A Critical Study of Charles Dickens

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1.2 The Industrial Revolution and Dickens’ works

The Industrial Revolution greatly impacted Charles Dickens’ novels as he attacked its nature

and effects on humanity. Pat Hudson defined this technological phenomenon as “a shift from

agrarian and rural ased occupations to predominantly uran!ased industrial and service

employments. . ." #hich resulted in “radical shifts in social relations" $%&. Charles Dickens

and other authors of his time' #rote in a period of gro#ing competition and industrial unrest#hich resulted from the “divorce of laour from the land and the rise of proletarianised #age

laour" $()&.

It is elieved that the Industrial Revolution #as caused y an outgro#th of social and

institutional changes rought y the end of feudalism in *ritain after the +nglish Civil ,ar in

the seventeenth century $-shton /&. The *ritish -gricultural Revolution made food

production more efficient and less laour intensive' forcing those #ho lost their 0os into

cottage industries such as #eavers. Henceforth these industries spanned into ne#ly developed

factories. The change from agricultural to technological production enaled the economy to

immensely support an increasing non!agricultural #orkforce $Hart#ell' 1td. y Hudson /&.

2overnment grants of limited monopolies to inventors and increase in the rate of capital

formation under a developing patent #ere considered an influential factor $Hart#ell 1td. yHudson /&. The effects of patents of the development of industriali3ation are illustrated in the

history of the steam engine. In return' for pulicly revealing the operations of an invention'

the patent system re#arded inventors y allo#ing inventors such as 4ames ,att to

monopoli3e the production of the first steam engines. Therefore' the technological revolution

#as a result of an autonomous increase in kno#ledge and its application #hich led to the

transformation of the machine and a more productive organisation of industry $/&.

-dditionally for 2reat *ritain' the Industrial Revolution #as spanned y the increase in #orld

trade and the influ5 of natural or financial resources that *ritain received from its numerous

overseas colonies and the profits from the *ritish slave trade et#een -frica and the

Cariean #hich helped fuel industrial investment $Hart#ell 1td. y Hudson /&. The greater

lierali3ation of trade from a large merchant ase could have allo#ed *ritain to produce and

utili3e emerging scientific and technological developments more effectively than countries

#ith stronger monarchies such as China and Russia. This #as evidenced y the fact that

*ritain emerged from the 6apoleonic #ars as the only +uropean nation not ravaged y

financial plunder and economic collapse.

The stale political situation in *ritain and the society’s greater receptiveness to change is

also another factor that favoured the Industrial Revolution $7melser 8)&. Due to the enclosure

movement in the eighteenth century' #hich #as a process entailing the privati3ation of

property' the peasantry #as destroyed as significant source of resistance to industriali3ation

and the landed upper classes developed commercial interests that made them pioneers in the

advancement of the gro#th of capitalism. 9urthermore' the increasing use of industrial orfi5ed capital instead of merchant or circulating capital' led to a ne# type of profit generation

$Hudson /&.

Conse1uently' capitalism emerged as one of the key elements of production during the

Industrial Revolution. Capitalism is a social system ased on the recognition of individual

rights' including property rights in #hich all property is privately o#ned $“Capitalism"&. It is

also fundamentally individualistic ecause the each person is the centre of capitalist

endeavour $“Capitalism"!The +uropean +nlightenment&. The concept of capitalism is dra#n

from the +nlightenment ideology on individuality that all individuals should e free to pursue

their o#n interests. It is evident that capitalism played a ma0or role in Dickens’ #orks

particularly in 2reat +5pectations as noted through Pip’s desire for #ealth and gentility and

the centrality of money #ithin the novel itself as evidenced y characters like :iss Havisham'her father and the greedy Compeyson $House&. In Hard Times' one encounters the ank o#ner



:r. *oundery #ho rose from poverty to ecome a self!made industrialist $Dickens ()&. It is

evident that capitalism' as one of the effects of the Industrial Revolution' shaped the literary

#orks of the nineteenth century #riters such as Charles Dickens. The parody employed y

Dickens in descriing :r. *oundery is an indication of his repugnance to#ards capitalism;

“- ig' loud man' #ith a stare' and a metallic laugh. - man made

out of coarse material' #hich seemed to have een stretched to makeso much out of him. - man #ith a great puffed head and forehead'

s#elled veins in his temples' and such a strained skin to his face that

it seemed to hold his eyes open' and lift his eyero#s up. - man

#ith a pervading appearance on him of eing inflated like a alloon'

and ready to start." $()&

:r. *oundery is a representative of capitalism and Dickens’ attitude to#ards him is

synonymous to his approach to entrepreneurship. :r. *oundery’s description influences the

reader to dislike him' in the same #ay that Dickens dislikes capitalism. *oundery is

characterised as a “po#erful individual driven y greed and guided y a distorted vie# of

human nature" and he is a “self serving capitalist< rather than an insightful for#ard!looking

crafter of a ne# industrial age'" thus “representing all that is #rong #ith capitalism"$=ldham&. *oundery is a typical industrialist #ho vie#s his employees as “mere factors of

production' not much different from the machines they operate" and his insensile manner

to#ards the #orkers

demonstrates the “middle class efforts to avoid fraternisation and social contact #ith the lo#er

classes." $=ldham&.

7imilar to Dickens' 2erman socialist >arl :ar5 also critici3ed capitalism for its oppression of

the poor leading to the term “:ar5ism'" a theory ased on the suggestion that

industriali3ation polari3ed society into the ourgeois and the much larger proletariat' #ho are

the #orking class leading to a conflict et#een the t#o classes as noted in The Communist

:anifesto #hich he co!authored #ith 9riedrich +ngels;

“The modern ourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of

feudal society has not done a#ay #ith class anatagonisms. It has ut

estalished ne# classes' ne# conditions of oppression' ne# forms of

struggle in place of the old ones."

:ar5 sa# the industriali3ation process as the logical dialectical progression of feudal

economic codes' necessary for the full development of capitalism $7o#ell )?(&. :ar5ism

sympathi3es #ith the #orking class or proletariat and espouses the elief that the ultimate

interest of #orkers est matches those of humanity in general. :ar5ists are committed to a

#orkers’ revolution as a means of achieving human emancipation and enlightenment. The

theory of :ar5ism promotes socialism #hich is a political and economic system in #hich

everyone has an e1ual right to a share of a country’s #ealth and main industries #hich areo#ned and controlled y the government $Heilroner&. ,ritten during the same period as the

development of :ar5ism and socialist thought' Charles Dickens’ #orks #ere also concerned

#ith the relationships et#een the #orkers and the industrialists' and the poor and the rich.

In addition to :ar5ism' other theories such as Charles Dar#in’s Theory of +volution $(?/8&

also emerged during the Industrial Revolution in #hich Dar#in claimed there is a variation in

every organism #hich competes for limited resources' resulting in a struggle for survival.

Dar#in’s concept that organisms compete for survival is noted in a capitalist society in #hich

the capitalists are the only ones #ith access to economic resources #hile the poor are

deprived. Therefore' the lo#er class struggles to survive y resorting to crime' the #omen are

reduced to prostitutes #hile children and men are su0ected to lo# paying 0os such as factory

#orkers' dustmen and chimney s#eepers. Dar#in’s concept that there is a struggle forsurvival has een translated into “survival of the fittest" also kno#n as “7ocial Dar#inism" a



theory developed y nineteenth century philosopher Herert 7pencer $(?)@!(8@& y

applying the theory of natural selection to social' political and economic issues' #hich #as

further adopted y Aictorian #riters such as 2eorge +lliot' or even earlier in the century'

authors like 4ane -usten also adopted the theory and incorporated it into their novels.

“7ocial Dar#inism" also played a ma0or role in the development of naturalism and its

application in literature. -s noted in most naturalists’ #orks' the ma0or focus is on the lo#erclass #ho oviously struggle to survive in an economically competitive #orld. The capitalist

environment impacts their #ell eing y su0ecting them to e5ploitation' unearale living

conditions leading to diseases and death. The fittest poor manage to survive y resorting to

crime' other#ise the capitalist environment #ill s#allo# them up. It is evident that during the

Industrial Revolution' the environment favoured the capitalist #hile the socially

disadvantaged suffered< a phenomenon #hich has e5tended to our contemporary #orld.

,riting during the Industrial Revolution' all the theories and ideas e5pounded during this

period oviously impacted Charles Dickens #ho is applauded for his application of

naturalism into his #orks.

-part from the intellectual and scientific theories and developments during the Industrial

Revolution' industriali3ation led to the creation of the factory system #hich #as largelyresponsile for the rise of the modern environment' due to the rural B uran migration of

people in search of employment. The Industrial Revolution appeared to e a positive

phenomenon' ut it also had a negative impact on society as it created a rapid population

increase in the cities leading to an escalation in slum communities. iving conditions varied

from the splendour of the middle class to the s1ualor of the lo#er class laourers. 7ocial

commentators such as Toynee' the ,es' the Hammonds and novelists such as Charles

Dickens stressed the “rapidity of change and the terrile effects of industrial transformation

upon the living standards of the masses" $Hudson ()&.

