Hard Times

Charles Dickens presents multiple dualities throughout the novel Hard Times (1854): head vs heart, rationality vs imagination, and fact vs fancy, are just a few examples.

These dualities reflect the questioning that arose due to the fast-paced changes of the Industrial Revolution. Within a newly industrialised world, there was a growing need for orderly, machine-like efficiency which did not always complement the more human side of life that could be irrational, romantic, and flawed. In Hard Times, Dickens' demonstrates that progress does not always mean improvement.

Fig. 1 - Charles Dickens wrote Hard Times in Tavistock House.

Hard Times: overview

Hard Times, written by Charles Dickens, was originally published in serial form in 1854. Serialised weekly in Dickens' own publication, Household Words, Hard Times, proved popular with audiences, and it was published in novel form soon after completion. It is one of Charles Dickens' shortest novels, amounting to 110,000 words. It is also the only Dickens novel that doesn't feature a scene in London.

The title of the novel is a reference to the phrase 'hard times' meaning 'to suffer economic difficulties'. Hard Times is a social commentary on the effects of the Industrial Revolution on society.

Charles Dickens was said to be inspired by a trip he took to Preston, an industrial town in the north of England. Dickens warns of the dangers of rapid industrialisation on the community and how labourers in the industry can become dehumanised as a result.

Hard Times: plot summary

Book the First: Sowing

In the first book of the novel, we are introduced to the Gradgrind family. Thomas Gradgrind is a former merchant who is recently retired. He has two children, Tom and Louisa, who he raises with little frivolity or extravagance. Thomas Gradgrind is a pragmatic man who has an unerring faith in facts. In his retirement, Gradgrind Sr. founded a school in the industrial town of Coketown, where the Gradgrinds live. He takes in one pupil from the school after her father disappears – Sissy Jupe.

As the Gradgrind children grow older, Tom becomes hedonistic and self-involved, while Louisa feels that her life seems hollow. She marries Josiah Bounderby, the owner of a factory in Coketown who is twice her age. Bounderby takes pride in being 'a self-made man' (chapter 4) and is a friend of Thomas Gradgrind. Bounderby owns a bank where the younger Tom Gradgrind becomes an apprentice.

Book the Second: Reaping

Most of the poor in Coketown are factory workers. One of these workers is Stephen Blackpool, who is unhappy in his marriage to a woman who is often drunk and away. He finds himself falling in love with another factory worker, Rachael. Stephen seeks Bounderby for advice about getting a divorce, but he is told this would be unlikely because he is poor. While leaving, Stephen meets an old lady named Mrs Pegler who seems oddly attached to Bounderby.

Over time, Gradgrind becomes a Member of Parliament and is visited by a sophisticated Londoner named James Harthouse. He has come to Coketown as a political apprentice under Gradgrind and takes a liking to Louisa. With the aid of the former aristocrat, Mrs Sparsit, he plans to seduce Louisa.

The workers of Coketown try to start a union, and Stephen refuses to join. He is then fired by Bounderby for not spying on his colleagues. Louisa is impressed by the integrity shown by Stephen and gives him money. Tom witnesses this and tells Stephen to wait for aid outside the bank every night. None arrives, and eventually, Stephen leaves Coketown. The bank is robbed, and Stephen is the prime suspect due to his lingering around the bank.

Harthouse declares his love for Louisa, who then decides to leave and confront her father. She tells Grandgrind how he raised her to be confused and loveless, and how she regrets her marriage to Bounderby. After her honest judgement, Louisa collapses and Gradgrind considers his philosophy of self-interest.

Book the Third: Garnering

Out of her love for Louisa, Sissy tells Harthouse to leave Coketown. Bounderby, who is furious at the possibility of Louisa leaving, steps up his pursuit of Stephen. Meanwhile, Stephen returns to Coketown to clear his name, but he falls down a pit known as 'Old Hell Shaft' (chapter 6). Louisa and Rachael manage to find Stephen before he dies. It becomes apparent to the Gradgrinds that it was Tom who robbed the bank, and they try to sneak him out of Coketown with the aid of some circus performers.

Despite some obstacles, Tom is smuggled out by the circus ringleader. We discover that the old lady, Mrs Pegler is, in fact, Bounderby's mother, revealing that he is not a self-made man after all. Gradgrind devotes himself to charitable efforts, while Tom also learns his lesson and denounces his previous behaviour. Louisa never remarries but goes on to live with Sissy and her loving family.

Hard Times: characters

Hard Times: themes

The following themes in Hard Times are;

Dehumanising effects of industrialisation

Charles Dickens' novel warns that the rapid rise of the Industrial Revolution would have an adverse effect on society. In Hard Times, industrialisation threatens to dehumanise the community, from the labourers in the factory to the industrialists themselves.

This theme is exemplified in the actions and philosophy of Thomas Gradgrind. Gradgrind believes in rationality and facts, and he raises his children with little frivolity or joy. This causes the Gradgrind children to grow incapable of feeling for and with their fellow humans. Louisa feels her life is hollow, and she marries Bounderby without any romantic feelings towards him. Tom is emotionally detached and robs Bounderby's bank, framing Stephen Blackpool while doing so.

Josiah Bounderby, a disciple of Thomas Gradgrind and factory owner, further illustrates these fears. Bounderby regards his workers much like the machines in his factory and exploits them as such. The workers in Bounderby's factory lead dull lives with little joy, their existence almost resembling a production line.

Gradgrind's school follows his own thoughts on education, preferring reason to imaginative thought. Gradgrind has an unerring belief in fact, and he wishes to instil this in the pupils of his school, making it resemble Bounderby's factory as a result. The only character not to be affected by the rise of industrialisation is Sissy Jupe, who was raised by circus performers.

Hard Times: quotes

The quotes in Hard Times help point out the themes of industrialisation in the novel.

Here, Harthouse explains the justification for his overt self-interest. He developed this quality while working with Thomas Gradgrind. In the book, many industrialists are portrayed as having just their own interests at heart. Sometimes, as in the situations of Bounderby and Tom, this is done to benefit financially. In other situations, like Harthouse's, this is done for romantic reasons.

Thomas Gradgrind's theory of reason and fact is introduced to us in the first few sentences of the book. Additionally, it offers the reader a sneak preview of what classes might be like at his institution. Gradgrind later claims that 'nothing else will service them' (chapter 1), reasoning that children are more likely to prosper through factual knowledge.

In this passage, Stephen Blackpool addresses Bounderby in a speech and provides the reader with a glimpse into the daily struggles of labourers. His use of repetition in speaking reflects the monotony of work life.

The difference between the 'you' of the wealthy and the 'us' of the labourers is made clearer throughout the speech. The lingo Stephen uses makes this distinction more clear. Stephen, who represents the working class and speaks in colloquial terms, contrasts with Bounderby, who speaks in 'correct' RP English and symbolises the wealthier middle class.

Stephen's speech also contains a hint of resignation when he says that the mill 'awlus a-goin' to operate no matter what happens to the workers. This gives a suggestion as to how much Stephen believes the mill owners should pay him and his coworkers.

¹ George Bernard Shaw, 'Introduction,' The Waverley Edition of the Works of Charles Dickens (1911).