The Old Curiosity Club discussion
Hard Times
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Hard Times Part One Chapters 7-8
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Never Wonder
“Bring to me, says M’Choakumchild, yonder baby just able to walk, and I will engage that it shall never wonder.”
Dickens begins this chapter with the words “Let us strike the key-note again, before pursuing the tune.” An interesting introduction to a chapter titled “Never Wonder.” Did you observe the word “note” which suggests music, especially since the last word of the first sentence is “tune.” I think this first sentence is a great example of Dickens’s subtlety. Sissy is the shortened name of Cecilia, and, as mentioned earlier, Saint Cecilia is the patroness of music. I do not think it accidental that the previous chapter ends with Cecilia being led to Stone Lodge, surely a suggestive name of a prison.
What follows next is a paragraph that reflects the adult population of Coketown who seem to have been beaten into the ground by the presence of 18 churches rather than elevated in mind and spirit. The one thing that the population is able to agree upon is that “all the bodies agreed that they were never to wonder.”
We learn that Tom Gradgrind is weary of life. He finds no joy, no purpose, and no direction in his life. With the exception of his sister Louisa, he claims he hates everything. I’ll give Tom credit. He knows that in the hands of his father, Bounderby, and M’Choakumchild poor Sissy will be ground down in the mill of conformity. He even notes how much of her former colour is now “as pale as wax.” To cap off his comments he likens himself to a donkey. For Louisa’s part, she tells Tom that she often “wonders” what she can do to help her brother.
This chapter got me wondering ;-) about Gradgrind’s children, and to what extent they are representative of the M’Choakumchild” school of Utilitarianism. Both Tom and Louisa know they are unhappy. Both know that there is a world of wonder just beyond their grasp. Both sadly seem doomed to their existence.
Tom is consoled somewhat that living with Bounderby will be better than living at home with his mother and father. Sadly, Tom’s plan is to use Bounderby’s affection towards Louisa as a wedge to get some relief from the oppression of his own home. Louisa, upon hearing this plan, does not react with anger or displeasure; She accepts it. I imagine she accepts the reality of the situation just as she accepts Bounderby’s kisses. Louisa is caught within the web of external expectations. She hates it, she finds Bounderby disgusting, but she feels trapped in the reality of being a marriage marketable young woman. Stone Lodge is the name of the Gradgrind home. Louisa’s only consolation appears to be staring into the fire. It will be interesting to watch how Dickens uses fire as a symbol of character as the novel progresses.
Mrs Gradgrind has overheard part of her children’s conversation and begs them not to encourage any thoughts of wondering as it would upset their father. Again, Dickens portrays Mrs Gradgrind as a weak, sickly woman with no soul or spirit. That is not remarkable given she is married to Gradgrind, lives in a place named Stone Lodge, and must constantly be in the presence of Bounderby. Is it too much of a stretch to wonder if we as readers are meant to connect the name Gradgrind and Stone Lodge together? To what extent are Mrs Gradgrind, Louisa, and young Tom gladly ground up in Stone Lodge?
As our chapter ends, Mrs Gradgrind says she wants to hear no more about wondering, reflecting upon fires, or the fire’s sparks and ashes. She says she wishes she never had a family, “and then you would have known what it was to do without me!” That’s a rather interesting statement. Without having Tom and Louisa, there would be no Tom and Louisa.
The mention of fire and sparks and ashes has raised my curiosity. Why might Dickens be suggesting?
Mod
Mrs Sparsit
“Just as it belonged to [Bounderby’s] boastfulness to depreciate his own extraction, so it belonged to it to exalt Mrs Sparsit’s.”
Hello Curiosities
Here we are in Ju..."
Our plans of leaving Coketown have taken on another course because of Covid-19 regulations in Argentina, but still we are going to take some days off at the end of July and beginning of August. With regard to holiday plans, we have grown very, very 'umble.
I don't know yet what to make of Mrs. Sparsit. Surely, our narrator does not seem to be very partial to her, and there is no doubt that behind her humility and resignation to fate, there is an unbound and grim pride - as we can see from the way she applies the word "sir" to her employer, i.e. not so much as a token of respect towards him (who does not deserve to great an amount of that commodity anyway, if you ask me) but more as a sign of her own capacity of bearing her martyrdom with firmness. Yet, if we look at Mrs. Sparsit's history, we might say that she was not treated too well by fate: Somehow, an elderly relative of her manoeuvred her into a marriage into a man more than ten years her junior (probably with the idea of entering a rich family). But there is many a slip between the cup and the lip, and so, her husband quickly proved a bankrupt and he also does not seem to have spent a lot of time with his wife because shortly after the honeymoon he died of brandy in Calais. I can imagine that Mrs. Sparsit must have felt humiliated and exploited by her husband and also by the relative - Lady Scadgers - with whom she is now not on the best of terms. After all, might this not induce us to give her the benefit of the doubt - at least for the time being?
