Alick’s courtship of Sophia and
tries to help him

MR. HARRIS (NICKNAMED SHORT TOPPERS): Owner of a traveling Punch

puppet show, nicknamed for his short legs

TOMMY CODLIN: The puppeteer’s disillusioned assistant

JERRY AND HIS DOGS: Jerry is an owner of dancing dogs

HARRY: The schoolmaster’s beloved student, who is top of his class—and who
has fallen seriously ill (often referred to as the little scholar or little pupil).

GEORGE: works for Mrs. Jarley

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MISS MONFLATHERS: head of the Boarding and Day Establishment, who takes
some of her pupils to see Mrs. Jarley’s exhibit.

JAMES GROVES: landlord of the Valiant Soldier and professional gamester

MAT: One of the card players at the Valiant Soldier, a surly man.

ISAAC LIST: One of the card players at the Valiant Soldier, a sour fellow

MISS EDWARDS: a pupil at Miss Monflather’s establishment who was

sympathetic to Nell.

SISTER OF MISS EDWARDS: Much younger than Nell, Miss Edwards saved her
money so she could see her again.

BARBARA’S MOTHER: The mother of the Garland servant girl, who has a
similar history to Mrs. Nubbles.

MR. JOE JOWL: a gypsy that is in with Isaac List and his friends

BOAT MEN: Three rough but kind gentleman who offer Nell and her grandfather
a ride on their boat.

OLD FOXEY (*): The father of Sampson and Sally Brass, who encouraged his
daughter’s interest in law and regretted that she could not become a lawyer.

FIRE WATCHER: The man who watches the fire at a factory

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SEXTON: hires Nell to be the Church keeper (also referred to as the clergyman)

THE BACHELOR: a friend of the clergyman’s and brother to Mr. Garland

DAVID: a deaf gravedigger (referred to as the clergyman's assistant)

HIDE AND SEEK BOY: little boy playing with friends in graveyard whose
brother is buried there (referred to as Nell's little friend or Her little mourner)

OTHER CHARACTERS

MRS. GEORGE: a stout woman who is the leader of a group of neighborhood

ladies who visit Mrs. Quilp and try to persuade her to stand up to her husband’s
tyranny.

HENRIETTA SIMMONS: another lady in the group that visits Betsy Quilp, who
has told Mrs. George many of the tales about the Quilp marriage

THE WIDOW, UNMARRIED WOMAN, LADY FROM MINORIES, AND

OTHERS: Other neighborhood women who visit Betsy Quilp

SERVANT GIRL OF SWIVELLER'S: Servant girl who works for the tobacco
shop owner who Dick rents from

WAITER OF EATING HOUSE: delivers a meal to Dick Swiveller but only

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receives a promise of payment.

MR. TOMKINLEY (*): teacher at Abel Garland’s school that took him on an
outing to Margate.

COTTAGER, HIS WIFE, AND THREE SONS: A family that is kind to Nell and
her grandfather when they stop to rest.

CARRIAGE DRIVER: Gives Nell and grandfather a ride into the next town at the
request of the cottager.

LANDLORD AND LANDLADY #1: Own a house that the puppeteer, his
assistant, Nell, and her grandfather stay at

OLD WOMAN AT GRAVEYARD: an old woman Nell meets in a graveyard who

reminisces about a lost love

MR. GRINDER AND COMPANY: Mr. Grinder beats on a drum while a young
man and woman walk on stilts behind him

LANDLORD OF THE JOLLY SANDBOYS: landlord of an inn that puppeteer,

his assistant, Nell, and grandfather stay at

MR. VUFFIN: Proprietor of a freak show

SWEET WILLIAM: An ugly, silent conjuror

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LADY IN THE CARRIAGE: A sympathetic lady in the carriage who buys one of
Nell’s nosegays and advises her to get away from the races.

MRS. GREEN (*): a reference for Kit, a lodger at the cheesemonger’s.

MR. BROWN (*): a reference for Kit, a corporal in the East Indies.

HARRY’S GRANDMOTHER: The grandmother of the schoolmaster’s star pupil

SCHOOLMASTER’S PUPILS: The other students, ranging from four to fourteen,

who are idle

DISAPPROVING OLD LADY: An old lady that yells at the meek schoolmaster
after he lets the boys out of school early

SUMMONING OLD WOMAN: The elderly woman who summons the

schoolmaster to Harry’s deathbed.

CONSOLING WOMEN: Women who are consoling Harry’s grandmother.

BOY CARRYING TRUNK: A boy carrying Quilp’s trunk slower than Quilp likes

MAN IN VELVETEEN PANTS: An assistant who helps George unpack the

waxworks.

MR. SLUM: a military man who sells something “very dear” to people like Mrs.
Jarley.
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LUKE WITHERS (*): A man who won thirteen times running, but who had lost
more times

VALIANT SOLDIER SERVANT GIRL: A servant girl who is unhappy with her
employer because she believes the place is a den of crooks.

THE BARONET’S DAUGHTER: Another student of Miss Monflather’s who

comes from a prestigious family, but who is plain and stupid.

MARQUIS OF MIZZLER AND LORD BOBBY (*): Two men who got into a
dispute over a bottle of champagne.

DUKE OF THIGSBERRY AND VIOLETTA STETTA OF THE ITALIAN

OPERA (*): Duke gives Violetta a sum of money.

NEIGHBOR: One of the Nubbles neighbors

GOSSIP NEIGHBOR: A neighbor who is Mrs. Nubbles gossiping buddy that tells
Kit the location of Little Bethel.

REVEREND: A shoemaker and the preacher of Little Bethel

PALLID MAN: A sympathetic man who directs Nell and her grandfather to a
warm fire

UNEMPLOYED FATHER: a man who can’t feed his family and has lost all of his
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children

MAN IN BLACK: a man of the law who shows mercy in one case, but who is
criticized for not being merciful enough

DEAF BOY: The one case Man in Black shows mercy in due to boy’s disabilities

DEAF BOY’S MOTHER: mother of boy Man in Black is merciful to

ANOTHER MOTHER: thinks it unfair her child didn’t get leniency just because
he wasn’t disabled

LANDLORD AND LANDLADY AT SCHOOLMASTER’S INN: landlady a

clever woman with remedies

RED-NOSED DOCTOR: a doctor who prescribes the remedies most women

already know

BOY AT WHEELER: Mr. Marks driver for carriage on first trip.

