Summary — Chapter 5: The Key-note
On their way to find Sissy’s father, Gradgrind and Bounderby
walk through the dark, smoky streets of Coketown, passing a number
of identically shaped buildings made from identical dirty red bricks. Soon
they meet Sissy Jupe herself, who is being chased by the bullying
Bitzer. Sissy, a dutiful and loving daughter, has been out buying oils
for her father’s aches and pains. The two men follow her back to the
dwelling place of the circus performers.
Summary — Chapter 6: Sleary’s Horsemanship
Sissy stops at an inn called the Pegasus Arms, where Bounderby
and Gradgrind are introduced to the lisping circus master, Mr. Sleary. Sleary
informs Gradgrind that, unbeknownst to Sissy, her father has lost
his ability as a performer and has abandoned her in shame. Gradgrind
decides to take Sissy into his home and raise her according to his
philosophy of fact. Sissy agrees to the arrangement, principally
because she believes her father will come back for her—an idea that
Bounderby and Gradgrind find fanciful and ridiculous. A strange
assortment of circus folk gathers to wish Sissy well in her new
home. She is sorry to leave them, because these entertainers have
been like a family to Sissy during her childhood.
Summary — Chapter 7: Mrs. Sparsit
The next day, Bounderby discusses Louisa with his housekeeper, Mrs.
Sparsit, who is connected to the prominent aristocratic Powler family.
After falling on hard times, the aristocratic Mrs. Sparsit has accepted
employment with Mr. Bounderby, but she constantly reminds him of
her family connections. Bounderby worries that the fanciful Sissy
will be a bad influence on Louisa, whom he already regards as his
future wife. Gradgrind informs Sissy that she may continue to attend
his school and that she will care for Mrs. Gradgrind in her free
time.
Summary — Chapter 8: Never Wonder
Later that same day, Louisa talks with her brother about
her father’s plan to apprentice Tom at Mr. Bounderby’s bank. Both
Louisa and Tom are depressed by the colorless monotony of life at
Stone Lodge, but Louisa, attempting to cheer up Tom, reminds him
of her affection for him. She seems to feel that something is missing
from her life, but when she wonders what it might be, Mrs. Gradgrind
warns Louisa never to wonder—wondering contradicts the philosophy
of fact, and it also makes Mrs. Gradgrind wish she had never been cursed
with a family.
Analysis — Book the First: Sowing: Chapters
5–8
In Dickens’s novels, characters’ names often reveal details
about their personalities. For instance, Mr. Gradgrind’s name evokes
the monotonous grind of his children’s lives, as well as the grinding
of the factory machines. Similarly, the title of each chapter in Hard Times can
be helpful in interpreting the movement of the plot. For example,
the first chapter is titled “The One Thing Necessary,” and in this
chapter we learn that Mr. Gradgrind believes the one thing necessary
for a fulfilling existence is fact. The meaning of the title of Chapter 5,
“The Key-note,” is not so immediately obvious. However, its meaning
is clarified at the beginning of Chapter 8,
when the narrator declares, “Let us strike the key-note again before
pursuing the tune.” He then describes how, as a child, Louisa was
inclined to wonder about the world around her, to ask questions,
and to imagine. Not surprisingly, her father quickly suppressed
this inclination, telling Louisa that she must “never wonder.” In
Chapter 5, the narrator also draws our attention
to the need for wonder and imagination when he compares the Gradgrind
children to factory workers. He explains that both the children
and the workers “have Fancy in them demanding to be brought into
healthy existence.” From these passages, we can conclude that the
conflict between fact and fancy is the “key-note,” or the key theme,
that the narrator will continue to bring up throughout the novel.
Fancy, the narrator implies, is at least as important as fact in
a balanced, fulfilling existence. Chapters 5 through 8 thus
serve to reinforce the relationship between fact and fancy.
In this section, the circus entertainers are the most
obvious representatives of fancy, and Gradgrind accordingly finds
them rather distasteful. The entertainers possess the ability to
transform the colorless, humdrum world into a place of magic and
excitement simply by using their imaginations. This transformation
is illustrated by Kidderminster, a gruff young boy who plays the
role of Cupid in the circus. In real life, Kidderminster is cheeky,
loud, and temperamental, but in the circus ring he is adorably sweet
and wins the spectators’ hearts. Through fancy, the circus entertainers
not only find happiness themselves, but also bring pleasure to others.
