Hard Times Analysis

8/10/2019 Hard Times Analysis

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Hard Times

Book the First: SOWING

Chapter One: The One Thing Needful

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 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 "plantand 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,

monotonous inflexible, 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.


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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 asunaccommodating as this school system. The sum of Dickens' images,

from sowing to strangulation, should clearly foreshadow the "hard times"

that are ahead.

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 isa 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.

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


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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 principlesof 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 ofthe 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 threebooks that have an inherent narrative: after sowing comes reaping, after

reaping comes garnering (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 becomemore 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, ready"). Dickens must use

suspense so that his reader will buy the next serial.


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Chapter Two: Murdering the Innocents

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, thenames 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 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:

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


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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 orunrecognizable 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 writtenA Christmas Carola decade before.

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.
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Chapter Three: A Loophole

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-handeddisciplinary air about them. As the novel progresses, the narrative

structure will rely more and 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

perfectly rhyme. M'Choakumchild is depicted as a "dry Ogre chalking

ghastly white figures" on the black board (ch-).


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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. 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 faceprevents him from enjoying fancy but it also prevents him from seeing the
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contradictions in his thought and the loopholes through which his model

children might escape.

Chapter Four: Mr. Bounderby

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 theschool. 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 economicmode 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 (" I was born in a ditch As wet as a sop. A foot

of water in it .nobody would touch me with a pair of tongs.") DespiteBounderby'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 by a

drab,/Make the gruel thick and slab" 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


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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 tocut 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 repeatedadmission of being low-class. After he uses the phrase "cursed bad thing,"

Bounderby continues: "I 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.


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Chapter Seven:Mrs. Sparsit

Characterization is very important in this chapter, which center on the

character for whom it is named. Mrs. Sparsit's name can be read as a

combination of the words "sparse" and "sit." Throughout the novel, thereader will find that Sparsit is almost always described in terms of her

posture (and she is usually sitting). Her character and her history are

riddled with contradictions and contrasts. There is, for example, the irony

of her husband dying of alcoholism ("brandy") in the midst of French

decadence (the port city of Calais). And yet, Sparsit is to be considered as

a moral example and as for power, she is both a "conqueror" and a

"princess."

Bounderby is described with various symbols of his own power; chiefamong them are his portrait and his bank documents. The portrait is an

especially interesting symbol as it is a likeness of Bounderby and is also an

artistic image. Why should Bounderby be so interested in an artistic

rendering of himself? Perhaps it is because the portrait is not an element

of fancy, but is an extremely accurate representation. It is, essentially, a

second Bounderby.

Finally, there are a few instances of hyperbole in this chapter, as seen in

much of Gradgrind and Bounderby's dialogue about Cecilia Jupe. Thereference to Fairies, Dwarves and the Hunchback as "destructive

nonsense" is a little extreme. But this hard line of reasoning does situate

Jupe's experience within the themes of education and conversion. It is

interesting to note that Cecilia is to be "reclaimed and formed" both

intellectually and morally.

Chapter Eight: Never Wonder

Chapter Eight is more important within Dickens' philosophical context

than in the actual "story" that is being presented in the novel. Certainly,

the characters are affected by the course of events, but when Dickens

writes of returning to the "key-note" this is a hint that he is returning to

look at the major themes and contrasts that have been presented thus far.

In a sense, it is a summary of the major ideas in conflict. An example of

this conflict can be seen in the library; ironically, Gradgrind does not

approve of the establishment. Dickens develops this point by contrasting"Defoe" versus "Euclid" and "Goldsmith" versus "Cocker." These
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references basically reiterate the fact that Gradgrind does not like

literature (Daniel Defoe is the author of such classic fictional works

asRobinson Crusoeand [?]Goldsmith is a famous British playwright.

