Hard Times
(Charles Dickens)

Mr. Thomas Gradgrind

One of Coketown’s leading citizens and the principal of the school, Mr. Thomas Gradgrind is a die-hard “fact” man when we first meet him. His philosophy contains no room for useless nonsense, and he is determined to educate all of Coketown’s children by this philosophy. His own five children, trained in all sorts of “-ologies,” appear to be models of this system—until things begin to fall apart. But Mr. Gradgrind is not devoid of fatherly affection or moral conviction, and when he sees the ultimately damaging outcomes brought about by his methods, he proves to be a humane man capable of change and growth.

Louisa Gradgrind Bounderby

If there is a central character in Hard Times, it is probably Louisa Gradgrind, Mr. Gradgrind’s eldest child and daughter. She is also his pride and joy, the proof that his system brings positive results. But unbeknownst to Gradgrind and, to some extent, to Louisa herself, these results were at her expense, yet it’s only later that this becomes obvious. One of the early metaphors in the novel is the hearth fire. In between learning her various –ologies, Louisa would sit and stare at the fire, noticing the sparks as they suddenly burst forth and then died. A similar imagery existed in Coketown’s smokestacks, which, monotonous and gray during the daytime, would emit bursts of flame at night. These fiery bursts made her think of how short and precious life was. But they also symbolized the flame of imagination and wonder that struggled to burst forth from the layers and layers of tyrannical fact-training that had nearly choked them out of existence. More than any other character in the story, Louisa embodies this idea, and it comes to its full head after her unsatisfying marriage to Josiah Bounderby is threatened by the advances of James Harthouse. Louisa is too disciplined and goodhearted to succumb, but the inner war triggered by the strain of the situation is too much for her, and she nearly snaps. That weakness, though, proves to be a turning point for the Gradgrind family, whose various members are now forced to confront the system that brought them to that point and, in the best cases, to adopt a more humane and human approach.

Sissy Jupe

Just as Louisa embodies the struggle between systems, Sissy Jupe presents the clearest idea of pure innocence, mercy, and love. She seems to know nothing of vengeance, doubt, or pride—from the time she first appears on the scene as the abandoned daughter of the circus horseback rider to her pivotal role in the fate of the Gradgrind family and, ultimately, many other lives. Though sorely lacking in the facts department, she more than makes up for it by her humanity, caring, and faith. She never loses hope that her father will return someday (though he dies in the end) or that love and faith, coupled with the best human efforts, can triumph over any challenge.

Tom Gradgrind (“The Whelp”)

Nicknamed “the whelp” by Dickens because of his wolflike qualities, young Tom Gradgrind was nothing like his father, though he was to some extent the product of his father’s system. Whatever the fact-based system did not teach about moral structure or spiritual culture, young Tom dutifully neglected to learn. Nourished by his sister’s love, he managed to subsist on his own spiritual and emotional barrenness until he was later robbed of her presence—but by then it was too late. His claim to fame was that he stole from the Coketown bank owned by Mr. Bounderby, Louisa’s husband, and then blamed an innocent worker, Stephen Blackpool, who later died because of the incident. His carelessness and villainy were among the strongest challenges to the Gradgrind system and the catalyst for another turning point in the elder Thomas Gradgrind’s philosophy.

Mrs. Gradgrind

Mrs. Gradgrind is an important minor character, the earliest demonstration of the sickliness and weakness that happen to mind and body when crucial aspects of the human being are suppressed. Sissy Jupe’s presence in her life (for Sissy never managed to learn her facts adequately, so she was relegated to helping Mrs. Gradgrind) was a significant benefit. Sissy’s ability to express love enabled Mrs. Gradgrind to catch a glimpse of something that was missing from the Gradgrind philosophy an idea that she struggled to express immediately before her death.