You also asked why Louisa was present at the meeting described in this chapter. The most interesting thing I noticed was that Louisa behaved in an unaffected, more or less cold way, but when Sissy broke into tears, she suddenly looked at her. From this I gather that there might arise a friendship between the two girls.
I did not know that "Cecilia" meant "blind" but she certainly is blind to the facts that Mr. Gradgrind is so beholden to. This kind of blindness, however, may open her eyes to other things like emotions and imagination and therefore prove clear-sightedness. Cecilia is also blind to what we regard as her father's desertion of her, and you can judge this as a sign of naivity, but also of filial loyalty, depending on how you look at it.
Mod
Interestingly, Lizzy also liked looking into the fire and musing on the play of the flames. Here is what Louisa says about the flames,
"‘I was encouraged by nothing, mother, but by looking at the red sparks dropping out of the fire, and whitening and dying. It made me think, after all, how short my life would be, and how little I could hope to do in it.’"
For a young girl to experience such melancholic thoughts at the sight of the fire is surely a sign that she is bordering on depression, isn't it? It is a pity that her mother is not strong enough to imbue her with some confidence and to take her seriously. Instead, Mrs Gradgrind, like Tom, only thinks of herself when she scolds her daughter for potentially disturbing the mother's peace of mind by arousing the father's reproaches. There is a lot of stone in Stone Lodge, if you ask me.
Chapter 7 First, thank you, Peter, for jumping in so that Kim and Tristram could take some well-deserved time off. I'm sorry, though that Tristram's plans didn't work out.
I had the same feeling reading chapter 7 this time that I had the last time we read it, and probably the first time I read it many years ago - namely, that it would be wonderful if Sissy and Louisa became the best of friends and a support for one another. I honestly don't recall if it works out that way, but wouldn't it be nice to see happen?
Mrs. Sparsit (sparse?) put me in mind of my late aunt's country club. Fifty years ago, it was elegant and snooty - a place where ladies lunched after shopping at Neiman-Marcus and Sacs, debutantes dances with potential husbands, and ambitious business men and politicians made deals while golfing. Now it's a pathetic place where old people who no longer have the strength to golf or play tennis go between cruises, where the decor is shabby and out-dated, and the chandeliers are tarnished. It's a relic from another time. Perhaps, like the Dedlocks, Mrs. Sparsit symbolizes the fading glory of the aristocracy, and Bounderby is a much less likable symbol of industrialization - or at least a blurring of class lines - as Mr. Rouncewell was in Bleak House.
Very interesting about "Cecilia" meaning "blind" -- definitely something to be aware of going forward, along with the fire imagery. As far as the fires go, let's hope Louisa is like a phoenix that rises from the ashes.
I love the name Stone Lodge which evokes images of lovely old stone farmhouses or cottages. Nothing you say will make me think of it in as anything but cozy and warm, despite its residents. :-)
Chapter 8 Great comparison between the Hexam and Gradgrind siblings, Tristram. I didn't care for Charley, and I don't think I'm going to like Tom very much, either. Poor, poor Louisa.
Re: the pace of the book, I was taken aback at how quickly the week's installment went, and appreciated Peter's summaries all the more after having not picked up the book for a week. But it's given me time to read some other authors, which has been nice.
Somehow Mrs. Sparsit reminded me more of Edith Dombey than of Uriah Heep - although she might have something of both, because Edith wouldn't be so submissive to Bounderby, even not with such a proud undertone to it. I felt sorry for her, and saw her as a contrast point to Bounderby - her life went exactly the other way, now she is dependent on him instead of the other way around like it used to be, and that she came from the opera means that she must have loved - or at least was brought up with - music and romance and stories whereas Bounderby hates those. She also clearly is way smarter than he is, even though he is the one paying her.
Mod
That's an interesting point, Jantine. I wonder, however, how much of the original sense of wonder and imagination is still alive in Mrs. Sparsit. Maybe, young Mrs. Sparsit only went to the opera because it was simply the thing that was expected of a young lady of her social position. I sometimes see this in some of my (younger) colleagues: They have read the novels they are supposed to teach in their classes but when talking with them about these books, I sometimes have the impression that they have not gone very deep in understanding them - and instead of thinking about them, they have read one of those teacher's manuals.