WAITER AT INN: A waiter that works at an inn that both Mr. Marks and Mr.
Quilp stay at.

TWO WATERSIDE MEN: Men who dragged wharf searching for Daniel Quilp’s
body

SCHOOLBOY: a boy who runs errands for The Bachelor

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JOHN OWEN (*): One of Mr. Marton’s new pupils, a reckless but honest boy

RICHARD EVANS (*): a good pupil and a good singer, but prophesied by The
Bachelor to have a bad end

SWIMMER (*): a boy who saved a blind man’s dog from drowning

BECKY MORGAN (*): a woman from a neighboring hamlet who dies whose age
is in dispute

WILLY (*): the dead brother of hide-and-seek boy

CONSTABLE: Arresting officer when Kit is accused of stealing

TURNKEY #1: officer that takes Kit in and out of his cell

TURNKEY #2 WITH NEWSPAPER : officer that observes the visitor’s area

TURNKEY #3: officer that takes Kit back from Visitor’s area

TURNKEY #4: officer that delivers drinks and messages

DEFENSE ATTORNEY: hired by Garlands and Notary to defend Kit.

PROSECUTOR: very clever at twisting things around in Kit’s trial

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JUDGE, JURY, AND SPECTATORS: listen to the prosecution and defense at
Kit’s trial

DICK’S LANDLADY: landlady who comes to Brasses to report that Dick is ill

PORTER: carries much needed clothes and food to Swiveller residence

NICE OLD LADY: prepares food for Swiveller and Marchioness

MESSENGER: a boy that delivers a letter to the Quilp residence

NEWSMONGER: person who is glad to see Kit go from prison now that it is
apparent he doesn’t belong there

GENTLEMEN WHO PARDON KIT: officials who handle the pardoning of Kit

POSTBOY: driver for second trip to find Nell

SHIVERING FIGURE: a man at the last stop who changes horses and gives
information to Kit

MRS. QUILP’S SECOND HUSBAND: a man Mrs. Quilp chooses by her own
council

MR. ABEL’S BASHFUL WIFE AND CHILDREN: Mr. Abel's family

KIT’S SIX CHILDREN: five boys and one girl who like hearing about Miss Nell
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Charles Dickens’ Hard Times focuses on the numerous relationships and
interactions between characters, and the impact that people have on the
behaviour of others. It is evident throughout the novel that several of these
relationships are one-sided, in the sense that they are merely in the interest of
one of the two parties. For instance, Tom’s influence over Louisa allows him
to manipulate her for his own good. Similarly, James Harthouse’s pursuit of
Louisa’s affection is not out of love, but simply out of aristocratic boredom.
Rachel’s influence on Stephen Blackpool allows him to maintain his integrity
and honour. Finally, Sissy Jupe’s impact on the Gradgrind family is all give
and no take, as her broad imagination allows the family to finally realize that
life is not merely about the theory of fact.

The most obvious example of a one-sided relationship in Hard Times is the

one between siblings Tom and Louisa. This relationship is far from mutually
beneficial, as Tom continually takes advantage of his sister, solely for his own
interests. The constant teachings of fact have made Tom’s life empty and
mundane. Although Tom is tempted by creativity of the circus, he displays
little emotion upon being disciplined by his father: “Indeed, Thomas did not
look at him, but gave himself up to be taken home like a machine” (15). Due
to the constant strict teachings of fact by his father, Mr. Gradgrind, Tom
begins to grow tired of this way of life. His interest in the circus is symbolic
of his desire to detach from his father and his dull existence. By embracing a
somewhat hedonistic lifestyle, frequently drinking and gambling, Tom finds
a sense of freedom. He wants to escape the dull lifestyle and teachings of the
Gradgrind household and experience a new way of life. Tom and Louisa love
each other deeply; however, Tom uses his sister’s love for him in order to
manipulate her to do as he desires. Louisa’s strict upbringing prevents her

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from truly questioning Tom’s motives, allowing for her brother to take
advantage of Louisa’s love for him by manipulating her into marrying
Bounderby for his own gain. As Tom’s requests grow in number and in nature,
the two grow further apart. The relationship shared by the two is filled with
affection at the beginning of the novel, but Tom’s selfishness tears the
relationship apart. He keeps Louisa in the dark regarding the bank robbery
and, ultimately, his focus on materialism outweighs his feelings for his sister.
Tom’s boredom with his lifestyle leads to radical changes in his attitude. A
similar boredom leads James Harthouse to pursue Louisa’s love.

Dickens uses the character of James Harthouse to poke fun at the aristocracy
at the time. Harthouse comes to Coketown with the intention of entering the
world of politics and embracing Gradgrind’s theory of fact, simply out of
boredom with his current life. He is a refined and wealthy gentleman from
London, but as the old saying goes, ‘money doesn’t buy happiness’, leaving
Harthouse constantly searching for new ways to amuse himself. Upon hearing
about Louisa Gradgrind, he immediately makes it his primary goal to seduce
the young woman. Although Louisa is resistant, this makes her even more
attractive to him. She is so intriguing to him because of her uniqueness. She
represents a new blend of beauty and intelligence, and her knowledge of
economics is unparalleled. By discussing Tom’s gambling debts with Louisa,
he exploits one of her main weaknesses, her unconditional love for her
brother. He merely uses Tom’s predicament to exploit Louisa’s inexperience
in interpersonal relationships. Although Harthouse’s pursuit of her helps lead
to her eventual break-up with Bounderby, Sissy Jupe saves Louisa from the
selfish, controlling Harthouse, when she demands that he leaves Coketown:
“He was touched in the cavity where his heart should have been – in that nest

72
of addled eggs, where the birds of heaven would have lived if they had not
been whistled away – by the fervor of this reproach” (275). This passage
exemplifies Harthouse’s lack of purpose in life. His great wealth and position
as an aristocrat prevents him from every finding true love, as he will simply
grow tired of stability. His lack of reluctance in leaving Coketown
demonstrates how little Louisa truly means to Harthouse. Harthouse’s pursuit
of Louisa is more of a quest for him to pass the time than it is about finding
true love. His departure from Coketown reveals the little care he has for the
feelings of others, as well as his selfishness and immorality. This is completely
contrary to the relationship between Stephen Blackpool and Rachel.

