Hard Times

Sissy struggles at school because her inquisitive mind rejects Gradgrind’s relentless devotion to facts and practicality. That she still believes her father will return is evidence, Gradgrind believes, that she remains lost in her “wretched ignorance.” One day at Stone Lodge, Louisa and Sissy talk about Sissy’s father. The strong emotions of Sissy’s story are a revelation to Louisa. She envies the sincere, strongly felt emotions of Sissy’s life even if they aren’t always positive. Entering the room, Tom stares at Louisa and Sissy with “a coolness not particularly savoring of interest” (66) and jokes with his sister about Bounderby. Sissy insists that her father “will come back” (67).

Stephen Blackpool is a simple factory worker who lives in “the hardest working part of Coketown” (68). One evening, he returns from work in Bounderby’s mill. On the way home, he talks to his “respectful and patient” (69) friend Rachael. When he reaches his house, he discovers his estranged wife, who has an alcohol addiction, in his bed. She began drinking as a means of coping with their crushing poverty, but after becoming a “disabled, drunken creature” (70), she has been absent from his life for some time. Although Blackpool wishes he could divorce his wife and marry the pure, innocent Rachael, he can’t help but pity his wife.