In contrast to the middle class grandeur' the lo#er class lived in small overcro#ded houses

#here poor sanitation led to fatal diseases such as cholera' typhoid and small po5. - large

numer of the #orking class also died from chest infections caused y the dust from mines

and smoke from factories #hile some children and men died at the factories due to accidents'

mutilations and poisonous chemicals. Dickens’ novels' particularly *leak House and Hard

Times' specifically illustrate the living conditions of the #orking class. 9ortunately' the

standards of living for the poor egan to advance after the government passed pulic health

acts in (?) #hich controlled sanitation' hygiene and setting of oundaries on construction of

homes.

:oreover' human relations #ere definitely altered y the people’s preoccupation #ith the

accumulation of #ealth during the Industrial Revolution as noted y Thomas Carlyle in (?)E;

“. . . ho# #ealth has more and more increased and at the same time

gathered itself more and more into the masses' strangely alteringthe old relations and increasing the distance et#een the rich

and poor." $1td. y Hudson (@&

The kindness' good#ill' trust and communalism that e5isted during the pre!industrial era' #as

replaced y “enmity' suspicion and distrust" et#een masters and #orkers $Tufnell 1td. y

Hudson (@&. Conse1uently' as noted y Carlyle that the rich and poor ecome more separated'

the masters do not personally ac1uaint #ith the #orkers as evidenced y Dickens in Hard

Times #herey the laourers are also called the “Hands" #hich confirms the indifference of

the capitalists to#ards their employees.

During the Industrial Revolution' there #ere limited educational opportunities for children<

therefore' it #as etter for them to #ork. Child laour #as an integral part of the system as the

children #ere far paid less than adults $andes /&. They #orked under terrile conditionssuch as long hours #ith poor lighting' deficient ventilation and lack of protective clothing.



Ho#ever #ith social outcry and reports of child ause' la#s prohiiting child laour and the

factory acts in (?E% stipulated that no child under the age of t#elve #as to e employed as a

factory #orker. Ho#ever' it is unfortunate that some of these reforms #ere implemented long

after people like Charles Dickens had already een forced into the gruesome and traumati3ing

factory #ork at his age.

+ven though the Industrial Revolution rought an economic oom to the middle classsegment of 2reat *ritain and the rest of +urope through the emergence of the capitalists' it

crushed the poor #hose e5istence #as overshado#ed y the success of the middle class.

Dickens’ novels e5pose the slums and filth of ondon and its surroundings y realistically

depicting the corruption of its

society. Thus the Industrial Revolution evoked sympathy and a desire for social change in

#riters like Charles Dickens.

1.3 The Victorian Society

The Aictorian society is marked y Fueen Aictoria’s reign from (? to (8@(< thus' it is

referred to as the Aictorian era. Fueen Aictoria’s si5ty four year reign is the longest in *ritish

history and the cultural' political' economic' industrial and scientific changes that occurred

during her reign #ere remarkale. ,hen Aictoria ascended to the throne' *ritain #asessentially agrarian and rural' ut y the time of her death' the country #as vastly urani3ed

and largely industriali3ed.

During the Industrial Revolution' the Aictorian society consisted of a hierarchical structure

comprising of the upper class' follo#ed y the middle class' the #orking class and the

impoverished under class $Cody&. These different social classes could e distinguished y

ine1ualities in areas such as politics' authority' #ealth' education' culture' #orking and living

conditions. :emers of the lo#er class #ere perceived as irrational' immature' superstitious'

rutal' e5cessively se5ual and filthy $,ohl&. Due to the po#erlessness of the lo#er class

memers' they #ere su0ugated to e5ploitation and treatment similar to that of animals.

=ne prominent feature of the Aictorian society #as the aundant poor. *ecause of poverty'

children #ere forced into child laour and forced to #ork as chimney s#eepers and they could

cra#l up the t#elve y fourteen inch chimneys' some as small as seven inches s1uare' so that

they #ould clean out the annual average of forty gallons of soot that #as deposited there.

7ome oys ecame rat catchers and they #ere re1uired to use arsenic to poison the rats' ut as

this could e e5pensive' they could also use a ferret to flush the rats out and kill them $>elsey

(&. Children could also ecome messengers and it #as 1uite common for a gentleman to ask a

neary street urchin to run errands for him. Charles Dickens depicts 4o in *leak House' as a

street urchin and he is asked y ady Dedlock for some information concerning 6emo. 7ome

children could also #ork as mud larks #hich meant that they had to #ade into the Thames

River at lo# tide to scrounge for its of coal' rope' ones and copper nails' ut they had to e

careful so that they #ould not cut their are feet.Gran overpopulation resulted in the poor living in appalling and overcro#ded housing

conditions. Improvement in the sanitation meant increased rent #hich most of the #orkers

could not afford. :ore living space per family #ould increase the distance et#een home and

#ork' therefore it meant that more families #ould live further a#ay from #ork. The solution

#as to overcro#d the cramped s1ualid living 1uarters as portrayed y Charles Dickens in

*leak House' Tom ! -ll ! -lone’s and the Coketo#n inhaitants in Hard Times.

In the early nineteenth century' there #as a high rate of prostitution #hich came to e kno#n

as the great social evil. *et#een (?%? and (?@' there #ere a lot of institutions #orking to

“reclaim" these “fallen #omen" from the streets and at the same time restraining them from

entering the respectale society y forcing them to #ork as domestic servants. The theme of

prostitution and the “fallen #oman" ecame a staple feature of Aictorian literature and politics. Prostitution #as perceived as a social prolem rather than 0ust a fact of uran life.



Prostitutes #ere often presented as victims in sentimental novels such as +li3aeth 2askell’s

:ary *urton and Charles Dickens’ =liver T#ist. The emphasis on the purity of #omen led to

the portrayal of the prostitute as soiled' corrupt and in need of cleansing. 7ympathetic #riters

raised economic deprivation as a ma0or cause of prostitution.

The emphasis on female purity #as allied to the importance of the homemaking role of

#omen' #ho' y her domesticity' helped to create a space free from pollution and corruptionfrom the city. The prostitute came to have symolic significance as the emodiment of the

violation of that divide. The anonymity of the city led to the increase in prostitution and

unsanctioned se5ual relationships. -ltick attests that “Dickens and other #riters of his time

associated prostitution #ith the mechani3ation of modern life' portraying prostitutes as human

commodities consumed and then thro#n a#ay like refuse" $)/&.

The status of #omen in the Aictorian era is often seen as a discrepancy et#een +ngland’s

national po#er and #ealth and #hat many' then and no#' consider its appalling social

conditions. During this period' difficulties escalated for #omen ecause of the vision of the

ideal #oman shared y the society. ,omen could not vote and they could not ecome

property o#ners. The role of #omen #as to have children and they could not hold a

professional 0o unless it #as that of eing a teacher or a domestic servant. 9urthermore'#omen #ere only confined to the domestic sphere and their duty #as to e in charge of

servants and to organi3e parties #hich #ould promote the prestige of their husands and

enale them to meet ne# people and estalish economically important relationships. -

#oman #as also re1uired to e “good tempered'" compassionate to#ards the suffering and

#ell mannered and clean $*urton /@&.

+ducation #as vie#ed as the economic necessity of men only. The attitude to#ards #omen

and education #as that education need not e of the same e5tended' classical and commercial

characteristic as that of men. ,omen #ere supposed to e educated in issues that involved

domesticity. 7u0ects such as history' geography and general literature #ere important' ut

not atin and 2reek. ,omen #ho #anted to study la#' physics' engineering or medicine

#ere satiri3ed and dismissed. The Aictorian society deemed it unnecessary for #omen to

attend university.

Ho#ever' the Aictorian society appeared to e a stale society ecause of the lavish lifestyle

of the aristocracy and the enormous profits gained y the middle class' yet the emergence of

the “ourgeoisie" also meant a massive increase in poverty and uran overpopulation due to

the rural B uran migration. 9urthermore' #omen #ere also oppressed as they #ere confined

to the domestic sphere and they #ere not #elcome in the masculine pulic domain of politics

and usiness. Children #ere also e5ploited as they #ere su0ected to child laour and they

#orked under harsh conditions. The Aictorian society' particularly the middle class' upheld

strong moral values and morals' yet they did little to help the poor or change their condition.

1.4 The Victorian NovelThe nineteenth century #as the great age of the novel' #hich is descried y Henry 4ames as

“an intricately in#rought aesthetic and psychological design' and a sutle alancing of formal

and moral tensions" $1td. y Pykett (&. The term novel did not arise until the end of the

eighteenth century although the content itself had een een formed earlier in the century y

Defoe' Richardson' 9ielding and 7molett $>arl E&. Ian ,att further attests to this point y

stating that Richardson and 9ielding #ere the founders of a ne# form #riting $8&. This form

of literary art #as ound to flourish since there #as an increase in literacy as the middle class

rose in po#er and importance $Daiches ?8@&. -s industrialisation spread throughout *ritain' it

#as common that the novel ecame a means of portraying life and its social and moral values

familiar to the readers. Thus' the Aictorian novel ecame greatly kno#n for its concern for the

social prolems of the time.