Euclid, on the other hand, is an ancient Greek who basically invented

geometry and [?]Cocker is [?]).The battle between the literary agents of "fancy" and the hard

mathematical analysts can be seen again in Dickens' archetypal use of fire

imagery to convey the sense of the storyteller (in this case, Louisa

Gradgrind but also, in a larger sense, Dickens, no?) as a somewhat

magical, more modern version of the ancient oracles. In Greek myth,

oracles were ordained priest-like figures who were usually female and

known for looking into the fire and "reading the signs." Incidentally, this

scene of a sister reading the fire to her younger brother is repeated in

another one of Dickens' novels, Our Mutual Friend. The fire can be a

symbol of the hearth, of familial warmth and love between siblings but we

find here is that this warmth is largely frustrated.

The contrast to Fancy and imagination comes with the lingering cold,

despite the fire. In a metaphorical sense, we can describe the Gradgrinds'

family life as very cold and lacking in emotion. An important distinction

can be made between coldness and hate, indifference and dislike. The

parents neither hate nor dislike their children, but they are emotionally

cold, indifferent and distant. In opposition to emotion and "wonder," they

prefer science. We see mechanical imagery in the way that Louisa and

Tom describe their emotions (as a coiled "spring," for example) and in the

lack of freedom and repression of emotions. In a way, repressing ones

true emotions, feelings and desires is a form of dishonesty and this

chapter foreshadows later scenes in the novel, where Louisa's repression

becomes a matter of loyalty and fidelity (a key theme of the novel).

Chapter Nine: Sissy's Progress

The characterization of Cecilia Jupe as a student who is trying to make

"progress" in her relations with the Gradgrinds relies upon an allusion to

the epic, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. As this work is about a very

devout character (named Christian) who tries to get to Heaven (called the

Celestial City) and avoid sin (in such places as the Slough of Despond), you

could say that Dickens' use of this "Progress" is intended as irony. The

reference to Bunyan's work might not be obvious but once it is pointed
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out, the reader should consider the different types of "progress" that

might exist. Dickens lived during the great "Industrial Revolution" of Great

Britain and the Gradgrinds are certainly part of this revolution. Still,

Dickens suggests that this economic and scientific progress should be

matched with moral and artistic progress.

Without being as religiously explicit as Bunyan, Dickens tries to show that

Cecilia has made moral progress in a way that the Gradgrinds have not.

For example, there is the metaphor of Mr. Gradgrind's eye as a "wintry

piece of fact." It is hard and dead (the archetype of winter) but Cecilia can

make progress, and can grow for she is attached to images of spring,

youth and life. As one of the major themes in the novel focuses on

education and conversion, we might ask ourselves what the Gradgrinds

(especially Louisa) could learn from Sissy and how this progress mightmake their lives better. Dickens contrasts Sissy's concern for others with

"political economy" an academic subject that should answer questions in

order to take care of a society and its citizens.

One of Dickens' literary qualities that does not appeal to modern readers

is his overly sentimental treatment of certain characters. Hopefully, the

sentimentality does not significantly obscure some of the subtle points

that Dickens is making when he seems to making the same point over and

over again. There are many ways in which Sissy is a contrast to theGradgrinds, but there is the hidden detail of her father being a circus

clown, basically, yet being a better father than Mr. Gradgrind. Later on in

the novel, Dickens will again use the stock character of the fool in order to

show true wisdom. The constant battle between "Fancy" and "Fact" is

complicated by the varying degrees of honesty, truthfulness and accuracy.

While Mr. Gradgrind always insists on "Fact" and we can assume Dickens

to prefer "Fancy," Dickens does try to show that the preference for one or

the other is a matter of choice and opinion. Regardless of which is better,

both are necessary and life is miserable without the both. In terms of

social commentary, Sissy's sobbing over being denied the stories she loves

("the wrong books") is an example of censorship, and yet another example

of the themes of surveillance and watching that fascinate Dickens.