Mod
This is so evocative, Mary Lou, and I'd love to know what Dickens might have made of this observation.
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Mrs Sparsit
“Just as it belonged to [Bounderby’s] boastfulness to depreciate his own extraction, so it belonged to it to exalt Mrs Sparsit’s.”
Hello Curiosities
Her..."
Hi Tristram
I’m not sure how much we can make out of the fact that Cecilia can mean blind but I am certain that the fact St Cecilia was the patron saint of music is central to the conflict between the world of hard facts and the world of music and the imagination. There is little harmony in Coketown’s workers but much music in the hearts of those who experience the magic of a circus.
Mod
Hi Jantine
At present there is still a mystery that surrounds Mrs Sparsit but I agree with your assessment that she is much more intelligent and intuitive than Bounderby. Bounderby is like a boulder, hard and heavy. He lacks any sensitivity. I wonder why Dickens didn’t name Bounderby’s home Stone Lodge.
Mod
First, thank you, Peter, for jumping in so that Kim and Tristram could take some well-deserved time off. I'm sorry, though that Tristram's plans didn't work out.
I had the same feelin..."
Hi Mary Lou
Yes indeed, Mrs Sparsit is rather sparse. I wonder if she would get along with Mrs Pipchin? I can picture them sitting by a fire comparing and contrasting their departed husbands.
The relationship between Louisa and Sissy is, as you comment, ripe for Dickens to develop further. They both live in the same house but come from completely different backgrounds. For sake of argument both are approximately the same age. Dickens could well develop tension between them, or have one develop many characteristics of the other. It will be a surprise to me if nothing major occurs before the end of the novel.
Dickens frequently incorporates a fire or a fireplace into a novel as a symbol. I think a close eye on fireplaces and fires will be rewarded before the end of the novel.
Tristram wrote: "Jantine wrote: "and that she came from the opera means that she must have loved - or at least was brought up with - music and romance and stories whereas Bounderby hates those."
That's an interest..."
Yes, that's why I mentioned the 'at least brought up with'. She did have the chance to get into those whimsical, wondering things, because it was expected. Wether she did or not, some of it might have died with her late husband, or paid out by Bounderby, or both.
Somehow I can't remember what Mrs. Sparsit is like in the rest of the book. For Hard Times I was somewhat like your colleagues, Tristram. I read it, because it was another one of Dickens' novels and I wanted to be able to say I read it, and I now notice that there is so much I don't remember about it! I do love reading it like this though, because reading those books in depth is so much nicer.
That's an interest..."
Yes, that's why I mentioned the 'at least brought up with'. She did have the chance to get into those whimsical, wondering things, because it was expected. Wether she did or not, some of it might have died with her late husband, or paid out by Bounderby, or both.
Somehow I can't remember what Mrs. Sparsit is like in the rest of the book. For Hard Times I was somewhat like your colleagues, Tristram. I read it, because it was another one of Dickens' novels and I wanted to be able to say I read it, and I now notice that there is so much I don't remember about it! I do love reading it like this though, because reading those books in depth is so much nicer.
Mod
That reminded me of our McDonald's. The closest one to me anyway. We are a small place so we have a small McDonald's. Because of that, you can never ever get a seat in the place. Now because of Covid, before that because the old people gather there every single day of the year, unless they close for a holiday, and sit there the entire day. I'm not sure what they talk about for hours and hours and hours, but there they sit getting their senior citizen coffee never moving from opening to closing. I always told my husband when he retires if he wants to sit at McDonald's all day he can go ahead and do it, but I'm not going with him. When they closed the dining room for Covid I thought that would be the end of it, but they come in their cars now, set up lawn chairs in the parking lot, and if the weather is good sit there from morning till night. I find it sad.
Mod
I haven't found one yet, but I'm sure if Kyd did an illustration of her she looks like Uriah Heep, all his women look like men.
Mod
"You were in the tiptop fashion, and all the rest of it,' said Mr. Bounderby."