The ma0or Aictorian novelists are Charles Dickens $(?()!(?@&' ,illiam :akepeace

Thackeray $(?(( B (?E& and 2eorge +lliot $(?(8 B (???&. Charles Dickens like Thomas

Hardy' depicts the conflicts et#een individuals and society' and also criticises the nineteenth

century social structure $Peck and Coyle ((&. The early Aictorian novelists accepted middle

class values such as decorum' gentility' purity and property #hich #ere important during that

time. In most Aictorian novels' class pre0udice is also a ma0or concern. To many of hiscontemporaries' Dickens #as emphatically the novelist of his age'" in #hose novels

“posterity #ill read more clearly than in any age of contemporary records' the character of our

nineteenth century life" $Pykett ?&. D.-. :iller' a critic' contended that “Dickens’ novels are

oth a symptom and a criti1ue of the disciplinary society< they are the site of the first

appearance in +nglish fiction of a massive themati3ation of social discipline" $1td. y Pykett

(?&. 9urthermore' *arara ecker also suggested that the “social criti1ue of Dickens’ early

novels develops' after mid!career' into a more comprehensive vision of Aictorian +ngland"

$E8(&.

Dickens’ novels #ere landmarks of literature in +nglish and of +nglish culture in the

nineteenth century< thus' he is similar to the other Aictorian novelists in the sense that he is

ale to address the middle class values through satiri3ing them $Pykett &. He critici3es themiddle class for placing so much value on morality' yet it is the same people #ho e5ploit the

poor' therefore his Aictorian novel challenges the middle class value of morality. ionel

Trilling and Harold *loom say;

“If the middle class is properly to e descried in a harsh fashion'

then it is a parado5 or an anomaly that the national culture #hich

this class dominated should have given so much hearty a response

to #riters for #hom the indictment of the failings of the middle class

#as a chief part of their enterprise. :any of the individual memers

should themselves turn a 1uestioning eye upon its ethos and seek to

repudiate or meliorate those unamiale traits that #ere commonly

ascried to it." $E&

7imilarly' Thackeray in Aanity 9air is mainly concerned #ith the contrast et#een human

pretentions and human #eakness and he portrayed the middle class social stratum and its

hypocrisy. Dickens is e1ually a#are of the precariousness or vulneraility of the ne#

respectale social conception of the self and the uried life that is hidden eneath the veneer

of polite manners $Peck and Coyle )&.

Dorothy Aan 2hent' one of the t#entieth century critics' has identified characteri3ation “as a

specific response to the nineteenth century processes of reification and alienation in #hich

people #ere ecoming things and things #ere ecoming more important than people" $1td. y

Peck and Coyle ()?&. It is true that #ith the influ5 of industrialisation' people ecame like

machines as noted in the description of the #orkers in Charles Dickens’ Hard Times;“The #earisome heads #ent up and do#n at the same rate' in hot

#eather and cold' #et #eather and dry' fair #eather and foul.

The measured motion of their shado#s on the #alls' #as the

sustitute Coketo#n had to sho# for the shado#s of

rustling #oods. . . . $88&

The motion of the #orkers is monotonous and automated like that of a machine. In this

passage' Charles Dickens sho#s that the #orkers have ecome synonymous to the machines

as their actions are similar to that of a machine. The Hands are not regarded as individuals

anymore< ut' they are considered as automotives;

“9or the first time in her life' ouisa had come into one of the

d#ellings of the Coket#on Hands< for the first time in her lifeshe #as face to face #ith anything like individuality in



conne5ion #ith them. 7he kne# of their e5istence y hundreds

and y thousands. 7he kne# #hat results in #ork a given

numer of them #ould produce in a given space of time." $(%(&

ouisa identifies the #orkers through their #ork and not their individual identity. Her

perception sho#s that the #orkers are no# comparale to machines' #hich society identifies

for their roles. +ach #orker has lost his or her individuality ecause of their synonymy to themachine. In this #ay' Dickens fits into the nineteenth century mode of #riting #hich placed

much emphasis on the condition of humanity placed against the ackdrop of industrialisation'

a tradition learnt from the late eighteenth century #riters #ho dramatised the uran life and

“human character #ith a keen eye for the changes #hich the Industrial Revolution rought

into +ngland in his lifetime" $Daiches (@/@&. Dickens’ artistic aility to represent characters

placed in a modernised environment affirms him as one of the most successful authors #hose

“central position in *ritish and -nglophone culture derives in large part from his continuing

appeal to the general or common’ reader" $Pykett %&. 9urthermore' Raymond ,illiam claims

that “Dickens #as a representative of a ne# kind of perceiving the #orld' and sho#ing the

cro#d' the city' modern social forms and institutions' and the po#er of industrialism $1td. y

Pykett&.In some instances' the Aictorian novel continued #ith the literary canon of depicting the

protagonist as a virtuous person. The hero is al#ays a representation of moral earnestness and

#holesomeness' including crusades against social evils. 9or e5ample' Charles Dickens

portrays =liver T#ist as a character #ho maintains his virtue despite the corrupt #orld in

#hich he finds himself. He is 0u5taposed against a tainted society< yet' he remains pure. -

constant conflict is #aged et#een goodness and evil' innocence and corruption. The idea of

0u5taposing good and evil is also prevalent in the eighteenth century #ritings of *lake and

,ords#orth #ho #rote in and transitional age of the pre!industrial era and the modern #orld.

7imilarly' ,illiam :akepeace Thackeray' one of the reno#ned Aictorian novelists' also

depicts in his novel Aanity 9air' ho# “the demands of society operate on human character"

$1td. y Daiches (@E@&. ,hile Dickens focuses on the poor and their struggle to survive in a

demanding #orld' Thackeray’s places much focus on the characters and scenes of the upper

classes.

:oreover' a ne# #ay of characteri3ation #as noted in the Aictorian novel. Instead of the

#riter introducing or descriing the character' the reader could no# learn a character through

their speech $>arl )@&. -lthough the Aictorian novel lacked the t#entieth century’s suitale

method of the use of psychoanalysis' and revelations y the “inner man'" the nineteenth

century novelist relied on vernacular conversation to disclose the conscious $)@&. Dialogue'

therefore' ecame a common feature of the novel. In addition' Dickens’ novels also ear some

theatrical elements in the #ay in #hich certain characters deliver their speeches' #hich sho#s

that the conventions of the theatre have een asored or replaced y the novel $(@&. Theconversational idiom attracted large audiences' even the illiterate' #ho could hear their o#n

accents as noted through :ag#itch and 4oe in 2reat +5pectations' 7leary and 7tephen in

Hard Times' 9agin and his cre# in =liver T#ist' and 4o and the memers of Tom!-ll!-lone’s

in *leak House. The po#er of language in a novel is attested y :ichael 9oucalt #ho

asolutely vie#s language as “perfomative and operative; language does not merely represent

the #orld' ut it does #ork in the #orld" $1td. y Pykett (&.

-ccording to Ian ,att;

“The actors in the plot and the scenes of their actions had to

e placed in a ne# literary perspective; the plot had to e

acted out y particular people in particular circumstances'

rather than' as had een common in the past' y generalhuman types against a ackground primarily determined



the appropriate literary convention." $()&

Ian ,att’s description of the novel led to the development of realism and the impulse to

descrie the everyday #orld that the reader can recogni3e as an element of the Aictorian

novel. This ne# literary genre re0ected the romantic idealism and dependence on estalished

moral truths and ecame a philosophy that #as greatly pessimistic and deterministic. -s

realist novels' Dickens’ #orks challenge the inhumanity of ne# social legislation. Dickensalso accurately depicts the lo#er class trying to survive in the ne# uran society as more

people migrated from the rural landscape to an urani3ed society. ,ith the tide of

industriali3ation' a ne# sense of individualism #as ushered in and people had to find #ays of

fending for themselves in an impersonal uran #orld. Dickens’ #orks depict the ourgeoisie

e5ploiting the #orkers in an effort to gain more profit' #hile the lo#er class memers #ere

forced to engage in crime. 2eorge +lliot’s novel 7ilas :arner' for instance' depicts the

selfishness of the ourgeoisie and the struggle to survive of the poor. 7imilarly' Dickens

learnt from his o#n circumstance and oservations' comining an e5traordinary relish for the

odd' the colourful and the dramatic in uran life and in human character #ith a keen eye for

the changes #hich the Industrial Revolution rought into +ngland.

-s a realist #riter' Dickens’ novels such as =liver T#ist and Hard Times depict the impact ofurani3ation on the poor leading to the emergence of a criminal class and the ui1uity of

commerciali3ation and the profit motive and its dissolving effects upon family and

friendships. Therefore' the Aictorian novel confronts the reader #ith grim depictions of

human suffering and misery. :oreover' Aictorian #riters agree that the machine principle' the

manifest antithesis to the spirit' #as corrupting the life of +ngland $Trilling and *loom &. Its

grossest and most readily oservale effect #as the dehumani3ation of the #orker' #ho had

ecome a mere' disposale element in the process of production' an o0ect and ra# material to

e used as needed' his cost as a source of energy reckoned in no different #ay than that of

coal $&.