Chapter Ten:Stephen Blackpool

Dickens' portrayal of Stephen Blackpool is a form of characterization thatbasically equates the figure and the scene. Stephen is the personification
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Sparsit is described as a "fallen lady," there are more intense images of

verticality in the lives of the poor: the serpent, the rising smoke, Lucifer

the fallen angel and the grim, black ladders attached to each house. Each

of these images becomes an explicit symbol of how easy it is for the poor

to fall farther into the dumps. On the one hand we have Blackpool whosesteady fall throughout the novel is simply on account of his already being

down and having no other direction in which to travel. On the other hand,

characters like Bounderby and Sparsit will also suffer their own social

"falls" but it will be on account of their hubris, excessive pride.

Chapter Twelve: The Old Woman

The old woman character is one of Dickens' specialties, appearing in more

than a few of his novels. As in the others, she is a woman from the country

who is on a pilgrimage, which is usually a religious trip. In spite of her

mystery, her kiss upon Stephen's hand is a symbolic blessing. There is a

simple contrast between the country woman and the city men that excite

her. Her connection to Bounderby is not yet known, but it is very

important and will be easy to guess well before it is revealed. It is ironic

that she considers the men of high standing to be "gentlemen" when we

have learned that they are anything but gentle, but the pilgrimdemonstrates that she can see past appearances by finding the value in

Stephen Blackpool.

The suspense of the chapter is mainly fueled by questions of the woman's

identity and how she is able to know Bounderby so well as to describe him

as "portly, bold, outspoken and hearty." Again, the theme of surveillance

is established, for the lady has only come to town to deliberately watch

strangers. Nonetheless, her honesty and the fact that she does sneak up

and spy on others are all reassuring.

Chapter Thirteen: Rachael

The most important symbol in the chapter is the candle that represents

Rachel's presence in Stephen's room and in his life. As a candle, Rachel

brings light (clarity and understanding), warmth (love) and constancy

(permanent devotion). Along with Sissy Jupe, she is part of the motif ofyoung women who have maternal, caring qualities because they are poor


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Chapter Fifteen: Father and Daughter

The reference to Bluebeard and Mr. Gradgrind's office room being full of

"bluebooks" is a combination of irony and allusion. At the very least, the

very mention of Bluebeard, a villain from a child's fairy tale story,foreshadows the marriage drama that unfolds and it is a reminder of the

war against "fancy" and "imagination" that the Gradgrinds have embarked

upon. Bluebeard was a dreadful knight who promised a wonderful life to

each of his wives until their curiosity overcame them and they were

encouraged to search through a hidden closet in the back of his castle a

closet that contained the dead bodies of his former wives. Surely this is

not a good harbinger for Louisa's upcoming marriage.

Mr. Gradgrind is a bit of an ogre. Certainly, he and Bounderby have hadLouisa under heavy surveillance and observation for some time.

Gradgrind's office is as symbolic an observatory as it is a literal one. The

characterization of Louisa reflects the power and politics between Mr.

Gradgrind and Mr. Bounderby. She becomes a debased human being in a

way, the mere "subject of a proposal." She is weakened but in a reversal,

she is the one who stands "impassive, proud, cold" and is above all. The

father is beaten at his own game of stoicism and if anything, this chapter

marks the beginning of the blindness motif that will come to identify Mr.

Gradgrind and his inability to understand the human soul.

Chapter Sixteen: Husband and Wife

If this chapter confirms what we have learned from the stories of Mrs.

Sparsit and also Stephen Blackpool it is an argument of social

commentary: the politics of the social scale are mediated more by

marriage than by any other one thing. This also presents an interestingcontrast between Mrs. Sparsit and Mr. Bounderby. Her fake show of

sympathy foreshadows the eventual unhappiness of the marriage. Who

exactly is the "victim?" As Book I ends, we are left to compare the "jolly"

state of Bounderby and the more "desperate" condition of Blackpool.


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Book the Second: Reaping

Chapter One: Effects in the Bank

The tone is wrought with sarcasm. Dickens uses the word wonder' asirony because there is little wonder to be had in Coketown. The "evil eye"

glaring over Coketown is as intense a foreshadowing of Bounderby's

unraveling as any other image in the novel. The shroud is a symbol of

death and dying, decay and destruction.

