Role of Men in Louisas Life in Hard Times :: Dickens Hard Times Essays

Role of hands in Louisas Life in problematical TimesIn Hard Times Charles Dickens portrays Louisa Gradgrind as a realistic character who faces conflict from the start of her sprightliness. Louisa encounters three major mental conflicts in  the form of three different men Mr. Gradgrind, Mr. Bo down the stairsby, and Tom Gradgrind. Men play a very important role in the pliant of Louisas vivification. Instead of being her own person and expressing her own feelings, Louisa falls under the realm of these three men. Since the beginning of her life, Louisa isnt allowed to express herself because her father continually stresses the facts. Mr. Gradgrind suppresses Louisas fancy and all she can do is wonder. One example of Louisa attempting to view the unknown occurs when she and Tom peep through a loophole in order to perk a circus (8). This is the first time both Louisa and Tom put one over seen such a sight. When asked why they were there, Louisa curiously answers, Wanted to s ee what it was bid (8), a response any normal child would have. Her starved inclination (8) is curious and needs some sort of avenue for release. As Louisa blossoms into a schoolboyish lady, the young Miss Gradgrind enchants one particular suitor. Her father thought that it was time for Louisa to marry and had a suitable companion in mind. When Mr. Gradgrind asks Louisa if she would same(p) to be Mrs. Bounderby, all Louisa can utter is, You have been so prudent of me, that I never had a childs dream. You have dealt so wisely with me, father, from my rocking chair to this hour, that I never had a childs belief or a childs business concern (63). Mr. Gradgrind interprets his daughters words as a compliment to him and his strict belief in teaching only the facts. But Louisa means she has not experienced life and has never been given the chance. Her childhood has been murdered by her fathers strict mechanical press on the perpetuation of facts only. Although Louisa realizes she has been enslaved by the theories of fact, she willingly enters yet another custody to Mr. Bounderby allowing the process of her suppression to continue. Mr. Bounderby is yet another man in Louisas life who expects her to conform to the system implemented by men in society. This young girl, more than half his junior, appeals to Josiah Bounderby and soon they wed.