9urthermore' the Aictorian novel also ventures into social realms and deals #ith suclasses of

humanity' focusing on gender' class and empire. There is fre1uent attention on the upper

middle class +nglishmen in ondon and its environs' yet ehind and around these men #ere

#omen' #orkers and servants. The Aictorian society #as a patriarchal society< the men #ere

the ones #ho #ere economically empo#ered' #hile the #omen #ere forced to depend on men

for financial staility. In addition' the Aictorian society #as particular aout class and any

form of interaction et#een classes #as not permissile and inter B class marriages #ere not

accepted in society. Aictorian novels depict #omen #ho are usually confined to the domestic

sphere and forced conform to societal norms. If at any point a female character is reellious'

she is punished until she ecomes docile as she is e5pected.

7trong images and symols also characterised the nineteenth century novel< thus' the novelists

often created layers of comple5 symolic meaning that reached far deeper than the superficial pattern of social action suggested to the casual reader. 9or e5ample' in *leak House' Dickens

uses images such as fog social in0ustice and moral decadence;

“9og every#here. 9og up the river' #here it flo#s among the tiers of

shipping' and the #aterside pollutions of a great $and dirty& city.

9og on the +sse5 marshes' fog on the >entish heights. . . fog in the

stem and o#l of the afternoon pipe of the #rathful skipper' do#n

in his close cain< fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of

his shivering little ’prentice oy on deck." $(&

The fog is representative of the corruption in the city of ondon' and its effects on some

memers of society such as the ’prentice oy.’ The repetition of the #ord fog’ signifies the



intensity of vice in the society. The Aictorian novel e5poses social ills through strong images

that realistically depict society’s neglect of the poor and corrupt amition to elong in the

middle class and the division et#een classes.

The prison is representative of one’s confinement to their social class as evidenced in 2reat

+5pectations. Pip is confined to his social class until a mysterious enefactor' #ho later turns

out to e the criminal :ag#itch' fulfils his dream of ecoming a gentleman so that he can ea memer of the middle class.

The Aictorian novel #as a vehicle #hich #riters used to deliver social criticism. It #as a

source that gave the reading pulic a clear picture of #hat #as happening during the

nineteenth century. Thus it can e concluded that the Aictorian novel #as a realistic depiction

of +ngland and the rest of *ritain in the industrial era. The novel #as a ne# form that #as

developed from drama' and Dickens’ novels have some theatrical elements such as dialogue

#hich enales the reader to identify the personalities of the characters in the te5ts and to

understand the symolic role of each character. Therefore' the Aictorian novel' through its

realistic depiction of characters and the Aictorian society in general' enaled the readers to

understand #hat #as going on in +ngland at that time.

!"#T$R T!R$$% The #oor in &ers&ective3.1. The #oor 'aw "ct

The Poor a# -ct of (?% #as a system of la#s #hich #as introduced in +ngland and the

rest of *ritain to provide pulic relief under a system #hich re1uired that all those #ho

re1uired assistance such as the #ido#s' the sick and the unemployed' had to e

accommodated at the #orkhouses. -ccording to the Poor a# -ct itself' there is no section

#hich stipulated that the poor #ere to e harshly treated' ut the commissioners of the Poor

a#s #ere the ones #ho created the policy of rutality. Roerts stated; “These

commissioners' three in numer and #ith e5tensive po#ers to form and supervise the ne#ly

created poor la# unions' #ished local guardians to give relief to ale B odied paupers only if

they entered a #orkhouse" $8?&. This raises concern for the sick #ho #ere most likely forced

into laour despite their physical condition. ,orkhouses #ere institutions in #hich the poor

#ere housed and they #orked in order to receive some relief' thus it #as called “indoor relief"

$Roerts 8?&. -t the #orkhouses one could find men' #omen' children' the old and sick #ho

#ere allocated the specific #orkhouses y the parishes in the districts to #hich they elonged.

9or e5ample' a poor man or family living in *oston #as e5pected to e admitted to a *oston

#orkhouse as directed y a parish council or “eadle."

The rise of capitalism rought notale prosperity #ithin the middle class' yet the Industrial

Revolution #as a period of immense poverty among the ma0ority of the +nglish citi3ens.

Despite claims that industriali3ation created employment' one should also ear in mind that

the transition from rural to urani3ation could also economically affects a lot of people' as

there is high competition to survive in a capitalist society. 7ome people managed to ecomememers of the middle class or the ourgeoisie' #hile others ecame skilled artisans'

tradesmen and professionals. Ho#ever' every memer of society did not elong to the middle

class' there #ere people #ho elonged to the lo#er class #ho #ere mostly unemployed' and

the Aictorian middle class laelled them “paupers." This #as a class of people #ho #ere

receiving the poor relief as stipulated y the poor la#. These “paupers" #ere usually people

#ho #ere not only unemployed or sick' ut received insufficient #ages.

Prior to the Poor a# -mendment -ct' relief #as distriuted to the poor citi3ens of the

+nglish society #hether they #ere employed or not. Ho#ever' in (?%' the -ct implemented

a ne# dimension #herey anyone #ho needed relief #as re1uired to ecome a memer of a

#orkhouse and they had to #ork in order to receive assistance. Ho#ever' it is stated that

outdoor relief still continued and the Royal Commission on the Poor a#s of (?) B (?%emphasi3ed that outdoor relief to the ale B odied poor #as a “master evil of the present



system" $Royal Commission on the Poor a#s Report )8&. 9rom the orthodo5 poor la#

administrator’s perspective' aid in the form of #ages #as a serious crime ecause some of

these people #ere employed< henceforth it upset the laour market $Rose E@&. The Royal

Commission stipulated that outdoor relief #as to e stopped and assistance #as to e given in

“#ell regulated #orkhouses" $Royal Commission on the Poor a#s Report )E)&. The

1uestion still remains #hether this #as a plausile solution and esides' outdoor relief stillcontinued' #hich sho#s the central authority for poor la# administration’s failure to stop it.

Ho#ever' even though the allo#ance system continued' it #as no# “relief in aid of small and

irregular earnings" $Rose E@8&.

The #ithdra#al of outdoor relief #as further enforced y the government and the task #as

given to political Poor a# Commissioners #ho issued orders to *oards of 2uardians' #ho

#ere the custodians of poor relief. -fter a 2eneral =rder #as issued as the =utdoor Relief

Prohiitory

=rder in (?%%' every ale B odied male or female #as to receive relief only in the Gnion

#orkhouse $2len )@?&. +very person #ho received relief #as not allo#ed to e employed

any#here else other than the #orkhouse. Ho#ever' the 1uestion still remains #hether the

disaled and the old #ho #ere also re1uired to #ork at the #orkhouses.The *oard of 2uardians stated that it #as more e5pensive to keep a “pauper" in a #orkhouse

ecause they also ecame responsile of all the costs and need of the rest of the family'

#hereas outdoor relief consisted of lo#er #ages #hich could e supplemented y other

earnings from other private charities $2len )@8&. 7uch a situation e5poses the mistreatment

and starvation to #hich the poor #ere su0ected at the #orkhouses ecause there #ere not

enough funds to cover clothing and food re1uirements for all the people in these shelters.

:oreover' the allo#ance system demorali3ed the poor ecause “those #ho applied for reliefs

#ere invarialy given a meagre pittance #hich oth they and the 2uardians kne# #as

insufficient to maintain them" $Rose E)@&. Thus' the poor la# has also een descried as a

“harsh' repressive system shot through #ith notions of social control" $,e and ,e %8&.

-fter receiving their dole' the poor had to find other means of surviving such as #orking long

hours for lo# #ages and unpleasant tasks' or #orse' egging and stealing. 7uch circumstances

raised concerns on the government’s duty to cur such a0ect poverty as the relief received y

the poor #as insufficient. Ho#ever' some guardians 0ustified the stringent conditions at the

#orkhouses y claiming that the resources of the ratepayers #ere insufficient $>ing EE&.

The most critici3ed aspect of the Poor a# -ct #as the administration of the #orkhouses.

Roerts commented' “The principal cruelty of the 6e# Poor a# #as the #orkhouse" $8?&.

ife in the #orkhouse #as 1uite harsh as most of the *oard of 2uardians did not provide

ade1uate care for the poor. The #orkhouse inmates #ere not given enough clothing and the

clothes they received on arrival #ere the same ones they #ore every day of their lives'

#hether #orking or sleeping. *elo# is a sketch sho#ing children in a #orkhouse during mealtime;

Picture (; “+ye ,itness -ccounts"

9rom the aove dra#ing' one can also notice that most of the children #ere shoeless and their

clothes #ere ragged. This realistic depiction of arefooted children eing fed on read and

gruel reveals the lack of care that #as given to #orkhouse inmates' especially the vulnerale

children. -s noted from the picture' these assailale children #ere not provided #ith ade1uate

clothing to protect them from the cold +nglish #inter' #hich left them susceptile to austere

living conditions. 7uch a representation is also an appeal to society to recogni3e the

government’s failure to improve the unpleasant living conditions of the #orkhouse inmates.

The follo#ing is a testimony y an inmate 7arah Carpenter #ho #as intervie#ed y The

-shton Chronicle on ) 4une in (?%8;“=ur common food #as oatcake. It #as thick and coarse.



