Summary — Chapter 5: Found
Sissy visits Rachael every night as they wait for news
of Stephen. One night, as they are walking past Bounderby’s house,
they see Mrs. Sparsit dragging Mrs. Pegler into the house. Mrs.
Sparsit tells Bounderby she has found the old woman, who was seen
in Blackpool’s apartment before the robbery, and has brought him
the possible accessory to the crime for questioning. But far from
being pleased, Bounderby is furious: Mrs. Pegler is his mother,
and as their encounter falls out, it becomes clear to the assembled
company that she did not abandon him in the gutter, as he had claimed.
Rather, she raised, educated, and loved him. He abandoned her, refusing
to allow her to visit him now that he has become wealthy and successful.
The myth of Bounderby, the self-made man, is exploded, and he refuses
to offer an explanation for his former lies about his past.
Summary — Chapter 6: The Starlight
Stephen still fails to appear. One morning, Sissy takes
Rachael for a walk in the country to restore her strength, and they
discover Stephen’s hat. Rachael instantly fears that he has been
murdered, but, after walking on a little farther, they discover
that he has fallen down an old mining pit called Old Hell Shaft
and is still clinging to life. The women seek help, and a large
crowd assembles around the pit. A rescue team manages to lift Stephen
out, and a doctor attends to his injuries. Nonetheless, after bidding
a loving farewell to Rachael and telling Louisa to have Gradgrind
ask Tom for the information that will clear his name, Stephen dies.
Summary — Chapter 7: Whelp-hunting
When the crowd disperses, Tom is missing. Back at Stone
Lodge, Gradgrind and Louisa feel that their fears are confirmed:
Tom robbed the bank. Louisa reveals that Sissy encouraged Tom to
seek refuge with Mr. Sleary’s circus, currently camped near Liverpool. From
there, Tom might leave England on one of the many boats sailing
for South America or the Indies. Relieved that Tom might escape prison,
Sissy, Louisa, and Gradgrind set out in two separate coaches for
Mr. Sleary’s circus, hoping to send Tom safely out of the country. Louisa
and Sissy travel all night and reunite with Sleary, who tells Sissy
that Tom is safe. Gradgrind arrives not long after. They are joined
by the sullen Tom, who has been participating in the circus performance
dressed up in blackface. They agree to send him up the coast to
Liverpool, where he can book passage out of the country. Tom is
rude to Louisa, blaming her for his predicament because she refused
to finance his gambling habit, but she cries out that she forgives
him and that she loves him still. Suddenly, the pale-faced Bitzer appears
and says that Tom cannot leave, for he intends to take him back
to Coketown and hand him over to the police.
Summary — Chapter 8: Philosophical
With the assistance of some of Sleary’s circus people,
Bitzer takes Tom to arrange rail passage back to Coketown. However,
Sleary double-crosses Bitzer with a trick involving madly barking
dogs and dancing horses, which enables Tom to escape aboard ship
after all. The next morning, Tom’s family learns that he is safely
away from England. Sleary has one more surprise in store: he confides
to Gradgrind that Merrylegs, Sissy’s father’s dog, has unexpectedly
returned alone to the circus, a sure sign that her father is dead.
Summary — Chapter 9: Final
In the aftermath of the incident with Mrs. Pegler, Bounderby
fires Mrs. Sparsit and sends her away to live with her unpleasant
relative, Lady Scadgers. Looking proudly at his portrait, Mr. Bounderby does
not guess that he will die from a fit in the streets of Coketown in
a mere five years’ time. The narrator reveals that in that future, Gradgrind
will cease serving fact and will instead devote his skills and money
to faith, hope, and charity. He will also publish writings exonerating
the name of Stephen Blackpool. Furthermore, the narrator discloses
that Louisa will never marry again. Tom will soon repent of his
hostility toward his sister, and he will die abroad longing for
a last look at Louisa’s face. Rachael will go on working and continue
in her sweetness and good faith, and Sissy will have a large and
happy family. Louisa will be deeply loved by Sissy’s children, through
whom she will vicariously experience the joy and wonder of childhood.
And Louisa will always strive to understand and improve the lives
of her fellow human beings.
Analysis — Book the Third: Garnering: Chapters 5–9
In this section, everyone gets their just desserts. The
narrator demonstrates his omniscience and his moral authority by
assigning futures to the main characters according to each of their
situations and merits. In other words, the characters who are clearly
good are rewarded with happy endings, while those who are clearly
bad end up miserable. Bounderby is exposed as a fraud with the revelation that
his life story is a lie designed to cover up his wretched treatment of
his kindly mother. Mrs. Sparsit is packed off to Lady Scadgers, having
ruined her own chances with Bounderby through her excessive nosiness.
Tom manages to escape but realizes the guilt of his awful behavior
after it is too late to make amends with Louisa, and he dies, missing
her terribly. Sissy, of course, ends up happy. The one exception
to this general rule of poetic justice is the death of Stephen Blackpool.
While Stephen seems to look forward to death as a release from his
miserable existence, he leaves Rachael bereft and alone after he
dies. Rachael’s misery and Stephen’s undeserved death are perhaps
a part of Dickens’s intent to rouse sympathy for the poor.