Stephen Blackpool is the quintessential example of a considerate and moral

individual. Although he is forced to combat the difficult working conditions
and dehumanizing lifestyle of a factory worker during the Industrial
Revolution, Stephen maintains his morality and honesty, with the help of
Rachel. Stephen’s home, which originally serves as a safe haven from the long
working days, is taken over by his alcoholic wife, forcing Blackpool to drift
around Coketown. Blackpool’s inability to acquire a divorce from his misery
of a wife prevents him from moving away from his past troubles, but Rachel
provides him with glimmers of hope and happiness, leading to him calling her
his angel. She is the complete opposite of his current wife, displaying qualities
of compassion and sensitivity. The epiphanic moment in the relationship
between the two occurs when Rachel prevents Stephen’s wife from killing
herself. Stephen wakes up and sees his wife ready to drink poison; however,
he is psychologically unable to get up and prevent her from doing so: “All this
time, as if a spell were on him, he was motion-less and powerless, except to
watch her” (102). In that moment, Stephen’s frustration and sadness with his

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life overrides his usual strong morals. The stress his wife places upon him
leaves him unable to control his desire to see her deceases or harmed. He is
unable to bring himself to stop his wife from committing suicide, yet Rachel
is. In doing so, Rachel motivates Stephen to uphold his strong character and
honor, despite the hard times. Rachel cares for his wife and plays a vital role
in pushing Stephen to pursue his legitimate interests as both a worker and a
gentleman. While his fellow workers abandon Stephen due to his beliefs about
the union, Rachel supports him until the very end, when he dies essentially for
Tom’s crime. Although Stephen’s death allows him to escape from his
dreadful marriage, he leaves Rachel alone and saddened. Rachel is the driving
force behind Stephen’s actions in the novel and allows him to maintain his
true beliefs and morals about work and life. Much as Rachel encourages
Stephen to pursue his true beliefs, Sissy Jupe enlightens the Gradgrind family
of imagination and thinking.

Sissy Jupe’s impact on the Gradgrind family is the most important relationship
in the novel. The strict teachings of Thomas Gradgrind turn the household into
one giant machine of fact, whereas Sissy’s upbringing in the circus has
allowed for her constant indulgence in imagination. The contrast between
Louisa and Sissy in clear; Louisa has been forced to think with her head, while
Sissy thinks with her heart. Louisa hasn’t been allowed to be passionate about
anything, and her submergence in fact has contained her desire for freedom.
Sissy plays a vital role in enabling Louisa to reveal the warm and passionate
qualities she has inside of her, despite being brought up in such as cold
atmosphere. In fact, Sissy’s romantic way of thinking eventually allows the
entire Gradgrind household to realize that there is more to life than merely
fact. Thomas Gradgrind is initially disappointed by the circus entertainers and

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they represent imagination and idealism. These entertainers use their
imaginations to find happiness, something that has always been lacking in the
Gradgrind household. Sissy’s vast imagination and optimism is displayed by
her belief that her father has abandoned her only to try and improve Sissy’s
life. She expresses these sentiments to herself, maintain the belief that her
father will one day return to her: “O my dear father, my good kind father,
where are you gone ? Tou are goue to try to do me some good, I know! Tou
are gone away for my sake, I am sure. And how miserable and helpless you
will be without me, poor, poor father, until you come back!” (44). Sissy’s
belief that he father has left the circus for her well-being starkly contrasts with
Gradgrind’s teaching of fact. That being said, this attitude epitomizes Sissy’s
hopeful way of thinking, which eventually brushes off on the Gradgrind
household. Not only does Sissy help Tom find refuge with her old circus
entertainers, but she also helps Mrs. Gradgrind recognize the void that has
existed forever within their family, the lack of imagination within the
household. While Mrs. Gradgrind is unable to clearly express this before her
death, she recognizes these qualities in Sissy. Mr. Gradgrind ultimately finds
out that his emphasis on fact has denied his family happiness for many years.
Gradgrind accepts the fact that his teachings did not produce happiness;
therefore, he appoints Sissy to aid in Louisa’s development as an individual.
With Sissy’s help, Louisa is on the road to developing the ideal balance of fact
and imagination.

To conclude, Dickens’ novel discusses the social impact of the Industrial

Revolution and the dehumanization of workers by machines. Much like the
repetitive actions involved in working in factories dull the lives of the
workers, the teachings of fact prevent characters from reaching their full

75
potential. Louisa’s inability to express herself prevents her from stopping
Tom’s exploitation of her love for him. Similarly, Louisa needs Sissy Jupe to
send James Harthouse away from Coketown, as her cold upbringing has
limited her ability to interact with others. Stephen Blackpool is the best
example of an individual who has been dehumanized by the stress and
working conditions of being a ‘hand’ during the Industrial Revolution. Only
with the help of his so-called angel, Rachel, is he able to maintain his morality
and strong values. Finally, Sissy Jupe is arguably the most important character
in the novel. Her impact on the Gradgrind family is extreme, as she allows
Mr. and Mrs. Gradgrind to recognize that imagination is the key to happiness,
not fact. While the relationships throughout the novel are often one-sided, the
influence that each character has over others is essential in the demise of fact
and the rise of critical thinking.

This chapter has little narrative content (only three paragraphs), but its
imagery is intense. From the very beginning, Dickens establishes himself
within a contemporary debate on the nature of learning, knowledge and
education. The description of the classroom is definitely satire, a critique of
utilitarianism, and similar philosophies that suggested the absolute reliance
upon calculations and facts in opposition to emotion, artistic inspiration and
leisure.

The novel is divided into three "books" entitled Sowing, Reaping and
Garnering. This agricultural motif is introduced by the "sowing" of facts as
"seeds" into the fertile minds of the young boys and girls. "The one thing
needful" is the seed of "fact" and even though the insistence upon "hard facts"
seems infertile and unyielding, the motif of sowing makes the classroom a

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literal kindergarten. To be more precise, the imagery of "sowing" and
horticulture varies from the children as the planted field and the children as
plants themselves. At one point, "the Speaker" charges the instructor to
"plantŠand root out" in order to form the children's minds. Later, the children
are described as "little vessels then and there arranged in order," not unlike
the wisps of hair on the side of the Speaker's head, humorously described as
"a plantation of firs."

