HARD TIMES OF CHARLES DICKENS (SISSY JUPE)

SHORT DESCRIPTION

The novel “Hard Times” was written by Charles Dickens and it was first
published in the weekly periodical called “HouseholdWords” (from April to
August of 1854) and then published in book format that same year. “Hard
Times” is considered a dystopian satire of the Victorian age.

The importance of the people imagination and the dangers of

industrialization are two main themes. Dickens reportedly used his novel to
offer commentary on the horrors he'd witnessed in the factories of England
and the issues with growing industrialization and its effects on people. He
was known to use his novels with the aim of spreading awareness on
various social conditions and problems.

PLOT

This novel is set in a fictional industrial center known as Coketown. At the

center is Thomas Gradgrind, an educator devoted to the doctrine of facts
and figures, who founded a school where his strict principles are taught. Mr
Gradgrind also extends this philosophy to the education of his kids, Louisa
and Tom, ending up eliminating their imagination and emotions.

In an attempt to further his ambitions, Thomas Gradgrind arranges a

marriage between his daughter and Josiah Bounderby, a wealthy banker in
the city. Although she agrees because she desires to help her brother, who
gets a job at Bounderby's bank, the marriage soon turns into discontent.

Tom, characterized by his self-interest, ends up robbing his employer. He

initially blames an innocent colleague, but Tom is eventually exposed and
forced to flee the country.
At the end, Mr Gradgrind confronts his materialistic and narrow-minded
ideas, recognizing the damage inflicted on his children. So, aware of this,
he abandons his rigid philosophy.

MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERS

● Thomas Gradgrind

He is a wealthy and retired merchant in Coketown who later on becomes a

Member of Parliament. He expresses a philosophy of rationalism, self-
interest, and cold facts. Describes himself as an“eminently practical” man
and he tries to raise his children to be equally practical by forbidding the
development of their imaginations and emotions.

● Louisa

She is Mr Gradgrind’s daughter and as the story progresses she’ll become

Mr Bounderby’s wife. Confused by her coldhearted upbringing, Louisa feels
disconnected from her emotions and alienated from other people. She did
not recognize that her father’s system of education has deprived her
childhood of all joy. The only person she loves completely is her brother
Tom.

● Josiah Bounderby

He’s Gradgrind’s friend but also Louisa’s husband. Bounderby claims to be

a self-made man and pridefully describes being abandoned by his mother
as a young boy. From his childhood poverty he has risen to become a
banker and factory owner in Coketown. His true education ,received by his
caring and devoted parents, indicates that his social mobility is ironic and
causes the doubting of the whole meaning of social mobility in the England
of the XIX century.
 ● Cecelia Jupe

She is the daughter of a clown in Sleary’s circus. Sissy is taken in by Mr.

Gradgrind when her father disappears. Sissy serves as a foil, or contrast, to
Louisa: while Sissy is imaginative and compassionate, Louisa is rational
and unfeeling. Sissy embodies the Victorian Femininity that
counterbalances mechanization and industry. Through Sissy’s interaction
with her, Louisa is able to explore her more sensitive, feminine sides.

CHARACTER OF SISSY JUPE

Sissy is a girl with dark hair and dark eyes. The author describes her with
dark colors because she symbolizes our dark side. Sissy’s father is a circus
actor who abandoned his daughter; therefore, Cecilia was obliged to accept
any offer which seemed to be the last chance of living a normal life. Sissy
comes to Mr. Gradgrind’s house as a servant and acts like a helping pill for
Louise and Tom. She is not attracted by the ideas of the host of a house
and, that is why she does not take into consideration Mr. Gradgrind’s
philosophy. Sissy is spontaneous, emotional and simple.Though she is not
the protagonist of the story, her personality has the most important role in
terms of conveying the main message of the author: being emotionally
healthy may help to get good work, loving family and caring friends.
Sissy is the only positive character of the story and the reader is really
relieved whenever he encounters the character of Cecilia. Lastly Sissy is
the only character of the book that manages to live a happy life and
research the world of maternity in peace and safety from jealousy of the
society.
DIFFICULTIES OF SISSY JUPE

The difficulties Cecelia had to face are due to her father's abandonment.
This causes a strong emotional lack similar to that of Louisa. Sissy also
had a poor education probably caused by her relationship with her family.
Cecelia, however, will be able to fight the problems with her strong sense of
optimism, faith and hope which will allow her to witness a happy ending.

CONSIDERATION TO HELP HER

In the era where the character lived, several actions could have been taken to help
Sissy Jupe:

● Offering emotional support: Sissy was facing a lack of emotional support from
caring adults who should have been open to listen, understand and empathize
with her. This extra support could have given her some more strength and
confidence to overcome her difficulties.
● Access to a complete education: Although she was welcomed into the
Gradgrind family, Sissy could have received a more complete and different
education that allowed the development of her creative abilities, rather than an
education based only on pure facts.
● Create opportunities for personal growth: Sissy could have benefited from
programs or initiatives that allowed her to explore her personal interests and
develop her passions, as well as being encouraged to freely express her
thoughts and feelings.
● Provide social and community support: Sissy could have benefited from a
social and community support network (for example a parish) that supported
her in times of difficulty and offered her opportunities for personal and
professional growth.

These actions would have helped improve Sissy Jupe's well-being and opportunities in
an era characterized by harsh social and economic conditions.

RIGHTS OF THE CHILD NOT GUARANTEED

If we consider all the rights mentioned in the Convention of the Rights of the
Child, we immediately notice that Cecilia was deprived of one of the first and
most important rights. Her father decided to abandon her and as a result she
was left alone and deprived of her father against her will. (Part I, article 9) This
thing happens more often than we think in daily life and the ones that are most
affected are the children.

But in the difficulties, she had to face Sissy can be considered lucky because
she was not deprived of her education and she was not taken out of school
because Mr Gradgrind decided to take care of this aspect of Sissy's life. Facts
were all that mattered in that society but Cecilia was different. She wanted to
get better in school but she wasn't able to express her ideas because all she
could do was listen to what Mr. Gradgrind taught her and all the children in his
school.

To sum up she was not deprived of her right to education (Part I, article 28 of
the Convention of the Rights of the Child) which is really important for every
children to develop his or her personality, talent and mental and physical
abilities as Malala affirmed in her Nobel Prize's speech, but she unfortunately
was not free to express herself because of the bases that built the Victorian
society, whose aim was the economic progress and not the emotional and
personal progresses.
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