This oatcake #as put into cans. *oiled milk and #ater #as

poured into it. This #as our reakfast and supper. =ur dinner

#as potato pie #ith oiled acon it' a it here and a it there'

so thick #ith fat #e could scarce eat it' though #e #ere hungry

enough to eat anything. Tea #e never sa#' nor utter. ,e had

cheese and ro#n read once a year. ,e #ere only allo#ed threemeals a day though #e got up at five in the morning and #orked

till nine at night." $“+ye ,itness -ccounts"&

=ther than eing inade1uately clothed' it is evident that the #orkhouse inmates #ere also

malnourished' #hich further confirms the notion that the government #as not providing

enough funds to feed the poor' or they #ere misused y the *oard of 2uardians. =ne of the

popular ne#spapers in the nineteenth century' The Times' #as #ell kno#n for its criticism of

the poor la# administration and the treatment of the #orkhouse inmates' and one of the

ne#spaper correspondents #rote; “Is it not 7ir' horrile' that you cannot no# take up a

ne#spaper on any day #ithout finding one or more accounts of starvation" $1td. y Roerts

8?&. The ne#spaper also reported that at the *ridge#ater #orkhouse “a meagre diet and

congestion killed off %( percent of the average numer of inmates" $1td. y Roerts 8?&.:oreover' it #as also discovered that at the ,esthampnett #orkhouse t#o children died of

starvation and another #as forced to eat a mouse as there #as no food $8?&. *elo# is a

testimony from one of the Poor a# 2uardians' +mmeline Pankhurst #ho further

sustantiated the unpleasantness and harshness to #hich the inmates #ere su0ected;

“,hen I came into office I found that the la# #as eing very

harshly administered. The old oard had een made up of the

kind of men #ho are kno#n as rate savers. They #ere guardians'

not of the poor ut of the rates 9or instance' the inmates #ere eing

very poorly fed. I found the old folks in the #orkhouse sitting on

ackless forms' or enches. They had no privacy' no possessions' not

even a locker. -fter I took office I gave the old people comfortale

,indsor chairs to sit in' and in a numer of #ays #e managed to make

their e5istence more endurale." $“:y =#n 7tory" 1td. in “(?% Poor a#"&

The inmates #ere treated inhumanely y the authorities and their survival could only e

sustained y some of the 2uardians #ho #ere sensitive and merciful like the reno#ned

+mmeline Pankhurst. Ho#ever the poor administration of the #orkhouses is also an

indication of the lack of proper management y the oard memers #ho #ere the overseers of

the #orkhouses. This also raises 1uestions on the role of the +nglish government in fending

for the poor and its failure to administer the proper care for the poor.

Joung inmates #ere even more vulnerale to malnutrition and #inter diseases as their

#orkhouse uniforms #ere not designed to #ithstand harsh +nglish #inters. +mmelinePankhurst’s autoiography further reinforces this point as she descries the condition of the

young children and the uniforms they #ore;

“The first time I #ent into the place I #as horrified to see little girls

seven and eight years on their knees scruing the cold stones of

the long corridors. These little girls #ere clad' summer and #inter'

in thin cotton frocks' lo# in the neck and short sleeved. -t

night they #ore nothing at all' night dresses eing considered too

good for paupers. The fact that ronchitis #as epidemic among

them most of the time had not suggested to the guardians any

change in the fashion of their clothes." $1td. in “(?% Poor a#"&



Discrimination is also very evident in this passage as it sho#s that eing young and also poor'

su0ects the children to cruelty and deprivation of asic needs such as #arm clothing in

#inter' thus they suffered from illnesses such as ronchitis and #orse still' pneumonia.

6ot only #ere #orkhouse inmates victims of starvation' ut they #ere also flogged and

detained as if they #ere in prison. It is reported that at a #orkhouse in *radford' a #oman #as

“ared to her #aist and #hipped" #hile at Crediton' t#o inmates' ock and Dart' “#ereconfined to an unheated' damp' #indo#less' floorless' edless outhouse and #ere' one day'

taken to the courtyard' stripped naked and mopped #ith cold #ater" $Roerts 8?&. =ne

#onders #hy life in the #orkhouses #as harsh and rutal and the ans#er is provided y one

of the assistant poor la# commissioners' 4ames >ay #ho said; “=ur intention is to make the

#orkhouse as like prisons as possile" $Hansard (@(%&. *elo# is a picture of t#o little oys'

Roert ,ithers and 4onathan Cooke' #ho #ere punished for ed #etting and they #ere

placed in a punitive outhouse;

Picture ); “9areham B ,orkhouse"

-s one can see' the outhouse' #as a stunted room' #ith grass or stra# as the floor. It almost

appears like an animal house and not meant for humans. The oys #ere also kept in the

outhouse for ten days and proaly #ithout food and or lanket$s& in the evening for coverand #armth $“The 9areham ,orkhouse 7candal"&. This account is not fictional' ut it is a true

incident ecause the evidence #as e5tracted from the ,estury :anor :useum as an

archives. =ne can also note that the #orkhouses #ere not as charitale as they #ere meant to

e' ut rather “shocking to every principle of reason and every feeling of humanity" $,e

and ,e 1td. y Halevi )?%&. >arl Polanyi also called them “places of horror" $1td. y

Trevelyan E%(&.

The Poor a# -ct #as after all' a harsh la# #hich on the surface appeared as if it provided

for the poor' yet it su0ected them to dehumani3ation. -lthough it may have seemed as if the

poor #ere sufficiently accommodated at the #orkhouses' they #ere actually oppressed #hile

those #ho #ere not living in the #orkhouses #ere forced to #ork and they could no longer e

provided #ith any aid. The authorities elieved that the paupers #ere la3y and idle' yet they

failed to understand that they #ere poor ecause of lack of employment and if they did find

any #ork at all' it #as al#ays lo# paying petty #ork like s#eeping or repairing roads. +ven

though the Poor a#s #ere enacted to assist the poor' they did nothing to change their plight

or improve their situation. -s evidenced y the testimonies' the poor #ere further e5ploited

through physical and emotional ause.

3.2 The 'ivin( conditions o) the &oor

During the Industrial Revolution' the poor #ere living under s1ualid conditions' despite the

economic oom that segments of the +nglish society #as e5periencing. The early nineteenth

to mid nineteenth century #as a period in #hich the poor' as the lo#est memers of society

and providers of the re1uired laour' they did not enefit from the profit #hich they managedto generate through their hard #ork and toil. - great emphasis has een placed on the positive

impact of industriali3ation' ut one cannot ignore the distress and social an5iety among the

poor. It #as the middle class or rather the ourgeoisie" #ho consumed the profit #hile the

#orking class sacrificed their humanity. It is also important to note that urani3ation due to

industrial developments #as a doule edged s#ord ecause of the “presence of a0ect poverty

and its contrast #ith the affluence of the relatively rich' of the seeming degradation of the

physical environment and massing of people into overcro#ded cities< and of the #orsening of

relationships et#een poor and the rich..." $-ltick /&. It #as only to#ards the end of the

century that the lives of the poor greatly improved as there #ere la#s that monitored their

living conditions and the health acts #hich improved the sanitation at the #orkers’ houses and

these shall e discussed later in the last chapter of this research paper.



,ith the tide of the Industrial Revolution' to#ns gre# very rapidly as factories encouraged

rural B uran migration from different parts of +urope. It is estimated that in :anchester in

the (?@s' et#een forty thousand and fifty thousand people lived in cellars due to lack of

sufficient housing to accommodate the increasing numers of inhaitants in the uran areas

$-ltick %%&. -s demand for accommodation vastly increased' houses #ere hurriedly uilt #ith

poor standards and little regard for hygiene as stated y Richard -ltick;“...#ere long ro#s and locks' ne#ly uilt #ith the cheapest

of materials' or sudivided old houses' all designed to cram

the most people into the least space. In iverpool as late

as the si5ties' there #ere EE' @@@ men' #omen and children

for every s1uare mile. ...These teeming slums #ere the sites

of almost unimaginale degradation. $%&

The living conditions of the poor raises concern on the +nglish government and its efforts to

improve the housing system of the poor. -ltick’s comment implies that little land #as

allocated for the use of uilding houses for the #orkers #hile the rest of it #as for economic

purposes such as uilding more factories. Poor housing system for factory #orkers did not

only e5ist #ithin the Aictorian society' ut it also e5ists #ithin modern society #here theindustrial #orkers live in small shelters #ith poor sanitation ecause that is #hat they can

afford. 7imilarly in the contemporary 7outh -frican society' for e5ample in +ast ondon'

areas like Duncan Aillage are s#armed #ith factory #orkers and the accommodation is

e5tremely elo# sustandard yet affordale. Thus' factory #orkers are considered as non!

entities #ho do not deserve lu5urious living conditions as their purpose in life is to e factory

#orkers and to increase production. It is 1uite ovious that the slums are simply uilt

specifically for the poor; “Here live the poorest of the poor' the #orst paid #orkers #ith

thieves and the victims of prostitution indiscriminately huddled together..." $+ngels @&.