The sum of Dickens' imagery contrasts the words of gardening and

horticulture with the actual scene depicted: "plain, bare,
monotonousŠinflexible, dry and dictatorial." Dickens means to say that there
is no true sowing taking place in the "vault of a schoolroom." Against the
archetype of youth (spring, sowing, fertility), the older men are "square;" eyes
are described as having "found commodious cellarage in two dark caves,
overshadowed by the wall." Dickens' hyperbole makes architecture out of the
physical description of The Speaker (who seems rather villain-like). Dickens
wants to demonstrate that the idea of the child's mind as a "vessel" that is
"ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured"‹this creates adults whose
brains are described as mere "cellarage"‹space for facts.

While Dickens de-personifies the Speaker (he is more of an object and a

symbol than an actual person), various objects in the schoolroom, in particular
the Speaker's clothing, take on personality and activity of their own. The
Speaker's tie is "trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodating
grasp." The Speaker has trained the tie to be as unaccommodating as this
school system. The sum of Dickens' images, from sowing to strangulation,
should clearly foreshadow the "hard times" that are ahead.
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The two important allusions to note are both Biblical ones: the use of the word
"sowing" does not only correspond to the old proverb "you reap what you
sow" but it has a particular resonance with Dickens' largely Protestant English
audience. While the Bible makes arguments for diligent "sowing" in practical
and spiritual matters, Dickens' inevitable argument is a defense for
leisure‹against the constant diligence, the dependence upon hard facts and the
unaccommodating grasp that are later re-cast as the "Protestant Work Ethic"
by Max Weber, a philosopher. The second Biblical allusion is along the same
lines: one of the New Testament parables makes mention of good Christians
as "vessels" who are to be "filled" by God, much as the "dictatorial" Speaker
has an "inclined plane of little vessels" that he will fill with his "imperial
gallons." Here, the Speaker's imagery and intentions seem so superhuman and
yet, misanthropic (anti-human) that he becomes not a parallel but a foil of the
Christian messiah (another educator) to whom Dickens alludes. The speaker
demands power without the benevolence, patience or sacrifice that is expected
of the role.

The speaker is instructing the schoolteacher on how to instruct and this adds
to the irony and deliberate confusion of the short scene. The Speaker's
anonymity, the power of his voice, and his pointed "square forefinger" all
combine as a symbol of a man with God-like authority. No one teaches the
children, but the Speaker plays schoolteacher to the schoolteacher; and he is
the only one who speaks. There is no dialogue in the chapter, only the
Speaker's reiterations and the bystanders' silent assent.

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The role of power in education is a theme that is treated throughout the novel,
and the balance between leisure and diligence is definitely dependent upon
the methods of force and power demonstrated. Later chapters will expand
upon another theme that is only foreshadowed here: the wrestle between
Romanticism and Utilitarianism. While Utilitarianism focuses on hard facts
and calculations, Romanticism is more spiritual, tends towards the artistic and
the poetic and makes aesthetic valuations that Utilitarianism finds irrelevant.
Dickens does not wholly endorse the Romantic point-of-view, but with his
(artistic) livelihood potentially at stake, he does use a number of rhetorical
devices to defeat the principles of Utilitarianism. After all, who could read
novels, if they were only after "hard facts?"

As for rhetoric, Dickens' use of absolutes and hyperbole must be remembered;

the arguments he puts into the mouths of the Utilitarian philosophers are
characteristic but they are exaggerated. The brilliance of Dickens'
caricatures‹as seen in his other novels, especially Our Mutual Friend‹is in
itself an argument against "hard facts" for his skewed depictions of skewed
power-relationships offer the truth at the heart of the matter, if not the "hard
fact." This first chapter is prefatory, and in the second, Dickens introduces the
names of the characters and their town as a further element of caricature.

A final point to be noted concerns the nature of Dickens' narrative structure.

One interesting dynamic the reader must bear in mind comes from the fact
that Dickens' work was originally serialized‹each of these short chapters came
as an installment in a magazine. Dickens stays close to the classical
trilogy/tripartite structures by dividing the work into three books that have an
inherent narrative: after sowing comes reaping, after reaping comes garnering
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 (though one can often reap and sow and leave it at that). The reader can
compare the larger three-part structure with the smaller chapter-to-chapter
structure. While we know that Reaping follows Sowing, Chapter One ("The
One Thing Needful") is not so continuous with Chapter Two ("Murdering the
Innocents").

As the novel progresses, Dickens will not need to bring in new characters as
often as he will in the first chapters; additionally, the chapters become more
coherent and continuous as the novel gets closer to its end. The number of
installments Dickens was to write had already predetermined the length of the
novel! As we see in Chapter One, Dickens uses tactics of suspense: withheld
information (what is the geographical setting?); foreshadowed doom
("unaccommodating grasp"); unnamed anonymous figures ("the speaker, and
the schoolmaster, and the third grown person") and a cliffhanger at the
conclusion (literally: "the inclined plane of little vessels then and there
arranged in order, readyŠ"). Dickens must use suspense so that his reader will
buy the next serial.

