Book Two, Chapter 6 – ‘Fading Away’
This passage occurs towards the middle of Book Two, Chapter Six of Dickens’ novel Hard Times. The chapter name ‘Fading Away’ can be associated with the slow, drawn out decline in the fortunes of the characters, as they become victims of the utilitarian system which pervades the plot. This imagery captures the almost cruel nature of the decline, as if it may have been better for the characters had they just fallen quickly. The passage itself falls within an important, plot heavy portion of the novel. Following Stephen Blackpool’s dismissal from Mr. Bounderby’s employ, Tom and Louisa visit his home as he finishes tea with Mrs. Pegler and Rachael. The narrative centres on Louisa as she enters Stephen’s room.
The first thing of note in this passage is the heavy use of anaphora. We see the repetition of the words ‘for the first time’ in the first sentence, and then repetition of the words ‘she knew’ following throughout the first paragraph. This choice of words is interesting, given that the juxtaposition of these two phrases raises a stark contrast. On one hand, we are told that Louisa has had no real first hand encounters with a large population of Coketown; on the other hand, she was raised in a philosophical system of fact which has given her a great amount of statistics and knowledge pertaining to the Hands’ work. This is an example of a continuing theme throughout the novel in which Dickens undermines the utilitarian philosophy by portraying the knowledge of the characters as too abstract and lacking in both real world practicality and joy.
Louisa’s education has only taught her to study life from a purely fact based scientific and mathematical approach, and this is indicated by the use of mathematical lexis. Louisa is said to have known of the existence of the Hands ‘by hundreds and thousands’ and thinks of them in terms of what results they could produce ‘in a given space of time’. This tone of study is continued in a scientific manner as the Hands are likened to ants or beetles in their movements; yet the final sentence of the first paragraph seems to admit the lack in Louisa’s depth of knowledge, stating that ‘she knew infinitely more’ about insects than about the Hands. The sentence starts with the word ‘but’ which immediately casts doubt upon all that which has previously been written. It almost seems that we may be getting access to Louisa’s own thoughts in an example of free indirect speech, and that she could be aware of this void in her education. This is an integral part of Louisa’s character, and we have seen throughout the text her awareness of a sort of loss starting as early as Book One, Chapter Eight, during which she speaks with Tom regarding her lack of knowledge in things such as other girls would have known (Dickens, 1989 p.67). When looking back upon this first section, it could be said that the use of ‘she knew’ could be intended as irony, alluding to the fact that what Louisa doesn’t know about the Hands is far more vast than the few statistics and facts she does know.
The second paragraph only contains two sentences. The first sentence is very long and is characterised again with anaphora. This time, we get the repetition of the word ‘something’ in connection with the Hands. Interspersed amongst these words we can again find the lexis of utilitarianism. Throughout this paragraph, the Hands are likened to commodities to be bought and sold, tools to be used in pursuit of monetary gain and statistics on crime, pauperism and birth rate. The pervading theme here is an inexorable, driving portrayal of these people as things rather than individual people, reinforced by the constant use of ‘something’ at the beginning of each assertion. There is also condescension here. The imagery involved in the words ‘blundered’ and ‘floundered’ in reference to the whole population evokes ideas of some innate incapability in them. The assertion that the Hands were ‘pinched’ during times of wheat shortage and ‘over-ate’ themselves when there was a wheat surplus also suggests some sort of gross lack of planning. This sort of language coupled with the association of the Hands with negative statistics and their rising like a sea to do ‘harm and waste’ in what can only be interpreted as rioting or protests seems to go beyond fact and into a sort of blanket malevolence. In this way, Dickens suggests that this system of utilitarianism has no room for those outside its ranks. While Louisa has been taught statistics on the Hands, she has also been taught to see them in a negative manner, as if all of those outside of the philosophy of fact are doing damage to the world. At the end of this paragraph just as in the previous, however, there is another example of doubt in the narrative voice. Again, this sentence starts with the word ‘but’ which casts doubt on the utilitarian view of things which came before. We are told that Louisa had never thought of separating the Hands into units, likening the idea to ‘separating the sea itself into its component drops’. This is a powerful use of imagery and it gives us insight into the sort of mind Louisa has. She has until now only seen the Hands as a vast unified mass to be used, observed, and recorded with a touch of disapproval and the idea of knowing and relating to an individual within that vast group was an entirely new concept to her.
As this passage closes, we leave the world of utilitarianism, as if waking from a dream. Louisa stands observing the two women, Stephen, and Stephen’s meagre belongings. Repetition of the word ‘few’ in reference to Stephen’s books and chairs coupled with the use of the word ‘common’ in reference to his prints finally highlights the humble humanity in this setting. Louisa is brought face to face with an individual with his own life, his own belongings and his own identity.
In closing, this passage appears to draw upon a sophisticated arsenal of literary tools in order to reinforce Dickens’ theme of the innate lack in the philosophy of utilitarianism. By revisiting the lexis of Louisa’s education while introducing small, cleverly placed doses of doubt in the narrative and using setting as a reflection of humanity, Dickens unravels Louisa’s sheltered world and throws her into the real one. This theft of her once solid ideology prepares the reader for events still to come.
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Bibliography
Dickens, C. (1989) Hard Times (Oxford World’s Classics). New York: Oxford University Press.
Forster, E.M. (1976) Aspects of the Novel (Penguin Classics). London: Penguin Books.
Lodge, D. (1992) The Art of Fiction: Illustrated from Classic and Modern Texts. London: Penguin Books.
May, T. (1996) An Economic and Social History of Britain, 1760-1990. 2nd edition. Longman.
McEwan, N. (2000) “Hard Times” (York Notes Advanced). 2nd edition. Longman.
The Victorian Web (no date). [online] Available from: http://www.victorianweb.org/ (Accessed: 9 November 2009).
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