Mr. Josiah Bounderby of Coketown

One of Hard Times’ most inflated, egotistical characters is Mr. Josiah Bounderby, or “Josiah Bounderby of Coketown,” as he liked to call himself. A good friend of Mr. Gradgrind and a propounder of the facts philosophy, Bounderby epitomizes one of the philosophy’s worst characteristics: self-interest. He is one of the wealthiest of Coketown’s citizens, a self-made man who owns several businesses and has no qualms about the fact that his success was built on the sweating backs of his overworked employees. His own life supposedly began in penury, something he liked to brag about endlessly. Presumably abandoned by his wretched mother as an infant, he was raised by his even more wretched, alcoholic grandmother, who kept him in an egg box. From there, he landed in the gutter until he finally scratched his way up to the remarkable self-made man that he was. All of these woeful tales turned out to be lies that eventually blew up in Bounderby’s face: his marriage to Louisa, which never flourished, fell apart; his relationship with his housekeeper blew up; his bank was robbed by his own apprentice, and out of arrogance, he terminated his relationship with his best friend, Mr. Gradgrind. In the end, he died an early death and was replaced by future versions of himself.

Mrs. Sparsit

Mrs. Sparsit’s extraordinary claim to fame is her aristocratic background. As Mr. Bounderby’s housekeeper, she is acutely aware of her lowered station in life due to marital misfortune and an uncomfortable relationship with her aunt, Lady Scadgers. But she makes the most of her situation, and until Mr. Bounderby’s marriage to Louisa, which effectively supplants Mrs. Sparsit as the female head of the Bounderby household, they mutually support each other by feeding each other’s self-esteem. Louisa’s arrival, however, is too much for Mrs. Sparsit, and it quickly brings out her worst characteristics. She turns into a petty, vindictive busybody, who makes several poor judgment calls that end up having multiple destructive effects. She is ultimately terminated from her position and forced to scrape out a difficult and unpleasant existence with her aunt. However, by the time Bounderby terminates her, she has come to despise him so thoroughly that she treats the event more like a triumph than a loss.

Mr. Sleary

Mr. Sleary (or “Thleary,” in this own wordth, thinth he talkth with a lithp) is one of the novel’s most colorful characters. The leader of the traveling horse-riding show, which is similar to a circus, he is the antithesis of the fact men. Warm and funny, and never without his brandy and water, Mr. Sleary has an intuitive sense of what makes human beings happy, and though he doesn’t draw between the lines in terms of “proper” behavior, he has a good heart and a healthy dose of common sense and humanity. Forever grateful to Thomas Gradgrind for taking in Sissy Jupe in her time of need (Sissy’s father worked for Sleary), he comes through with the equivalent gesture when Gradgrind desperately attempts to save his wayward son. Towards the end of the novel, Dickens uses him as the mouthpiece for one of the most profound statements in the book. That scene in itself, in which Sleary, brandy in hand, speaks of the deepest universal wisdom, is the novel’s exemplification of the idea that the truth can never be judged by externals. He later repeats this idea to Gradgrind when he reminds him that, no matter how the horse riders might appear, they have their place in the world, and he should make the best and not the worst of them.

“Old Stephen” Blackpool

Stephen Blackpool, or “Old Stephen,” is one of the “Hands,” the working-class folk who in this case manned the looms. Back in Dickens’s time, an ordinary adult workday was fifteen hours, and in Coketown’s weaving mills that meant fifteen hours surrounded by endless noise and motion. Yet Stephen, who is a deep believer in Christianity, bears it all with a saintly patience and gentleness and, for the most part, not a shred of resentment for his hard and simple lot in life. Occasionally, he is visited by his wretched wife, a hopeless drunk who has lost her mind, and that places a strain on him. But Stephen has an angel in his life, Rachael, and Rachael is his saving grace. Unfortunately, his problems don’t end with his estranged wife, nor can his life be salvaged by Rachael. He is unjustly accused of treachery and selfishness by his co-workers on the one hand and his master on the other, with the result that he is forced to leave town to live and seek work elsewhere. Out of compassion, Louisa secretly visits his apartment to help by offering him some money. He only accepts a little, with the intention of paying it back.

Had things ended there, it would have been a lovely gesture on both parts; but Louisa brought Tom along, and Tom, already in a desperate state of his own, took Stephen aside in private and talked him into waiting outside the bank for the next few evenings, without saying why. Innocently, Stephen agreed, not knowing that Tom intended to use him as a decoy. Tom never showed up to meet him, and once the robbery was accomplished, Stephen was accused of the crime. By the time of the robbery, though, he had already been gone for two days. Rachael sent him a letter to summon him back to clear his name, but Stephen never showed.