Chapter Two: Murdering the Innocents

Chapter Two begins with the introduction of Thomas Gradgrind, "a man of
realitiesŠfacts and calculations." He always introduces himself as Mr.
Gradgrind and spends his time in constant cogitation. He is the Speaker,
previously unnamed and he now takes it as his duty to educate the children
("little pitchers before him"). He identifies a student, called Girl number
twenty, who replies that her name is Sissy Jupe. Gradgrind corrects her that
her name is Cecilia regardless of what her father calls her. Jupe's father is
involved in a horse-riding circus and this is not respectable‹in Gradgrind's
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opinion. He advises Cecilia to refer to her father as a "farrier" (the person who
shoes a horse) or perhaps, a "veterinary surgeon."
The lesson continues with Gradgrind's command: "Give me your definition of
a horse." While Girl number twenty knows what a horse is, she is unable to
define one. Another child in the class, a boy called Bitzer, easily defines the
animal by means of biological classifications (quadruped, graminivorous,
etc.). After this, the third gentleman steps forward. He is a government officer
as well as a famous boxer and he is known for his alert belligerence. His job
is to remove "fancy" and "imagination" from the minds of the children. They
learn that it is nonsense to decorate a room with representations of horses
because horses do not walk up and down the sides of rooms in reality. Sissy
Jupe is a slow learner, among the group of stragglers who admit that they
would dare to carpet a room with representations of flowers because she is
"fond" of them. Sissy is taught that she must not "fancy" and that she is "to be
in all things regulated and governed by fact."
After the gentleman finishes his speech, the schoolteacher, Mr.
M'Choakumchild, begins his instruction. He has been trained in a
schoolteacher-factory and has been conditioned to be dry, inflexible and
uninspiring‹but full of hard facts. His primary job in these preparatory lessons
is to find "Fancy" in the minds of the children and eradicate it.
Analysis:
"Murdering the Innocents" replaces the suspense of the previous chapter by
establishing names and identities for the previously anonymous social roles
that were presented earlier. As is to be expected from Dickens, the names of
the characters are emblematic of their personality; usually, Dickens'
characters can be described as innocent, villainous or unaware of the moral
dilemmas of the story that surrounds them. The characters' names are almost
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always an immediate indication of where the character fits on Dickens' moral
spectrum. Thomas Gradgrind, "a man of realities" is a hard educator who
grinds his students through a factory-like process, hoping to produce
graduates (grads). Additionally, Gradgrind is a "doubting Thomas"‹much like
the Biblical apostle who resisted belief in the resurrection, this Thomas urges
that students depend exclusively upon the evidence in sight. He dismisses
faith, fancy, belief, emotion and trust at once. Mr. M'Choakumchild is plainly
villainous and he resembles the sort of fantastic ogres he'd prefer students took
no stock in.
Cecilia (Sissy) Jupe is unlike the other characters in almost every possible
way. While there are other female students, she is the only female identified
thus far in the novel. Unlike the boy "Bitzer" (who has the name of a horse),
Sissy has a nickname and at least in this chapter, she is the lone embodiment
of "fancy" at the same time that she is the single female presented as a contrast
to the row of hardened mathematical men. Her character is, of course, a
romanticized figure. Despite the political critique of Dickens' simplification
and over-idealization of females and children (and girls, especially), Cecilia's
character does have some depth that allows her development later in the novel.
Her last name, "Jupe," comes from the French word for "skirts" and her first
name, Cecilia, represents the sainted patroness of music. Especially as she is
a member of a traveling circus, we can expect Cecilia to represent "Art" and
"Fancy" in contrast to M'Choakumchild, one of 141 schoolmasters who "had
been lately turned at the same time, in the same factory, on the same
principles, like so many pianoforte legs."
Besides the allusion to St. Cecilia, Dickens alludes to Morgiana, a character
in the classic story "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"‹one of the Arabian
Nights tales. The reader should always note the irony in Dickens' allusions:
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while Dickens' characters argue against fanciful literature, Dickens' is relying
upon it to compose his story. In this case, Dickens' simile presents
M'Choakumchild's search for "the robber Fancy" in terms of Morgiana's
searching for (and hiding of) the thieves in "Ali Baba." The metaphor of the
children as eager "vessels" is made explicit when the "vessels" before
M'Choakumchild become the "jars" before Morgiana. And the motif of
robbers and villains is finalized when we remember that Ali Baba and the
forty thieves were more hero than criminal. M'Choakumchild is labeled
"gentleman" but his intention to seek and destroy "the robber Fancy lurking
within" makes "the robber Fancy" (childish imagination) a more noble
personification. Instead, the teachers are the ones who seem criminal.
The most important allusion of the chapter is the title: "Murdering the
Innocents." The reader should expect Dickens work to be full of Biblical and
Christian allusions as he is writing to a largely sentimental popular audience.
While the reference may be more inaccessible, erudite or unrecognizable for
modern young readers, Dickens' 1854 British audience immediately saw the
reference to King Herod. Soon after the birth of Christ, Herod fears for his
throne and has all of the male babies in Bethlehem executed (in the hopes of
murdering the Christ child). In literary circles, the phrase "murder of the
innocents" is exclusively used to describe this Biblical story. While the
students are not literally danger (M'Choakumchild), their childish imagination
has been targeted for annihilation. This completes the archetype of youth vs.
age, and foreshadows that whoever is being targeted and singled out (Cecilia
Jupe and her imagination) will ultimately escape this tyrant, but other
innocents will be less fortunate (Bitzer). But we might expect as much from
the same author who had written A Christmas Carol a decade before.

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 The major theme of the chapter can be easily inferred from Dickens'
description of Cecilia in the classroom. The "horses" and carpeted "flowers"
are all double symbols of her femininity and youth, but most important,
Cecilia represents Art in opposition to mechanization. Dickens is not arguing
against education, science or progress. He is arguing against a mode of
factory-style, mind-numbing, grad-grinding production that takes the fun out
of life. But even worse than the loss of "fun" or "leisure," Dickens is arguing
that art requires an inquisitive and desiring mind. Especially as Dickens is
known to have read and enjoyed Arabian Nights in his youth, we can see a bit
of autobiography in his tender treatment of Cecilia‹perhaps if he had come
under a Mr. M'Choakumchild, he would have proved incapable of becoming
an artist.

