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

Role of Men in Louisas Life in Hard TimesIn Hard Times Charles Dickens portrays Louisa Gradgrind as a realistic character who faces conflict from the start of her life. Louisa encounters ternary major psychological conflicts in  the form of three different men Mr. Gradgrind, Mr. Bounderby, and Tom Gradgrind. Men pretend a very important role in the shaping of Louisas life. 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 imagination and all she can do is wonder. One example of Louisa attempting to view the unknown occurs when she and Tom peep by dint of a loophole in order to see a circus (8). This is the first time both Louisa and Tom have seen such a sight. When asked why they were there, Louisa particularly answers, Wanted to see what it was like (8), a r esponse any normal child would have. Her starved imagination (8) is curious and needs some sort of highroad for release. As Louisa blossoms into a young 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 like to be Mrs. Bounderby, all Louisa can utter is, You have been so careful of me, that I never had a childs dream. You have dealt so wisely with me, father, from my birthplace to this hour, that I never had a childs belief or a childs fear (63). Mr. Gradgrind interprets his daughters words as a compliment to him and his strict belief in doctrine 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 insistence on the perpetuation of facts only. Although Louisa realizes she has been enslaved by the theories of fact, she willingly ente rs yet another bondage 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 enforced by men in society. This young girl, more than half his junior, appeals to Josiah Bounderby and soon they wed.