Charles Dickens Research Paper

The 18th century in Britain was a period of slow change for women’s rights. The Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution were coterminous periods of social and intellectual change that occurred, during this period in history. These movements brought about new thoughts regarding women’s rights. Women were becoming more concerned with suffrage, divorce, adultery, child custody agreements, and the right to receive a more substantial education. One of the main debates in Victorian England was the discussion of what place woman should have in the schooling system. The ideological assumptions of how women should be educated came under scrutiny and became a matter of public discussion as the women’s movement in Britain emerged. As a result, women’s

Hard Times, written by Charles Dickens, in the mid 19th century tells a story of a man who raises his son and daughter under utilitarian ideals, which was an unconventional way of educating children at the time, especially for young girls. The societal restrictions and expectations of women at this time influenced Dickens’ opinions of female education. He believed women should be educated, however, without rigorous, serious academics. Hard Times, reflects the time in which Dickens’ lived and presents his own stance as he criticizes the practice of educating women with a utilitarian approach, by presenting two characters, Sissy Jupe and Louisa Gradgrind, the first of whom thrives when placed in a system that follows more traditional Victorian ideals while the latter is left feeling alienated and resentful following a utilitarian

Specific concern was caused by the medical theory of ‘menstrual disability’, a belief that spawned a condition coined ‘anorexia scolastica’ which was believed to be a debilitating thinness and weakness resulting from too much serious mental activity, especially during menstruation. This theory correlates to my thesis that Charles Dickens condemns rigid academics for women. Dicken’s doesn’t see women as being incapabl to education to this extent, as young women within the novel are all educated. The education that they receive at the Gradgrinds household and at the Choakumchild School is far from ideal because it is too much focused on facts. Louisa, who has “been so well trained” that she is unacquainted to romantic ways of thinking. Mr. Gradgrind has ensured that Louisa has been educated to view “everything from the strong dispassionate ground of reason and calculation.” (Dickens 129) The education and training that Louisa receives removes her of any ability to feel or recognize any emotions. He shows this as he demonstrates how Louisa becomes resentful and hateful towards her education which was strict and serious. depicts a very sad and lonely life for Louisa who only knows a life of education and facts. On the other hand, Sissy Jupe, being raised in a more conventional way for the time period, is content and fulfilled. This was a popular idea at the time since women were so confined