In their homes' the factory #orkers and their families led lives #hich lacked privacy; “arge

families' even t#o or three families' occupied a single room. -s many as seven or eight

persons B children and adults of oth se5es B slept in one ed $or' more likely' on a filthy

collection of rags&...." $-ltick %&. Industrial #orkers led lives #hich #ere no etter than that

of animals as a #hole family or even more could e cramped into a minuscule room. =ne

#onders aout ethics and the need for privacy if parents and children sleep in the same room'

#hich is also noted in -ngela’s -shes y 9rank :cCourt; “Dad and :am lay at the head of

the ed' :alachy and I at the ottom' the t#ins #herever they could find comfort $/8&.

In many cities' large slums appeared in #hich houses #ere small' roads #ere narro# and

services such as ruish collection' se#age #orks and asic #ashing facilities #ere

none5istent;

“Cesspools' #here they e5isted' constantly overflo#ed.

+fficient se#er piping had not yet een invented' andeven if it had' there #as no supply of continuously flo#ing

#ater to carry a#ay the #aste. =pen B air drains therefore

sent the #alk#ays and unpaved streets a#ash #ith filth' thus

creating monstrous enlargements of the disease B reeding

conditions #hich had prevailed in to#ns..." $-ltick %%&.

The poor #ere victims of unearale living conditions ecause of their vulneraility and

desperation to survive in an uran #orld #hich they elieved #as a place of opportunities for

them. :oreover' they could not afford supplies such as clean #ater;

“If #ater #as availale at all' it came from a common tap in

the courtyard #hich dre# on a supply that #as turned on only

an hour or so every day' and it #as usually the runs off from thedrains and cesspools' reused #ithout the intermediate enefit of



recycling. $%%&.

7uch conditions led to disease and ultimately to high death rates. It is estimated that outreaks

of cholera killed si5teen thousand' four hundred and thirty seven people in +ngland #hile

si5teen thousand died in ondon $%% B %/&. It is 1uite ovious that the poor #ould die from

#ater orne diseases ecause of lack of funds to afford treatment and if the free hospitals

#ere ever availale' it is 1uite deatale if the underprivileged memers of society #ere properly attended at all.

Considering such unhealthy living conditions' one tends to 1uestion the factory o#ners’ and

the government’s role in providing suitale accommodation for the poor. It is also very

alarming to learn that in an economically ooming society such as +ngland' #here the middle

class en0oyed lavish lifestyles' one could also find a great numer of people living in a0ect

poverty. Ho#ever' one also has to ear in mind that in a capitalist society' individualism is

highly noted and there is high competition among the ourgeoisie #ho are out to use the poor

to gain more profit.

9rom a naturalist perspective' one can clearly note the influence of environment on human

ehaviour. The factory #orkers #ere mainly confined to their slums and the only forms of

recreation #ere rothels and gin shops;“...ecause the more the cities gre# around them' the less

chance they had to flee' on a 7unday or holiday' to open

spaces. There #ere no parks or playgrounds until the middle

of the century' and the only places to #hich they could repair

for recreation of a sort #ere the taverns' gin shops' rothels'

occasional cockfights..." $-ltick %/&

The only activities that the poor are e5posed to are drinking alcohol and e5posure to

prostitution at the rothels. -lcoholism defeats psychological gro#th and also causes lack of

amition as the alcohol drinker is al#ays in a state of drunkenness. The poor lack a road

vie# of life as they are not e5posed to opportunities such as education' ecause their lives

revolve around the factory' the slum and the ar. They are not motivated to attain a etter

social status and if they fail to secure employment at the factories' they resort to ecoming

thieves and the #omen ecome prostitutes.

It is evident that the living conditions of the poor during The Industrial Revolution #ere

unpleasant and unearale. :ost of the #orking class people #ere e5posed to disease and

early death due to the poor sanitary and housing facilities at their s1ualid 1uarters. 7ome may

argue that the Industrial Revolution greatly improved the lives of the poor' #hich is only

noted to#ards the ends of the nineteenth century due to the social reforms that the government

implemented in order to ring fairness and order to the living conditions of the poor.

Ho#ever' one cannot ignore the fact that prior to these reforms' the poor lived in overcro#ded

slums #ith poor ventilation leading to disease and starvation.3.3 The &oor in Dickens’ works

Charles Dickens is one of the greatest Aictorian #riters that ever lived and he is greatly

admired for his aility to realistically depict the poor during the Industrial Revolution.

DickensK novels such as Hard Times' =liver T#ist' 2reat +5pectations and *leak House'

clearly illustrate the condition of the lo#er class 0u5taposed against the lavish lives of the

middle class and the aristocracy. Dickens uses fiction as an outlet for his enduring fascination

#ith the darker side of human nature. The treatment of crime y Dickens #as far more than

an authorial device< it #as a focal point for his deep concern #ith social prolems and played

a vital role in his attempt to understand these social ills. Dickens’ novels are not only aout

crime' ut they also raise 1uestions on the Poor a# system and the living conditions of the

#orking class.



Charles Dickens depicts the plight of the poor and their treatment at the #orkhouses

particularly in =liver T#ist. =liver T#ist is orphaned at his irth and he immediately

ecomes a parish child. -t the age of eight' he is removed from the church and taken to the

poor house. The conditions at the #orkhouses #ere oviously unearale as evidenced y

=liver’s first e5perience;

“. . . on a rough hard ed' he soed himself to sleep.,hat a nole illustration of the tender la#s of this

favoured countryL They let the paupers go to sleepL" $(&

The description of the ed is a confirmation of the rigorousness of the poor houses as attested

y the poor house *oard of 2uardians; “The #orkhouse conditions should e as harsh and

less tolerale as those of a prison" $1td. y 2rant (@&. The passage is also ironic ecause

Dickens uses sarcasm y commending the “tender la#s" of a “favoured country'" yet' he is

criticising the government for its e5ploitation and treatment of the poor as marginal memers

of society.

:oreover' the passage evokes empathy in the reader as one visualises an innocent child

suffering at the hands of the cruel. In this #ay' Dickens fulfils his aim< to emotionally engage

the readers' so that they #ould e a#are of the intensity of the conditions at the #orkhouses.-dditionally' #orkhouse inmates #ere also malnutritioned;

“ =liver T#ist and his companions suffered the tortures of slo# starvation

for three months< at last they got so voracious and #ild #ith hunger' that one

oy' #ho #as tall for his age' and hadn’t een used to that sort of thing' $for

his father had kept a small cook’s shop'& hinted darkly to his companions that

unless he had another asin of gruel per diem' he #as afraid he should some

night eat the oy #ho slept ne5t to him' #ho happened to e a #eakly youth

of tender age." $(%&

=liver T#ist is chosen y his companions to ask for more food #hich indicates starvation and

lack of sufficient food to sustain the #orkhouse inmates. He is punished for this act and one

of the authorities is so horrified at the impertinence that he keeps saying that he #ill e hung.

Hunger #as prevalent in the #orkhouses as #ell as at the parish houses; “=liver T#ist’s

eighth irth!day found him a pale' thin child' some#hat diminutive in stature' and decidedly

small in circumference" $&. =liver’s stunted gro#th is oviously caused y under

nourishment. The po#erful pathos and visual imagery #hich Dickens uses in descriing

=liver is a masterful creation to intensify the gravity of the circumstances in #hich =liver

finds himself. This further sustantiates the harsh reality that the #orkhouse inmates #ere

starving. The starvation of the poor at the #orkhouses #as also a reflection of the hunger

encountered y the paupers outside the poor houses ecause after the passing of the Poor a#

-ct of (?%' they #ere no longer receiving any aid from the parishes unless they #ere

inmates. Thus' in (?%)' there #as an attack on the #orkhouse at 7tockportt and elo# is animage of the illustration in the ondon 6e#s;

Picture ; “-ttack on the ,orkhouse at 7tockportt"

7uch a stampede and scramle for food reflects a serious social prolem. - #hopping cro#d

of aout t#enty thousand unemployed people attacked the #orkhouse at 7tockportt in search

of food $Clapham /?/&. The protestors lamed the present state of the poor and the

unemployed on the state and the Church of +ngland and its *ishops $/?/&. 9rom 7tockportt' it

is said that the enormous pack turned out the #orkers from the hat B making mills and print

#orks and #ent on to attack the Gnion #orkhouse in 7ha# B Heath #here they stole si5

hundred and seventy t#o loaves of read and a large numer of copper coins $/?/&. 7uch an

incident serves to reinforce that Dickens’ presentation of social prolems #as not mere

fiction' ut an undeniale record of real life events.



Charles Dickens does not only depict the harshness of the Poor a# -ct' ut also illustrates

the #orking conditions at the factories. The novel Hard Times is set in the industrial north of

+ngland and its apparent ovious thesis is its opposition to industrialisation and capitalism

$Pykett (8&. Dickens vividly descries the conditions at the Coketo#n factory;

“7tokers emerged from lo# underground door#ays into factory

yards' and sat on steps' and posts' and palings' #iping theirs#arthy visages' and contemplating coals. The #hole to#n seemed

to e frying in oil. There #as a stifling smell of hot oil every#here.