Chapter Three: A Loophole

Mr. Gradgrind is walking home from school and he is thinking about his
students and his children‹who are also under his tutelage. He considers them
to be models, for he has trained them since birth, and they have attended many
lectures. He is quite confident in them, for they study all of the most important
subjects and their academic knowledge is well-rounded. Their earliest
memories are of the chalkboard and they have learned plenty of statistics,
though they know nothing of children's literature, of art or poetry or "silly"
songs. Mr. Gradgrind forbids "wonder" and encourages classification and
dissection, the exposition of fact.
Gradgrind's home is called Stone Lodge and he moved here after working in
"the wholesale hardware trade." The house is short distance outside of "a great
town" called Coketown and Mr. Gradgrind's current occupation is his
intention of running for a seat in Parliament. The house is perfectly balanced,
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proportioned and calculated. The lawn and the gardens are all perfectly even.
Gradgrind is thinking about all of these things as he walks home and he is
close to his conclusion that everything is right in his world and everyone is
behaving as they ought. But in this moment his "ears were invaded by the
sound of music." A group flying the flag of "Sleary's Horse-riding" has
attracted a small crowd with such acts and exhibitions as the "graceful
equestrian Tyrolean Flower-Act," the "highly trained performing dog
Merrylegs" and other fanciful amusements.
Gradgrind disregards the rabble and continues home, only when he looks to
the rear of the circus booth, he sees a number of children peeping to see what
is inside. Of course, Gradgrind heads over, intending to remove whichever
students are in affiliation with his school. Much to his surprise, he finds his
two children‹"his own metallurgical Louisa" and "his own mathematical
Thomas" struggling to catch a glimpse of what is happening inside. Gradgrind
startles them both and orders them home. Louisa is more bold in her anger;
she is older than her brother but her extra years of schooling have made her
more resentful than docile. In fact, Louisa has asked her brother to come along
with her to the amusement. Gradgrind is embarrassed, arguing that the two
children are debasing themselves but Louisa merely replies that she is "tired"
and has been "tired for a long time." Dickens ends the chapter with Mr.
Gradgrind's final exclamation and his own commentary: "What would Mr.
Bounderby say!"‹as if Mr. Bounderby had been Mrs. Grundy.
Analysis:
We neither know Mr. Bounderby nor Mrs. Grundy (yet another of Dickens'
cliffhangers), but from Mr. Gradgrind's statement we can infer that they are
similarly boring and uninspiring adults with a heavy-handed disciplinary air
about them. As the novel progresses, the narrative structure will rely more and
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more upon cliffhangers and the sometimes-abrupt introduction and
disappearance of characters. The second chapter, "Murdering the Innocents,"
foreshadows this chapter, "A Loophole." Just as the theological commentary
on Herod's Bethlehem massacre (allusion from Chapter 2) focuses on the
escape of the Christ child in the midst of the mass murder, the "Loophole"
now offers escape from the "Murdering." And just as this chapter ends with
the cliffhanger (Who is Mr. Bounderby?), the next chapter, entitled "Mr.
Bounderby" answers that very question. The question of location is answered
however: Coketown, is the setting of the novel and it is an explicit critique of
the social politics, corruption and depression of Manchester, England, a
heavily industrialized city.
The new characters include "metallurgical Louisa" and "mathematical
Thomas" and by now, the reader should notice the combined force of rhyme,
consonance and alliteration in the character's names and descriptions of
places. This stylistic point is worth dwelling on because usually these three
devices‹especially when used in concert‹tend towards more lyrical language
and more beautiful images. This is not necessarily the case in Dickens because
he simply strips these literary rules to their basic meaning. A rhyme does not
have to be fanciful, it only has to hint at a common trait.
For example: Coke in Coketown rhymes with Choak in M'Choakumchild.
Consonance describes the agreement of sounds (not necessarily a rhyme, but
more often alliteration, or a combination of both). These are sounds that sound
nice together, they repeat without perfectly rhyming, and while they sound
nice together they are not necessarily nice sounding words.
For example: Bounderby and Grundy share consonant endings by and dy, as
well as the nd sound in the middle. They are consonant but they do not

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perfectly rhyme. M'Choakumchild is depicted as a "dry Ogre chalking ghastly
white figures" on the black board (ch-).
Alliteration, the repetition of letters (and as a result, sounds), is a final device
we can use to group characters together.
Ogre, Gradgrind, Grundy, Bounderby.
Sissy/Cecilia Jupe, Signor Jupe, Josephine Sleary, Merrylegs.
"Metallurgical Louisa," Mathematical Thomas"
In some words and descriptors, we find unpleasant images that receive the
benefit of alliterated sounds: mathematical Thomas and metallurgical Louisa
can be viewed as pupils who have received the same rhyming (ical)
educational treatment‹but in truth, Louisa and Thomas will prove very
different. Dickens takes these devices to the extreme in this chapter and while
these rules prove true throughout the novel, the occasional exception or
coincidental rhyme can pop up. All of the names mentioned above however,
are sustained in the work. Bounderby later becomes metallic, Gradgrind
establishes boundaries, etc. Dickens' caricatures are visual (he drew
illustrations for the original editions) but they rely upon the repetition of
repetition, over and over again, much like the factories.
Dickens takes another motif from children's literature and explicitly names
the teacher as an "ogre" who is "taking childhood captive, and dragging it into
gloomy statistical dens by the hair." The loophole is a symbol of escape‹both
mentally and physically. The symbol of contrast to the loophole is Stone
Lodge, the home of Gradgrind, and most definitely a "statistical den." Dickens
simile presents the gardens "like a botanical account-book" and this sustains
the underlying comparison between the statistical, grid-iron classifications
(mathematical, metallurgical) and the freedom that one expects from nature.

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 The children's "dissection" of the "Great Bear" constellation is a metaphor for
the murder of fancy and mythology.
We recall the "horse" vs. "Quadruped. Graminivorous." debate and this is
sustained in the images of animal "celebrities" from nursery rhymes‹figures
who are unfamiliar for young Louisa and Thomas. Thematically, there have
been several "loopholes" in the Gradgrind training. There is the loophole as
peephole, which is a symbol that foreshadows a continued defiance (at least
on Louisa's part); there is also the loophole of contradiction where astronomy
permits the "Great Bear" but the real dog "Merrylegs" and the painted
representation of "horses dancing sideways" on a wall are forbidden. Mr.
Gradgrind's blind face prevents him from enjoying fancy but it also prevents
him from seeing the contradictions in his thought and the loopholes through
which his model children might escape.

Chapter Four: Mr. Bounderby

Mr. Josiah Bounderby is Mr. Gradgrind's closest friend, and just like
Gradgrind he is a man "perfectly devoid of sentiment." Bounderby is very
wealthy from his trade as a banker, a merchant and a manufacturer among
other things. He has an imposing figure and his entire body is oversized,
swelled and overweight. He calls himself a "self-made man" and he always
tells his friends (the Gradgrinds, primarily) stories of how he grew up in the
most wretched conditions. Mrs. Gradgrind has a very emotional temperament
and she usually faints whenever Mr. Bounderby tells his horror stories of
being born in a ditch or having lived the first ten years of his life as a
vagabond. Bounderby continues to tell his stories, pacing in the formal
drawing-room of Stone Lodge.

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Bounderby is proud of self-made status, having risen to the ranks of the
Gradgrinds without the "advantages" of education. Instead of attending
school, Bounderby inevitably ran away from his grandmother, who would
steal his shoes and sell them for alcohol, his mother having abandoned him
soon after birth. He describes the periods of his life as follows: "Vagabond,
errand-boy, vagabond, labourer, porter, clerk, chief manager, small partner,
Josiah Bounderby of Coketown." He taught himself to read by looking at the
outsides and signs of buildings.
Mr. Gradgrind informs his friend Bounderby that Louisa and Thomas were
caught spying at a circus and Mrs. Gradgrind replies "I should as soon have
expected to find my children reading poetry." Louisa and Thomas are present
and the three adults express their disappointment. Bounderby makes it clear
that the circus is composed of the very vagabonds that Louisa and Thomas
should be grateful for having avoided. For his part, Bounderby adds that the
circus is a "cursed bad thing for a girl like Louisa," subsequently apologizing
for his profanity, but to his credit, he did not have a "refined growing up." Mr.
Gradgrind is intent upon understanding what might have motivated Louisa
and Thomas to stray from their rules and standards. Bounderby brings Cecilia
Jupe (one of the "strollers' children") to Gradgrind's attention and he
convinces him that Cecilia must be the factor influencing the Gradgrind
children. Mr. Gradgrind is at first hesitant but he soon agrees with Bounderby
that Cecilia must be removed from the school so that she might not infect the
other students with her ideas. The chapter ends with Gradgrind and
Bounderby's immediate venture into Coketown to confront "Signor Jupe" and
remove Sissy from school.

