. . . not all the calculators of the
National debt can tell me the capacity for good or evil, for love
or hatred, for patriotism or discontent, for the decomposition of virtue
into vice. . . .
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Summary — Chapter 9: Sissy’s Progress
Sissy Jupe does very poorly at the school because she
is simply unable to adopt the cold, hard devotion to fact that is
demanded of her. Instead, she continues to cling to what Mr. Gradgrind
thinks of as ridiculous, fanciful notions, such as the idea that
her father will come back for her. One day, Louisa convinces Sissy
secretly to talk about life with her father. Louisa, raised to never
feel strong emotion, finds herself very moved by Sissy’s deep feelings.
During the conversation with Sissy, Tom frequently reminds Louisa
to watch out for Bounderby, in case he should catch her “wondering”
about Sissy’s past.
Summary — Chapter 10: Stephen Blackpool
One night, in the most hardworking, grimy district of
Coketown, a simple and brutally poor man named Stephen Blackpool
goes home from his job as a power loom operator in Mr. Bounderby’s
factory. Stephen is a Hand, one of the lowest menial laborers in
Coketown. He talks briefly in the street to Rachael, the pure, honest
woman he loves, then goes home, where he is stunned to find his
wayward, immoral, and generally absent wife lying in his bed. In
order to soothe the misery of poverty, his wife has become an alcoholic,
and although Stephen wishes to divorce her, he nevertheless pities
her.
Summary — Chapter 11: No Way Out
Disturbed by his wife’s sudden reappearance, Stephen visits
Mr. Bounderby the next day to ask humbly if he has any legal recourse and
any possibility of obtaining a divorce. Arrogantly, and with many
references to his own impoverished childhood, Bounderby explains
that only the wealthy can obtain divorces and that Stephen would
be better off accepting his miserable situation.
Summary — Chapter 12: The Old Woman
Outside Bounderby’s house, Stephen meets a strange old
woman who has traveled into the city from the country. She tells
Stephen that every year she saves enough money to make the long
journey into Coketown for a single day, just long enough to catch
a glimpse of Mr. Bounderby. She fears that Bounderby will not come
out of his house that day and says that seeing Stephen just after
he saw Bounderby must satisfy her for this year. The old woman follows
him to Bounderby’s grim factory and inexplicably praises its beauty.
After work is over for the day, Stephen wanders the streets, trying
to avoid going home to his drunken wife. As he wanders, Stephen
imagines the pleasant, happy home he could share with Rachael if
only he were free to remarry.
Analysis — Book the First: Sowing: Chapters
9–12
With the introduction of Stephen Blackpool, the novel
delves into the world of the Hands, the working-class, horribly
impoverished denizens of Coketown whom Dickens uses to represent
the plight of the poor. Stephen, with his simple honesty and love
for the angelic Rachael, is shown to be a good character despite
his horrible marriage. He immediately contrasts with the blustery,
self-obsessed Bounderby, a difference hammered home when Stephen
visits his employer to ask about the possibility of divorcing his
wife. Having heard that there is a law permitting divorce under
certain circumstances, Stephen inquires into the details of this
law. However, Bounderby makes it clear that there are no laws to
help Stephen—all laws are made by the rich, for the rich. Bounderby
callously tells Stephen that, as a poor man, he has no recourse
but to accept his lot. Furthermore, Bounderby reminds Stephen that
“[t]here’s a sanctity in the relation” of marriage that “must be
kept up.” Although he shows no pity for Stephen’s misery, these
words later come back to haunt Bounderby when his own marriage becomes
troubled.
On top of his utter lack of pity, Bounderby then accuses
Stephen of wanting to eat turtle soup with a gold spoon. This accusation results
from Bounderby’s belief that all Hands are improvident, -dishonest
cretins who simply want to get ahead, when in reality Bounderby,
who very well could eat turtle soup with a gold spoon, is the only
character guilty of fitting that description. His belief that Hands
are lazy good-for-nothings is part of his rhetoric of the self-made
man. As he constantly reminds us, he managed to rise from his humble
beginnings to become the wealthy owner of factories and a bank.
If the Hands were not so lazy, he implies, surely they could do the
same.