The steam!engines shone #ith it' the dresses of the Hands #ere

soiled #ith it' the mills throughout their many stories oo3ed and

trickled it. The atmosphere of those 9airy palaces #as like the reath

of the simoom; and their inhaitants' #asting #ith heat' toiled

languidly in the desert." $88& $Italics mine&

The description of the #orkers' #hose faces are lack #ith the oil and the effect of heat on

them' is an indication of the inade1uate facilities needed to create a conducive #orking

environment. This is a description of the factories in #hich the #orking class laoured each

day #here “they #ere deafened y the noise of the steam engines and the clattering machineryand stifled in air that not only #as laden #ith dust' ut in the asence of ventilation #as

heated to as high as eighty five degrees" #hich is revelatory of the physiological deilitation

$-ltick %&. This is further confirmed in Hard Times; “as killing airs and gases #ere ricked

in" $/E&.

-part from the unpleasant #orking conditions to #hich the poor #ere su0ected' they also

lived under s1ualid conditions. Therefore' the living 1uarters #ere as ad as the factories they

#orked in' esides' they #ere oth located in the same area to avoid long distances et#een

the houses and the factories. Ho#ever' such an arrangement #as inhuman ecause the houses

#ere too small and they #ere located #ithin the industrial site such that the area #as al#ays

cloudy #ith the smoke from the factories. The poor could not do anything to change their

plight ecause they #ere desperate for accommodation as #ell as employment and they had to

endure every sort of rutality to #hich they #ere su0ected.

In *leak House' the standards of living of the poor #ere also very appalling;

“. . . it #as one of a cluster of #retched hovels in a rick!field'

#ith pigsties close to the roken #indo#s' and miserale little

gardens efore the doors' gro#ing nothing ut stagnant pools.

Here and there' an old tu #as put to catch the droppings of

rain!#ater from a roof' or they #ere anked up #ith mud into

a little pond like a large dirt!pie." $(@E&

The intense description of the rick maker’s house is an illustration of the horrid lifestyle they

led #hich #as completely dissimilar and separate from that of the upper classes. The living1uarters are surrounded y filth and carelessness. Humans and pigs share the same living

1uarters' #hich is an indication that the social status of the poor #as no etter than that of

animals.

The #orkers are po#erless to protest against their condition ecause they are grateful and

content that they are employed and also have accommodation' #hich is proaly etter than

living in the streets and eing unemployed. The #orking class emraces the inhumanity and

e5ploitation' to #hich they are su0ected ecause they are a#are of the fact that they may lose

their 0os at the #ill of the employer as indicated y +ngels;

“He kno#s that every ree3e that lo#s' every #him

of his employer' every ad turn of trade may hurl him

ack into the fierce #hirlpool from #hich he hastemporarily saved himself' and in #hich it is hard and



often impossile to keep his head aove #ater. He kno#s

that' though he may have the means of living today' it is

very uncertain #hether he shall tomorro#." $@&

Therefore' the precarious condition of the #orkers is inevitale ecause of the poverty that

leaves them vulnerale and desperate for any form of survival. Ho#ever' the vulneraility of

the factory employees #as to e removed #ith the introduction of 9actory -cts and tradeunions' as shall e discussed in the later chapters of this research.

-lthough the #orkers are defenceless' Dickens portrays in Hard Times' employees #ho are

conscious of their plight through the gathering y the Coketo#n #orkers;

“=H my friends' the do#n!trodden operatives of Coketo#nL

=h my friends and fello#!country' the slaves of an

iron!handed and a grinding despotismL =h my friends

and fello#!sufferers' and fello#!#orkmenL I tell you that

the hour is come' #hen #e must rally round one another

as =ne united po#er' and crumle into dust the oppressors

that too long have attened upon the plunder of our families'

upon the s#eat of our ro#s' upon the laour of our hands'upon the strength of our sine#s' upon the 2od!created

glorious rights of Humanity' and upon the holy

and eternal privileges of *rotherhoodL" $()&

The passage conforms to socialist #riting as it involves the #orkers ecoming conscious of

the oppression to #hich they are su0ected.

4u5taposed against an evil environment' the poor are presented as good people. 7tephen

*lackpool in Hard Times #as “a good po#er!loom #eaver' and a man of perfect integrity"

$/&. He has no choice ut to #ork #ithin a degrading system that has e5cluded him from his

employer and fello# #orkmates $>arl (//&. ike 7t. 7tephen in the *ile' 7tephen ecomes a

martyr to all that is ad in society and his refusal to e involved in Trade Gnionism is an

indication of his aility to choose in a society that limits personal choice $(//&. -lthough he is

a 0ust man' he is also a victim of industrialisation' and the “coal pit #hich had s#allo#ed

hundreds" $(//&. Due to his failure to either 0oin capitalism or fight industrialisation' 7tephen

is defeated y the society in #hich he lives.

The memers of 7leary’s circus are also poor yet good natured and innocent. The description

of 7leary’s community is loaded #ith “overtones of art and entertainment #hich appeal

directly to the heart" $>arl (/@&. Despite its physical dirtiness and ignorance' their #orld is

innocent and fulfilling ecause it is outside the industrialised and mechanistic life of

Coketo#n $(/@&. Its #orld is synonymous to children’s' in the sense that it is filled #ith

naivety. In addition' 4oe in 2reat +5pectations is also another e5ample of a poor person'

untainted y the vice that characterises the nineteenth century;“4oe #as a fair man' #ith curls of fla5en hair on each side

of his smooth face' and #ith eyes of such a very undecided

lue that they seemed to have someho# got mi5ed #ith

their o#n #hites. He #as a mild' good natured' s#eet!tempered'

easy going . . . $(E&

4oe is innocent and gentle like the memers of 7leary’s circus. 4oe’s lue eyes and the #hite

colour are symols of peace and purity therefore' his humility' gentility of the heart and

innocence is a reinforcement of the possiilities of peace' transparency and 0ustness in an

industrialised #orld.

The 0u5taposition of Dickens’ characters from the lo#er class against a corrupt and

industrialised #orld is an assertion that the #orld still has people #ho are not influenced ythe evil of industrialisation. 7ome people have managed to maintain the pre!industrial virtues



instilled in human nature. Dickens’ use of pathos in presenting his characters evokes the

reader to e sympathetic and seek social 0ustice for the oppressed.

!"#T$R *+,R% hildren in -isery

4.1 hild 'aour

Child laour is the employment of children under the age of eighteen #orking under

conditions #hich harm them physically' mentally' morally and deprive them access toeducation $“Child aor; 9re1uently -sked Fuestions"&. -le5ander 2anse and Dain Chang'

descried child laour as the employment of children in industries $“Industrial Child aour

in *ritain"&. It #as also a rutal system ecause it increased illiteracy' poverty and also caused

diseased and crippled children $“Child aour"&. Child laour has een perceived as a product

of the Industrial Revolution in *ritain< massive industrial gro#th and productivity re1uired a

large amount of human laour and the cheapest availale manpo#er #as children #ho could

easily e underpaid. In +ngland' most of the child laourers #ere orphans or from poor

families assigned to the #orkhouses. Conse1uently' child laourers #ere su0ect to

e5ploitation' physical in0uries and even death. In (?@' Richard =astler vehemently #rote

against Child aour in The eeds :ercury;

“Thousands of our fello# creatures are at this very moment e5isting in a7tate of slavery more horrid than are the victims of that hellish system

Colonial 7lavery. These innocent creatures dra#l out unpitied their short

ut miserale e5istence. The very streets of our to#ns are every morning

#et #ith the tears of innocent victims at the accursed shrine of avarice'

#ho are compelled not y the cart #hip of the negro slave driver' ut y

the dread of the e1ually appalling thong or strap of the overlooker' to

hasten half B dressed' . . . to those maga3ines of *ritish infantile slavery'

the #orsted mills of the to#n of *radford." $1td. in “7tyal :ill" &

The cruelty of child laour paralleled slavery' a system #hich rutally treated its su0ects. It is

evident that children #ere e5ploited; “chained' elted' harnessed like dogs . . .lack' saturated

#ith #et' and more than half B naked' cra#ling upon their hands and knees' and dragging

their heavy loads ehind them" $Jancey %&.

During the Industrial Revolution' most of the child laourers #ere forced to #ork in factories

at the insistence of their parents or #orkhouse guardians $Hammond and Hammond (%&. -s

an industrially developing nation' *ritain needed an e5pansive amount of cheap human laour

despite the age and gender' in order to ring productivity and development to the country.

-lthough the *ritish economy needed a oost' it #as nevertheless inhumane to use child

laour as a source of economic gro#th. Richard =astler #as sympathetic to the factory

children’s victimi3ation; “Poor infantsL ye are indeed sacrificed at the shrine of avarice . . . .

$1td. y Driver %&. In addition' it is evident that childhood #as eing sacrificed to the

e5pansion of *ritain’s te5tile industries" $6ardinelli %@&. The Hammonds also claimed that“during the first phase of the Industrial Revolution the employment of children on a vast scale

ecame the most important social feature of +nglish life' and the prosperity of the +nglish

manufacturers #as ased upon Mchildren’sN helpless misery" $(%&.

