Description

The terrible mistake was the contemporary utilitarian philosophy, expounded in Hard Times 1854 as the Philosophy of Fact by the hard-headed disciplinarian Thomas Gradgrind. But the novel, Dickenss shortest, is more than a polemical tract for the times the tragic story of Louisa Gradgrind and her father is one of Dickenss triumphs. When Louisa, trapped in a loveless The terrible mistake was the contemporary utilitarian philosophy, expounded in Hard Times 1854 as the Philosophy of Fact by the hard-headed disciplinarian Thomas Gradgrind. But the novel, Dickenss shortest, is more than a polemical tract for the times the tragic story of Louisa Gradgrind and her father is one of Dickenss triumphs. When Louisa, trapped in a loveless marriage, falls prey to an idle seducer, the crisis forces her father to reconsider his cherished system. Yet even as the development of the story reflects Dickenss growing pessimism about human nature and society, Hard Times marks his return to the theme which had made his early works so popular: the amusements of the people. Slearys circus represents Dickenss most considered defence of the necessity of entertainment, and infuses the novel with the good humour which has ensured its appeal to generations of readers.