The metaphor of Babel refers to the Tower of Babel. This is an allusion to

an Old Testament story that explains that the excessive pride of humans

will eventually topple their enterprises. The image of hell and punishment

is reinforced by the very sharp description of the city's climate as "frying inoil."

The use of the word "aspiring" is a pun that refers both to the upward

motion of the smoke and the upward yearnings of the poor if only the

fortunes of the poor rose as easily as the smoke of the factory. A

metaphor is employed when the fragility of the townspeople is

understood by their being like "weak china."

In characterizing Mrs. Sparsit, Dickens takes her posture (always sittingand watching) and makes her into an equivalent of the Fates, much like

Madame deFarge, a famous character from his novel ATale of Two Cities.

The scenes that revolve around Mrs. Sparsit are all about the trappings of

social class and position and in these moments, even the tables are

personified as having their "legs in an attitude."

Against the cliffhanger that centers on yet another new stranger's

mysterious identity, Dickens offers some social commentary on the upper

class conceptions of knowledge and education. In sharp contrast to the

Gradgrinds, Mrs. Sparsit takes her lack of knowledge as a fashionablesymptom of her simple virtue. Even as it makes little sense for lack of

knowledge to be rewarded we also see that Sparsit is eager to gain

information about the people around her. This interest in others affairs

will eventually prove to be Sparsit's undoing.
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Chapter Two: Mr. James Harthouse

It is very humorous that Harthouse is being hired to instill discipline and

order when he is wholly lacking in convictions. A subtle difference

between this chapter and the previous ones is the interior monologue ofHarthouse; he is the first character in the novel whose thoughts are

rendered verbatim to the reader. This is a good indicator of just how

transparent his character is, but this will not prevent him from ultimately

causing mischief and doing serious damage to his relationships with

others.

Dickens is perhaps being a bit too merciless when he describes the

Gradgrinds' educational system as "cutting the throats of the Graces."

Dickens alludes to the three Graces of ancient Greek mythology,goddesses who personified beauty, joy and flowering. That the

Gradgrinds' would eliminate this activity is especially worth noting

because Book II is when the "reaping" will occur. The elimination of the

Graces will insure the foreshadowed poor harvest.

One of the most important images of the chapter is that of Louisa's face,

described as a face whose "natural play was so locked up" that Harthouse

is unable to decipher her true thoughts and emotions. The "natural play"

is a metaphor for Louisa's facial gestures and her expression but the stateof their incarceration and lack of freedom (being "so locked up") stands as

a symbol for Louisa's experience as a whole. Just as Bounderby can be

understood by his braggart's portrait, Louisa is represented by her

imprisoned, stony face. The motif that offers representations of the "self"

leads to the metaphor of Bounderby's "household gods." Again, this

reinforces his portraits and the toys of his wealth as a combination of

idolatry and pride that is sure to bring doom.

A final contrast to consider is Harthouse vs. Louisa. While Louisa may besaid to have few emotions and desires because of her restricted

upbringing, Harthouse has few genuine emotions and desires because of

his refusal to make an unswerving commitment. Dickens' treatment of the

theme of fidelity is not a lumping together of the two characters when

Louisa says "What does it matter?" she means something very different

from Harthouse's more casual and more dangerous argument that one set

of ideas is "as good as another."


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Chapter Three: The Whelp

Tom's new characterization as a "whelp" is certainly a sing of bad things to

come. Indeed, Tom's condition comes to be less a matter of

foreshadowing so much as it shows the inevitable workings of fate. Laterin the novel, the reader will find that well before Tom actually became a

criminal, the novel had already uncovered his criminal potential. As an

ignorant, headstrong young man, Tom Gradgrind suffers from what the

Ancient Greeks called "hubris," an excessive pride that usually roused the

gods to anger. In this case, Tom does not even have the benefit of

becoming a fallen hero for there is nothing heroic about him. The image

that he has of himself is far grander than what he actually is.