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 Analysis:
Josiah Bounderby dominates the chapter, much as his physical figure
dominates those surrounding him. At least at this point in the novel, it is
unclear how exactly he became a "self-made" man and arrived at his fortunes.
Bounderby is a man of social mobility and ever expanding boundaries, but
Dickens' social commentary suggests that Bounderby is hypocritical: even as
he complains that he had to crawl out of poverty without aid, he is the firmest
advocate of Sissy Jupe's dismissal from the school. Other characters that are
introduced in this chapter are Mrs. Gradgrind, an unintelligent hypochondriac.
Three younger children, Jane, Adam Smith and Malthus are briefly depicted.
They are relevant as references to economists: Adam Smith is considered the
father of laissez-faire (capitalist) economics and his theories encourage hard
work and competition. Thomas Malthus is a less famous and more depressing
thinker whose primary economic argument explained the inevitability and
desirability of a certain level of poverty‹as a means of avoiding
overpopulation. Smith and Malthus are both symbols of the economic mode
of production that has overrun Coketown.

Bounderby's self-presentation is pure hyperbole. While he may have been very

poor once and certainly is now very rich, his overbearing stories sound very much
like the "art" and "fancy" to which he is nominally opposed. As in a classic fairy-
tale, he has a wicked grandmother who mistreats him. And there is a
Shakespearean allusion in Bounderby's explanation of his birth ("ŠI was born in
a ditchŠ As wet as a sop. A foot of water in itŠ.nobody would touch me with a
pair of tongs.") Despite Bounderby's lack of a proper education, his lines are a
paraphrase of very famous lines from Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act I) where
witches boil a stew that includes a "finger of birth-strangled babe/Ditch-deliver'd

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by a drab,/Make the gruel thick and slabŠ" Ditch-born babies generally have bad
luck, but Bounderby has somehow overcome his.

And it is strongly suggested that the images of vagabonds and circuses are the
avenues towards idleness, and after idleness comes poverty. The focus on money
and industry produces a motif of metals and minerals. Just as Coketown is named
for "coke"‹the coal-like fuel of the industrial furnaces, we have seen
"metallurgical Louisa" and now Bounderby is described as having a "metallic
laugh," Mrs. Bounderby is described as not being an "alloy" because she is
unintelligent, and Jane had fallen asleep "after manufacturing a good deal of
moist pipe-clay on her face with slate-pencil and tears."

Bounderby's "cavernous eyes" are a symbol of the deep, dark secrets hiding
(cave-like) in his past; but his resemblance with Gradgrind reminds the reader
that Bounderby and Gradgrind are constantly operating surveillance‹there is a
juxtaposition in the adults' spying on the children as they peep at the public circus,
and this awkward relationship reveals how much power the adults have. When
Bounderby greets Louisa with a goodbye kiss, she rubs this spot of her face
incessantly and her proposal to cut that hole out of her face altogether hovers
between metonymy and metaphor‹Louisa is increasingly desperate to remove
herself from her present situation and Bounderby's advanced age only intensifies
her anguish and foreshadows Bounderby's convoluted and confused desires for
Louisa.

The theme of education and self-improvement is rather well-developed in this

chapter. We find the hypocrisy of the self-made man who would bar Sissy Jupe
from school; another irony is in Bounderby's repeated admission of being low-
class. After he uses the phrase "cursed bad thing," Bounderby continues: "I

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 should ask Mrs. Gradgrind's pardon for strong expressions, but that she knows
very well I am not a refined character. Whoever expects refinement in me will be
disappointed. I hadn't a refined bringing up." The understatement here is that
Bounderby should ask for pardon but he does not because he is merely behaving
as ought to be expected. It is interesting that Bounderby is not a target for
education and that despite his lack of education he is somehow acceptable (this
is because he is rich). On the other hand, how necessary is an educational system
so heavily dependent on the "Protestant Work Ethic" when its model pupils are
wayward and those who most need conversion (Cecilia Jupe) are mildly
persecuted? Louisa's languished looks out of the window and the description of
two other children "out at lecture in custody," complete our understanding of the
educational environment as an ogre's prison-cave.

Chapter Five: The Key-Note

In this short chapter, Mr. Bounderby and Mr. Gradgrind proceed towards
Coketown, a town which is a "triumph of fact." It is mostly made of red brick and
it is heavily industrialized. Smoke hangs in the air, the water is polluted with "ill-
smelling dye" and pistons and steam-engines cause the windows of the buildings
to rattle all day long. The streets are monotonous and the people are hardly
different from one another, each performing pretty much the same job in the same
factory, and the work that they do is little different from one day to the next.

The only things to be seen in Coketown were "severely workful." There were
eighteen chapels in the town, representing eighteen religious persuasions but the
workers were not among these congregations. The churches are little different in
appearance from the jail, the infirmary and the town-hall. Every building is a
testament to "fact." There is an organization in Coketown composed to deal with

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the irreligious nature of the laboring classes and they often petition Parliament
for acts that would "make these people religious by main force." Besides this
truancy, alcoholism and opium were other vices rampant in Coketown. Plenty of
specimen testified that had it not been for the drink they "would have been a tip-
top moral specimen."

As they pass through Coketown, Messrs. Bounderby and Gradgrind consider the
town residents to be a "bad lot" who are ungrateful, demanding, excessive in
tastes and diet, languid in work ethic. The actual picture is not so simple as a
town full of vice. Dickens suggests that the residents of Coketown were simply
in need of good humor and some sort of diversion after the endless misery of their
occupations. Bounderby and Gradgrind are looking for an address called Pod's
End and as they continue along their path, they run into Girl number twenty, who
is being chased by Bitzer. Bitzer accuses the girl of being a horse-rider and a liar
as well. Bounderby sees this as evidence of her contagious spread.