Chapter 7
C. S. Reinhart
Here's the commentary, but I had to cut a lot of it because it gives away too much of the plot:
Josiah Bounderby, self-made millionaire industrialist of Coketown, glories in the fact that he has risen from the gutter and now owns a factory and a bank, and is the patron of the "bank fairy," a widow of aristocratic lineage, Mrs. Sparsit. Here, in her elegantly furnished rooms which he has, in his arrogant charity and bullying humility, provided her above the bank, Bounderby warms himself against a roaring coal fire, indicative of conspicuous consumption, as he puts Mrs. Sparsit in her place as a former social superior over whom he asserts his moral and fiscal hegemony as a successful capitalist and entrepreneur from the rising middle classes. As the scene begins, and Mrs. Sparsit presides over the breakfast tea-pot, Bounderby announces his intention to take young Tom Gradgrind into his office after he has finished "his educational cramming". That he corrects Mrs. Sparsit when she calls Louisa "little puss" alerts the reader to Bounderby's considering as a potential wife.
But so much of what see here is pure artistic invention: the laden tea table in the background, the rich dressing gown and tousled hair of Bounderby, the poker and fender of the fireplace all contribute to a more informed reading of Dickens's text.
The passage illustrated, given the specificity of Reinhart's caption and Bounderby's posture before the fire, is likely this:
"Well, ma'am," said her patron, "perhaps some people may be pleased to say that they do like to hear, in his own unpolished way, what Josiah Bounderby of Coketown has gone through. But you must confess that you were born in the lap of luxury, yourself. Come ma'am, you know you were born in the lap of luxury."
"I do not, sir," returned Mrs Sparsit with a shake of her head, "deny it."
Mr. Bounderby was obliged to get up from the table, and stand with his back to the fire, looking at her; she was such an enhancement of his position.
"And you were in crack society. Devilish high society," he said, warming his legs.
"It is true, sir," returned Mrs. Sparsit, with an affectation of humility the very opposite of his, and therefore in no danger of jostling it.
"You were in the tip-top fashion, and all the rest of it," said Mr. Bounderby.
"Yes, sir," returned Mrs. Sparsit, with a kind of social widowhood upon her. "It is unquestionably true."
Mr. Bounderby, bending himself at the knees, literally embraced his legs in his great satisfaction, and laughed aloud."
Mod
Mrs. Sparsit and Mr. Bounderby
Chapter 7
Sol Eytinge Jr.
Commentary:
In this third full-page dual character study for the second novel in the compact American publication, the penniless aristocrat, Mrs. Sparsit, pours tea for her rough-and-ready employer, the capitalist Josiah Bounderby of Coketown, in her rooms above Bounderby's bank. According to Dickens's descriptions of the pair in chapter 7, Bounderby enjoys displaying Mrs. Sparsit as a sort of trophy, a testimonial to his "up-from-the-gutter" determination to succeed.
The moment realized by Eytinge in the seventh chapter, utilizing material on Bounderby from chapter four, is this:
MR. BOUNDERBY being a bachelor, an elderly lady presided over his establishment, in consideration of a certain annual stipend. Mrs. Sparsit was this lady's name; and she was a prominent figure in attendance on Mr. Bounderby's car, as it rolled along in triumph with the Bully of humility inside. . . .
If Bounderby had been a Conqueror, and Mrs. Sparsit a captive Princess whom he took about as a feature in his state-processions, he could not have made a greater flourish with her than he habitually did. Just as it belonged to his boastfulness to depreciate his own extraction, so it belonged to it to exalt Mrs. Sparsit's. In the measure that he would not allow his own youth to have been attended by a single favorable circumstance, he brightened Mrs. Sparsit's juvenile career with every possible advantage, and showered wagon-loads of early roses all over that lady's path. "And yet, sir," he would say, "how does it turn out after all? Why here she is at a hundred a year (I give her a hundred, which she is pleased to term handsome), keeping the house of Josiah Bounderby of Coketown!"
Although the lady of the Coriolanian eyebrows has only just appeared in the text, Eytinge is assuming that the reader will compare his image of the blustering factory-owner, Josiah Bounderby, with that which Dickens gives in ch. 4:
NOT being Mrs. Grundy, who was Mr. Bounderby?
Why, Mr. Bounderby was as near being Mr. Gradgrind's bosom friend, as a man perfectly devoid of sentiment can approach that spiritual relationship towards another man perfectly devoid of sentiment. So near was Mr. Bounderby — or, if the reader should prefer it, so far off.
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 poverty. A man who was the Bully of humility.