The whole affair turns into a general mystery until Rachael and Sissy take the train to the country one Sunday to get some fresh air. Sissy accidentally discovers a deep pit, the Old Hell Shaft. It turns out that Stephen fell into it the night he set out to Bounderby’s country home to clear his name after receiving the letter. The people from the surrounding countryside are gathered together to form a rescue party, and Stephen’s weakened, crumpled body is retrieved from the shaft. Down in the pit, alone and in pain, one star seemed to especially shine down on Old Stephen. To him, it symbolized the Star of Bethlehem, the Guiding Light, and its light transformed his thoughts from consternation and anger to faith and forgiveness. He died as the rescue party carried him away on the litter, with his beloved Rachael holding his hand and the Guiding Star of his life shining down upon him.

Rachael

Rachael is Stephen’s female friend and counterpart in simplicity, goodness, and gentleness. They loved each other deeply and often walked home together, but that was the extent of their physical interaction. Had Stephen been free of his marriage, which happened long ago and then went bad, he would have married Rachael. As friends, they were deeply faithful to each other. The night Stephen’s wife showed up at his apartment, drunk and insane, Stephen arrived home to find Rachael tending her by his bedside. When he had nightmares and thoughts of murder, Rachael’s goodness inspired him and saved him from himself, prompting him to kneel down before her and call her his Angel. After Stephen was accused, Rachael was the one who sought to vindicate him. And when Stephen’s poor body was brought up from the pit, it was Rachael’s face looking down on him and Rachael who held his hand in hers until the moment of his death.

Mr. James Harthouse

Mr. James Harthouse is a perfect example of the quintessential jaded, lackadaisical, utterly amoral English gentleman. In that respect, he is the antithesis of Josiah Bounderby, whose inflated blustering does not read well against Harthouse’s elegant manners. Through his brother’s connections, Harthouse signs on as a business associate with the fact men of Coketown and then comes to live at the Bounderby country estate. Fascinated by Louisa, he cannot fathom her mysterious, disciplined demeanor. He challenges himself to win her trust and affection, which he succeeds in doing by studying her psychology and capitalizing on her relationships, good and bad. In the process, he falls in love with her, and when Bounderby is out of town one stormy night, he rides to the estate to be with her. She repels him, however, forcing him to leave. Desperate, upset, and contending with violently conflicting feelings, she flees to her father’s house, where she reveals everything to him and then, faint and distraught, drops down onto the floor. When Louisa awakens, she is visited by Sissy, who gains her trust and then takes the situation with Harthouse into her own hands. Harthouse is still in a frenzy over Louisa, and when Sissy unexpectedly shows up at his hotel room, he is unprepared for the power of her innocence, rectitude, and love. Her self-appointed mission is to free Louisa of his troubling company, and she gently but firmly orders him to permanently leave town. Floored by her presence, he finds himself unable to resist her command, and so, having made all necessary communications, he immediately packs up and leaves for Egypt.

Mrs. Pegler

Mrs. Pegler is the mysterious elderly lady who periodically appears in Coketown to hover around Bounderby’s estate, waiting for the great master of Coketown to emerge so that she can catch a glimpse of him. She usually latches onto some unsuspecting Hand who happens to be walking by. In several cases, it was Stephen; in another, Rachael. The night that Louisa visited Stephen’s apartment, Mrs. Pegler happened to be there, having been invited for tea. Afraid of being seen by Louisa, she tried to hide in shadows, but Louisa noticed her anyway. That incident, which was later revealed through questioning, implicated Mrs. Pegler in the bank robbery. That, in turn, got Mrs. Sparsit’s juices flowing, and she went on a search that ended in her dragging the poor elderly lady back to Coketown by train. Having dragged her out of the train, Mrs. Sparsit brought her to Bounderby’s Coketown home (as opposed to the country estate, which had been put up for sale after the Bounderby marriage fell apart). They were followed by about twenty-five random spectators, who gathered in the dining room. It turned out that the poor lady was Mr. Bounderby’s mother; that none of the ridiculous childhood stories he had told were true; that his parents and grandmother had been kind, self-sacrificing, respectable people who gave Josiah every opportunity; and that Bounderby had paid his mother to be quiet. In her kindness and innocence, she never grasped the fraudulent nature of her son’s behavior but remained proud of his accomplishments to the last.