The images that identify Tom in this chapter are subtle indicators of theyoung man's folly, blindness and inability to direct his steps. In this

chapter, he becomes involved in drugs, soporifics, tobacco, cigars and the

like all of which induce a clueless sleep. This is reinforced by the symbolic

action of begin carried through the mist by the waiter and Tom feels as

though he is "lounging somewhere in the air." Certainly, one can draw a

parallel between Tom andStephen Blackpool's wife, but the most

important feature of Tom's drunkenness is his somewhat innocent

destructive activity. His intentions are far from pure, but he is unaware of

what greater evils he sets in motion. Whether from the cigar smoke or the

alley-air, Tom is not in control of his action.

A better parallel lies between Tom and James Harthouse for Harthouse

will come to relinquish control of his actions by simply avoiding to

calculate the consequences of the things he does. What these characters

leave unsaid and to happenstance expresses a sentiment echoed in

Dickens's euphemistic condemnation of Tom who would have done better

to let the foul river rise above his "curtained head." Suicide is the unsaid

factor here, and while Tom is never driven to suicide, his fate is little

better and he does far greater harm to other innocent characters.

Chapter Four: Men and Brothers

Slackbridge is one of Dickens's quintessential caricatures, the principal

characterization of the man being derived from his one-word name: slack

bridge. The juxtaposition of slack and bridge, should amply explain the

danger that Slackbridge presents as a leader for the urban poor. Like a
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bridge, he is necessary and essential to the cause. But he is slack, not

dependable, untrustworthy and dangerous. It is the combination of slack

and bridge that produces the fault of the man. The worthless content of

Slackbridge's message is described by alliteration in the phrase "froth and

fume" and Slackbridge's demagoguery can be compared and contrasted toBounderby and Sparsit, two other leading orators of the novel.

In the pairing of Stephen Blackpool against Slackbridge, Blackpool's

negative name has no correlation with his character. Still, he is no match

for Slackbridge's powerhouse. Slackbridge's rhetorical skills are

exemplified in the copious allusions that he offers in the hopes of painting

a sour picture of Blackpool's moral credentials. He alludes to the Old

Testament story of Esau and his brother Jacob who tricked his brother

Esau into selling his birthright. Slackbridge also mentions Judas (Iscariot)who betrayed Jesus Christ and a man by the name of Castlereagh, a British

politician who earned the scorn of the laboring classes and also foreign

diplomats by reneging on his promises.

Chapter Five: Men and Masters

The narrative structure of this chapter parallels the "Men and Brothers"theme with its own "Men and Masters." Once dominated by those of his

own low social standing, Blackpool is now dominated by those who are his

social superiors. The "black unpassable world betwixt" the rich and the

poor is a metaphorical "blackpool" that also echoes the words about

angels and dead siblings who are benevolent spirits, blessing from across

the "gulf" of life and death. The other major metaphor that Blackpool uses

to describe the plight of the poor is a clock that is set on a ship bound to

Norfolk.

His reference to Norfolk is well worth notice as Norfolk was an old Virginia

colony that was unsuccessful and little different from the lost colony of

"Roanoke." One of the central themes of literature involves the "unity" of

time. Here, Stephen is practically philosophizing when he argues that time

will continue to advance regardless of the do-nothing attitude of those

who have the potential to produce some benefit for society. The social

commentary focuses on the "muddle" that has been created in the

hypocrisy of the wealthy and the incredible want of those who are lower

on the social totem-pole. Just as Bounderby is incredibly casual in


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efforts to do right or to do wrong. This is an important reversal for Dickens

because he has spent most of the novel criticizing the excesses of labor

and work. Now, his social commentary is leveled against the excess

idleness and leisure of the leisure class.

In the discussion of the theft, there is nothing to out of the ordinary.