In light of these passages excerpted from the novel's early chapters, how well has Eytinge captured the essence of these antagonists? The angular, somewhat masculine-visaged Mrs. Sparsit in respectable widow's hat and weeds contrasts her porcine employer in starched shirt front and sober business-suit. In particular, Eytinge emphasizes Mrs. Sparsit's sharp chin and nose, which features complement the rounded nose and enormous chin — with neck overflowing the starched collar of the man who believes himself the synthesis of such British national icons as "the Union-Jack, Magna Carta, and John Bull". Indeed, Eytinge has made his "Bully of Humility" a species of John Bull in the garb of a nineteenth-century bourgeois capitalist."
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One vote for a man. With her red nose is she related to Mr Micawber?
Mod
"You were in the tiptop fashion, and all the rest of it,' said Mr. Bounderby."
Chapter 7
C. S. Reinhart
Here's the commentary, but I had to cut a lot of it because it gives away too much of th..."
Kim
To me, an interesting illustration in only one aspect. I can’t help but think Bounderby’s posture in front of the fire is suggestive not so much of Bounderby warming himself as it is suggestive of Bounderby doing something else. :-). Could that be a possibility?
I like everyone's thoughts about Mrs. Sparsit, her possible background, and what she represents as a character. Very intriguing. I kept wondering why Bounderby idolizes her. He seems to admire her rich background. Maybe he relates to her fall from grace, because he himself was abandoned as a child.
Some moments in these chapters honestly made me laugh. Gradgrind's melodramatic disgust over fairy tales. "Never breathe a word of such destructive nonsense."
Louisa: "I wonder..."
Gradgrind: "Lousia, never wonder!" (His horror of fancy seems exaggerated)
Bounderby: "I come from the scum of the earth."
Even though some of the plot is sad, I felt hints of satire and Dickens having fun with these characters.
What impressed me about chapter 8 was the emotionally raw dialogue of Tom and Louisa. They talked about life being so empty, hopeless, and how much they hated it. Tom wanted to take all the facts he learned and blow them up with gunpowder. Their despair, and in Tom's case, anger and rebellion, felt real and tangible, all with very little narration from Dickens - just speech. I looked back at the chapter, and most of it is characters talking. I think Dickens's experience with theater shined here. The theater depends on dialogue to develop the characters and advance the plot.
Mod
I find it strange, because here in Germany, McDonald's is a place that is mostly frequented by younger people. The old people, at least the ladies, tend to sit in cafés all day long, or - no kidding - in doctor's waiting rooms. Before Covid changed our habits, doctors actually complained that a certain number of elder citizens went to see them on a regular basis, not because real ailments would have made it necessary but simply to have social contact. That is sad, isn't it?
Mod
"You were in the tiptop fashion, and all the rest of it,' said Mr. Bounderby."
Chapter 7
C. S. Reinhart
Here's the commentary, but I had to cut a lot of it because it gives away too much of th..."
What an indecent posture for Mr. Bounderby to take - especially in the presence of a lady like Mrs. Sparsit.
Mod
Posting my last comment before I read yours, I am glad I am not the only one to have had that thought, Peter :-)
Mod
I think that Bounderby's soft spot for Mrs. Sparsit is actually a soft spot for - himself. By pointing out his own humble beginnings and Mrs. Sparsit's pampered youth and their reversed positions now, he can blow his own horn as a self-made-man.
Tristram wrote: "I think that Bounderby's soft spot for Mrs. Sparsit is actually a soft spot for - himself. By pointing out his own humble beginnings and Mrs. Sparsit's pampered youth and their reversed positions now, he can blow his own horn as a self-made-man."That's true. He uses Mrs. Sparsit to validate his beliefs about himself.
Oh, another phrase I liked was "educational cramming." That was my experience in college.
Mod
There was a lot of cramming in my schooldays, too. We had to learn the dates of the reigns of the French kings in French, for example. But we didn't have to in English - with the result that I am somehow more familiar with English than with French monarchs. I also remember how I once learnt by heart something to do with photosynthesis and then wrote it down in a biology test - and it was graded an A although I did not understand a single sentence of what I had written.
Peter wrote: "Dare we suggest so early in this novel that Mrs Sparsit is Uriah Heap in a dress?"I love this. Also it's a nice way to draw out the theme of humility in the employee of Mr. Bounderby, bully of humility.