Sissy Jupe leads the two gentleman to the decrepit place where she lives. They
see here carrying a bottle and question if it is gin, but she replies that it is "the
nine oils" that her father has requested as an ointment because he is sore from his
performances. Sissy tries to be as polite as possible and just before entering the
"public house" she warns the two gentlemen not to fear barking that they may
hear as it is only the small dog, called Merrylegs.

Analysis:

This chapter is a narrative interlude that spaces out the dramatic action at hand.
In striking the "key-note," Dickens takes note of the physical setting and spends
time describing Coketown more than he had previously done. The overriding
archetype is hell: Hell is seen in the darkened canal that is an allusion to the River
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 Styx. The coiled serpents are another symbol of sin and immorality. The images
of the savage painted faces parallel the image of the dyed water. And the elephant
is an odd juxtaposition of mechanics and nature: little surprise that he represents
a "melancholy madness."

One of Dickens' primary rhetorical devices here is his exhortation to the reader,
that they might reject the hasty condemnations made by the likes of Messrs.
Gradgrind and Bounderby. From Dickens' legal background we might suggest
that he is presenting the case for the people of Coketown, left without adequate
legal or popular counsel. Here, a Latin term "amicus curiae" ("friend of the
court") would be the most precise way to describe Dickens' moralizing tone in
this short chapter. Dickens was not alone in arguing that the conditions of workers
in cities like Coketown (or rather, Manchester) were inhumane and ought to be
regulated more closely. This opening chapter foreshadows many of the class-
oriented issues that the characters will have to grapple with.

INDUSTRIALIZATION

In Hard Times Dickens sharply criticizes the poor living conditions of the working
class in industrial towns. He depicts life in a fictive industrial town Coketown as a
symbol for a typical industrial town in Northern England of that time. It is a place
full of exploitation, desperation, and oppression. Soot and ash are all over the town;
it is a dirty and suffocating place.
The workers have low wages and work long hours. The work begins before sunrise,
the production is important and there is no regard for the rights and suffering of the
low class. Children in school are taught according to Utilitarianism philosophy –
they should accept and live according to facts and facts alone, they are not allowed
to fantasize or think for themselves.

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In Coketown, machines cause great pollution. Industrial workers have no chance of
progress in life. The upper-middle-class ignores their misery (Bounderby) and
denies imagination and creativity (Gradgrind). Utilitarianism exerts the
mechanization of society and the human mind. The character of Sissy Jupe
represents the personification of fact vs. fancy conflict, she tries hard to learn facts,
but is unable to, she freely thinks and imagines. She is the most stable character
because she succeeds to find a balance between the two. Dickens points out the flaws
and limitations of the newly created industrial society and the necessity of social
reform.

WOMEN

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This novel is deeply conservative in its concept of women. The Victorians believed
that women embodied the traits of compassion, moral purity, and sensitivity; they
idealized the redemptive powers of femininity, so in Hard Times we have the female
angelic types – Sissy and Rachael.
Sissy is innocent and has the desire to serve because of her belief in humanity. She’s
compassionate and tender-hearted, she brings salvation from facts. Because of her
goodness, she is rewarded with a happy life. Rachael is hard-working,
compassionate, morally pure, and sensitive. She is a nursemaid to Stephen’s hateful
wife; she improves the lives of those around her.

Then, there is Louisa. Gradgrind removes the burden of ideal femininity on his
daughter but outside her family, she’s unable to fulfill the idealized role of mother
and wife. Her emotions are dormant and hidden until they burst out in the end, but
she gets lost because she doesn’t know how to deal with her emotions. Louisa and
Sissy point out the flaws of fact-philosophy.

There is also a type of degraded woman embodied in Stephen’s wife. She is

monstrous and barely human, has to be kept hidden. Women in this story often see
things more clearly than men and remain strong and composed in a crisis situation.

UTILITARIANISM

Utilitarianism is the philosophy that leaves nothing to the imagination; everything is

to be explained with the help of logic and facts. The goal of every individual should
be to receive the most pleasure out of life. Utilitarianism intercedes for utility, well-
being, and pleasure in life. From the beginning of the novel, Dickens introduces us
to the utilitarian way of thinking. Gradgrind and Bounderby are the most outstanding
representatives of the utilitarian philosophy.

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Children are taught factual school from an early age (Louisa, Tom, Bitzer).
Gradgrind thinks that only facts are important in every situation,e.g. for him love is
not the major issue in marriage. Louisa gets free of the fact school in the end, but
cannot stand up to the world of fancy and imagination because she’s taught the
opposite all the time. Tom commits every action out of self-interest.

At the end of the story, when Louisa comes desperate for her father, Mr. Gradgrind
says that he never knew she was unhappy; he wasn’t able to identify his child’s
emotions. Everything he believed in is shattered, but he wants to make it up to
Louisa. The whole system falls apart when Gradgrind loses confidence in it.

On the other side, Bounderby keeps a firm belief in the system, so in the beginning
and in the end, he’s in the same situation (a bachelor), his character doesn’t go
through personal development. He represents the ideology of facts, but himself lives
in an illusion of a self-made man.

Sissy accepts the situation she found herself in, but never accepts the factual world,
she keeps her inner value, she is the mediator between two worlds (fact and fancy).
Stephen is the opposite of the ideology of facts – he is genuine, driven by feelings,
and not spoiled by any political or ideological opinions. Stephen/Bounderby
represent the ideologies, Sissy/Gradgrind hold them together.

In Hard Times, Dickens is subjective and influences the shaping of the reader’s
opinion, he’s against the Utilitarian system, against egoism, and lack of imagination.

Perspective and Narrator

Hard Times is told in the third person by an omniscient narrator who occasionally
inserts a comment, sarcastic remark, or opinion on the characters or the action,
giving readers a sense of the narrator's familiarity with the characters and events.
This narrative point of view also contrasts with the characters who, for the most part,

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are detached from their feelings, thoughts, and emotions and unable to communicate
effectively.
Tense

Hard Times is written in the past tense.

About the Title

The title Hard Times or the full title Hard Times for These Times refers to the
difficulties of life caused by industrialization in England in the 19th century and by
the constraints of rigid, fact-based education that arose along with it in the attempt
to increase profits and control life and thought.

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