Dickens uses his characteristic excess of irony and understatement when

describing the "little safe in young Tom's closet, the safe used for petty

purposes." Not only was the "safe" never safe, but we come to wonder

how much of a safe this was if it was "little" in size, used for "petty" sums,

and entrusted to the small closet of a "young" whelp. Of course, Tom is

the thief and the fact that there has not really been a crime will not stop

the search for criminals. Indeed, the false crime like the false key both

testify to the themes of honesty and fidelity. Moreover, there is thequestion of surveillance and the limits of human understanding and

knowledge. Despite their surveillance skills, Sparsit and Bitzer could not

avoid the theft. Despite his rigorous education, Tom could not avoid

stealing.

A final comment on knowledge and wisdom comes from Mrs. Sparsit's

Shakespearean allusion to the play Hamlet. When thinking of Mr.

Bounderby's loss, she hypocritically mourns (without feeling any

sentiment) "Alas poor Yorick." This is a reference to Prince Hamlet's linesin Act V, Scene I, Lines 203-204: "Alas poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a

fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy." Hamlet has been watching

the clumsy gravediggers prepare Ophelia's grave and in the process they

uncover Yorick's skull. Yorick was the court jester and play friend of the

prince. Ironically, Bounderby is no such Yorick "infinite jest" and

"excellent fancy" are precisely opposite to his personality. Dickens's

hidden reference gives us further reason to suspect Mrs. Sparsit's

emotional attachment to her "benefactor," Mr. Bounderby.

Chapter Nine: Hearing the Last of It

The characterization of Mrs. Sparsit focuses on her facial features and

their architectural composition. Her "Coriolanian" eyebrows and her dark,

all-seeing eyes are indicative of her powers of surveillance. In contrast to

the images of Sissy presented in Book III, Chapter One, Sparsit is not a site

of refuge but her eyes are "lighthouses on an iron-bound coast." This is asymbol of Sparsit's strength and intensity but we will find in the later


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Sparsit wears her "threatening mitten" as a metaphorical glove, again

symbolizing the military operation she has undertaken. Sparsit's intentions

are never fully revealed. It certainly doesn't look like she has something

against Louisa personally. Rather, she intends to exploit a bad situation for

her own personal gain. The allusion to the Furies of Greek mythology isadequate evidence of Sparsit's high tolerance for the pain of others. The

rain that inundates the streets makes a muddy mess and in the confusion,

the "pipes burst" and the streets are underwater. When Sparsit confesses:

"I have lost her," we see that the rain has established a symbolic confusion

even as Sparsit's clothes are disoriented, torn and disheveled. Louisa is

expected to drown in the "gulf" prepared at the base of Mrs. Sparsit's

staircase but Sparsit is the most immediate sufferer here.

Chapter Twelve: Down

The narrative structure offers a climax in this chapter, but overall Book

Two ends with more tension and drama. "Down" continues the trajectory

of "Mrs. Sparsit's Staircase" and "Lower and Lower" but in a reversal of

expectations, "Down" does not present the symbolic fall that was

expected. Louisa does fall down literally, at her father's feet. The

metaphor of the fall extends also to the "House of Gradgrind" and theprized educational system for Louisa was the pride and joy of the system.

Finally, it appears that Louisa's marriage is also on the verge of collapse.

There are many things that have fallen "down," but the phrase has come

to mean something larger than what was originally intended by Mrs.

Sparsit and her staircase.

Louisa's characterization is more intense than in previous scenes. While

Louisa's repressed emotions have prevented her from becoming a full

person, here the tension between emotion, temptation and confusionbecomes almost epic in its proportions. In symbolic terms, Louisa

confesses: "I crushed my better angel into a demon." Her "better angel" is

the fanciful, imaginative spirit that she has almost murdered on account of

the "demon" hard facts, analysis and the suppression of desire. The

image of a shipwreck aptly characterizes the "insensible heap" that Louisa

has become and breakdown renders her temporarily unable to process

any emotions or thoughts.

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