A Dickensian excursion: Hard Times

A week ago, before reading Geisha a Life, I finished reading Hard Times, a Charles Dickens creation. I found the book to be educational and incisive and very good, albeit with a few acceptable flaws. Admittedly, it wasn’t up to par with his other works: Great Expectations, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities,  etc., but more than a work of prose, this books' intention is conveying a message, one that Mr. Dickens felt needed to be portrayed. 

In this book it was more important to him to get his point across than weave an intricate work of literature. It isn't filled with action, most of its pages are dedicated to character formation and exposure and this enables the reader to understand in depth how the writer, Charles Dickens, feels about the subject that underlines the entire book: the upbringing in a utilitarian mentality and the effect of the industrialization on the human psyche.  

One comes across two archetypes, those that abide by and are surrounded by the FACTS of the utilitarian mentality, prevalent during Dickens' time, and those that are the total opposite, mostly comprised of the working class. These two clash and change as the plot progresses, giving the reader a delightfully educational look into a topic that was and continues to hold relevancy in this day and age. 

What I felt deficient in this work is the extremes; the characters are defined in a such a way that the two archetypes described above contrast vividly leaving very little room for the evolution of the characters. Louisa undergoes changes but doesn't fully live up to her potential of breaking free from the prevalent mentality. One reason for this could be that Dickens wanted to highlight the lasting effects of being brought up in such a harsh and cold environment; as opposed to Sissy, Cecilia Jupe, who remains forever a simple woman and goes to live a life full of happiness and warmth.

Of course, me being a 21st century woman I cannot fully relate to Sissy nor Louisa, they both have qualities that shine and vice versa but I disagree with some of the aspects in their portrayal.

Nontheless, read the book, it is a good read.

Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. The Modern Library ed. New York: Random House, 2001. Print. 
325 pages