Mary Lou wrote: "Perhaps, like the Dedlocks, Mrs. Sparsit symbolizes the fading glory of the aristocracy, and Bounderby is a much less likable symbol of industrialization - or at least a blurring of class lines - as Mr. Rouncewell was in Bleak House. "So interesting. I would hazard that the difference between Mr. Rouncewell and Mr. Bounderby is I can imagine Rouncewell getting his hands dirty and building a factory and hiring employees, but I can't imagine Bounderby actually doing anything useful. Also I think it's not spoilery to say Rouncewell clearly has his eye on what it will take to rise in the social ranks and I believe he will make it--but I can't imagine Bounderby rising any higher than self-deluded Gradgrind who just likes to have him around to confirm his self-delusions. Bounderby, unlike Rouncewell, is personally vulgar. Seems to me he stays in Coketown because elsewhere his vulgarity will be an obstacle to his advancement.
Mrs Sparsit
“Just as it belonged to [Bounderby’s] boastfulness to depreciate his own extraction, so it belonged to it to exalt Mrs Sparsit’s.”
Hello Curiosities
Here we are in July. Kim and Tristram are going to enjoy the month off. They told me in The Pegasus’s Arms they both plan to leave Coketown. Why would they leave Coketown for any other place?
Have you acclimated yourselves to the much shorter chapters yet? I’m still struggling a bit. It is interesting, however, to be mirroring the weekly pace of the Victorian audience.
There is certainly a tighter focus on both the characters and the narrative. Dickens is much more focussed and direct. With each physical space and character description Dickens tightens up his prose and becomes more direct. Even the general sentence structure is generally shorter, tighter, and less embellished than in the much lengthier previous novels. It may be just me, but when I compare a chapter of Hard Times to a short story found in Sketches by Boz, the sketch is more florid and embellished than a chapter in Hard Times. In truth, Dickens’s prose in Hard Times seems to me to follow the first words of the novel itself: “Now, what I want is, Facts.”
In this chapter we meet Mrs Sparsit who is Bounderby’s maid. Well, Bounderby would not agree with the word maid. Is she a trophy capture from the masses of the poor? The Wealthy? Well, not exactly. She seems to be, as indicated in the epigraph to our chapter’s discussion, a lady who Bounderby has exalted in order to contrast his own sorrowful background. Bounderby loves to wring as much attention to his miraculous ascension as possible. As Dickens says: “It was one of the most exasperating attributes of Bounderby, that he not only sang his own phrases but stimulated other men to sing them.” It appears at first glance that, in Mrs Sparsit, Bounderby has found his choir.
Dickens uses Mrs Sparsit as a method of prompting Bounderby into commenting on his own thoughts. That’s enough for me to begin to develop a healthy dislike of her as well as Bounderby.
We learn that Bounderby plans to take young Tom Gradgrind under his wing, but not until he is finished his “educational cramming.” This comment is followed by a retrospective on Bounderby’s own education and then a reflection on Sparsit’s own past of attending Italian Opera with satin clothes and wearing jewels. Sparsit then exudes humility before Bounderby. Dare we suggest so early in this novel that Mrs Sparsit is Uriah Heap in a dress?
Louisa and her father are announced: Bounderby shakes the hand of Gradgrind but kisses the cheek of Louisa. They are joined by Sissy Jupe. We learn that Sissy is to become a member of the Gradgrind home where she will begin her formal educational studies. The ultimate goal, according to Gradgrind, will be to “begin” her history. Gradgrind reminds Sissy that “You are, at present, ignorant, I know.” Gradgrind relishes the fact that under his tutelage Sissy “will be reclaimed and formed.” Gradgrind learns from Sissy that she used to read to her father about “fairies … Genies.” Horrified, Gradgrind tells Sissy never to breath a word of such “destructive nonsense any more.”
And so, as our chapter ends, Gradgrind and Louisa take Sissy to their home which is named Stone Lodge. Sissy used to live in The Pegasus Arms. Pegasus is an immortal winged God and is most associated with poetry. Thus, from Sissy’s home in the Pegasus Arms where her imagination flourished, she is being removed from the world of the circus and the world of wonder and imagination to a place of stony confinement. Poor Sissy.
Thoughts
Why did Louisa come with her father to Bounderby’s house? Louisa did not speak a word in this chapter, but Dickens clearly drew our attention to her more than once. What might Dickens be signalling here regarding (a) Bounderby (b) Sissy?
Sissy now has a second “father figure” in her life. Thomas Gradgrind and Sissy’s biological father are vastly different characters. Why might Dickens have set up such a contrast?
Sissy is a short form for the name Cecilia. Cecilia means blind. In Christianity, Saint Cecilia was the patron saint of music. Can you see any connection in these facts to Sissy in the novel so far?