During the Aictorian period' most of the lo#er class memers of the +nglish society #ere

marred y poverty such that children from the poor families #ere either forced' or felt oliged

to #ork in the factories in order to supplement the family’s income. =ne should also note that

“economic conditions forced poor children into #orking' sometimes as hard and long as their

parents" $Cody&. :oreover' the *ritish 2overnment also supported child laour as -ltick

conceded that the Parliament claimed; “. . . a child #as more useful to his family #orking"

$)%8&. :oreover' once the minors #ere employed at the factories' they #ere onded; “most

children egan #orking at seven years of age and #ere not allo#ed to leave the factory until



they #ere t#enty B one. The children had to sign contracts called indentures that virtually

made them the property of the factory o#ner" $“7tyal :ill" %&

The emergence of the Industrial Revolution in *ritain rought the need for large laour pool

in order to increase industrial development in the nation. During the Aictorian period' children

#ere good sources of laour as many factory o#ners elieved that child laourers provided

them #ith cheap laour. :inors “#ere a significant part of the laour force ecause theycould e paid lo#er #ages" $Cody&. :ost of these children #ere orphans #ho #ere taken

from #orkhouses and they could e apprenticed y the factory o#ners; “To encourage factory

o#ners to take #orkhouse children' people like 2reg #ere paid et#een t#o pounds and four

pounds y the #orkhouse for each child they employed" $“7tyal :ill" /&. :oreover' it #as

1uite easy to underpay the children ecause they #ere “po#erless and #ould not revolt"

$Jancey &. 7use1uently' the factory o#ners’ e5penditure #as 1uite insignificant to the

revenue generated y the employees.

- minor #orking at cotton mills' usually as a “scavenger'" #hose task #as to rush and

s#eep under the spinners and the piecers' #as under the danger of eing run over or caught y

the #heels of the machines. In addition' the 0o of “chimney s#eeper" re1uired a child to

clim up the narro# tunnels of chimneys and s#eep out the trapped dust and smoke; “7o yourchimneys I s#eep and soot I sleep" $,illiam *lake&. It is evident from *lake’s poem “The

Chimney 7#eeper" that young children #ere employed to clear the soot from chimneys. ike

“scavengers"' “chimney s#eepers" had to e small enough to fit into confined space. 7ome of

the 0uveniles #ho #orked in mines #here they “#ere sent do#n to haul up loads of coal from

crammed passages $Jancey &' #ere under the risk of “cave B ins and e5plosions" $)&. It

#as 1uite appalling to some citi3ens #hen it #as reported that young children #ere employed

at mines; “- shocked +ngland learned' . . . that tiny children #orked side y side #ith adults

in the narro# corridors of coal mines< that five year old oys and girls #ere kept in solitary

darkness' t#elve hours a day' opening and shutting the doors upon #hich the miners’ safety

depended $-ltick %E&. *esides chimney s#eeping and mining' youngsters #ere also employed

in te5tile industries as sustantiated y 6ardinelli; “. . . the most important eing piecing

together roken threads' could e performed efficiently y children" $%%&. *elo# is a tale

sho#ing the numer of children employed in the te5tile industry from early nineteenth

century to late nineteenth century;

Tale (; CHIDR+6 +:P=J+D I6 7I> 9-CT=RI+7

Jear Percent Jear Percent

(?/ )8./ (?E ((.8

(?? )%.E (?( (%.

(?% (./ (?/ (/.(

(?/@ (E.? (?? (@.%

(?/E (%.% (??/ .%(?E( (.% (?8@ .@

7ource; Parliamentary Papers' Reports of the Inspector of 9actories' (?/!?<

Report of the Chief Inspector of 9actories' (??!8@. $+5tracted from 6ardinelli %%&.

The tale aove is a statistical presentation of the percentage of children employed in silk

factories from (?/ to (?8@. In the early nineteenth century' as illustrated y the tale aove'

)8./O of the laourers #ere children' #hich is more than a 1uarter of the numer of

laourers.

Ho#ever' to#ards the end of the century' it is evident that child laour declined due to

reforms that prohiited this rutal system' oviously due to criticisms of the rutal system y

authors like Charles Dickens.

The #orking conditions #hich the child laourers #ere forced to endure #ere 1uiteunearale. In the early eighteenth century to nineteenth century' minors as old as five or si5



years of age “could e made to #ork t#elve to si5teen hours a day' si5 days a #eek" $Child

aour’&. Richard =astler also critici3ed the factory o#ners for su0ecting the 0uveniles to

long #orking hours; “. . . ye are compelled to #ork as long . . . . or the cold looded avarice of

your #orse than ararian masters may demandL . . . Je are doomed to laour from morning

to night for one #ho cares not ho# soon your #eak and tender frames are stretched to

reakingL" $1td. y Driver %&. - report pulished in (? stated; “...most factories #eredirty< lo# roofed< ill B vented< ill B drained< no conveniences for #ashing or dressing< no

contrivance for carrying off dust and other effluvia" $1td. in “7tyal :ill" (E&. :ost of the

employers neither took any precautions nor cared aout the dangers to #hich the children

#ere su0ected. 7ir -nthony Carlile' a doctor at ,estminster Hospital stated; “laour is

undergone in an atmosphere heated to a temperature of seventy to eighty degrees and

up#ards" and also pointed out that; “from a very hot room into damp cold air #ill inevitaly

produce inflammations of the lungs" $1td. in “7tyal :ill" (E&. =ther than long #orking hours'

child laourers #ere also su0ected to physical ause such as flogging $see -ppendi5 (

adapted from “7tyal :ill"&.

Poor #orking conditions often resulted in accidents #hich led to physical in0uries and even

death; “. . .#hy many people opposed child laour #as the numer of accidents #hich killedand maimed children. They argued that many of these accidents occurred ecause the children

#ere too tired and none of the machines had guards. Dr :ichael ,ar visited ever 7treet

7chool and found that forty seven of one hundred and si5 children had een in0ured y

machines in factories" $“7tyal :ill" (&. *elo# is a picture of some of the oys #ho

sustained disailities due to accidents;

Picture %; +5tracted from “7tyal :ill"

4ohn -len also reported that some minors lost their lims or sustained other fatal in0uries as a

result of gruesome accidents encountered at the factories #hen he #as intervie#ed y

:ichael 7adler and The House of Commons Committee on )( :ay (?); “I #as an eye

#itness of one. - child #as #orking #ool' that is' to prepare the #ool for the machine< ut

the strap caught him' as he #as hardly a#ake and it carried him into the machinery< and #e

found one lim in one place' one in another' and he #as cut to its< his #hole ody #ent in'

and #as mangled" $1td. in “7tyal :ill" ()&. -nother report of a young girl named :ary

Richards #as also stated in 4ohn *ro#n’s - :emoir of Roert *lincoe' #ho #as caught y a

shaft and crushed to death $1td. in “7tyal :ill ()' see -ppendi5 )&.

*esides in0uries' child laourers #ere also prone to lung diseases' ecause of the smoke and

dust they inhaled. The “dust from fla5 and the flue from cotton" inhaled y the 0uvenile

laourers led Dr. Charles -ston >ey to tell :ichael 7adler and The House of Commons

Committee on (E 4uly (?) that; “this impure air reathed for a great length of time must e

productive of disease' or e5ceedingly #eaken the ody" $1td. in “7tyal :ill" (E&. Reports of

“common occupational health risks and their principals causes’ #ere also made and these#ere; “eye inflammation from the use of tallo# and -rgand lamps' lung disease from

reathing into cotton dust in adly ventilated rooms' deafness from long e5posure to noisy

machinery' cancer of the groin from the oil on the mule spindles' cancer of the mouth. . . .

$“7tyal :ill" )%&.

In addition' 4ohn Reed #ho #as a minor employee at -rk#right’s Cromford’s factory stated;

“I gradually ecame a cripple' till at the age of nineteen I #as unale to stand at the machine'

and I #as oliged to give up. The total amount of my earnings #as aout (@ shillings' and

for this sum I have een made a miserale cripple as you can see' and cast off y those #ho

reaped the enefit of my laour' #ithout a single penny" $“7tyal :ill" (&. 7uch a testimony

reflects the parado5 of the capitalist system #hich simultaneously empo#ered the middle

class society yet destroyed the lives of many children.



Child laour #as indeed a rutal and gruesome system #hich roed 0uveniles of their

childhood' health and even their lives. Reports of the unpleasant encounters of accidents'

physical ause and e5ploitation leave the reader sympathetic to#ards children #ho lived in

nineteenth century *ritain. :oreover' most of these children #ere also orphans and also

memers of the lo#er class' therefore they #ere economically desperate and they #ere forced

to endure any means of survival' even if it meant accepting maltreatment. Ho#ever' #ith thenumerous complaints aout child laour and the #ide readership' particularly of novels y

Charles Dickens' #ho vehemently denounced child laour' sympathetic memers of the

Aictorian society implemented ne# reforms against child laour and other forms of child

e5ploitation.

4.2 De&rivation o) education to the &oor child

+ducation is vital for every human eing as they go through the stages of development. +very

minor has a mandatory right to receive education as this fosters mental and psychological

child development as stated y 4oseph 9. >ett; “7chooling then' #ould ultimately introduce

into the family #age economy a po#erful ne# element in the sociali3ation of children B for

schooling defined and regulated childhood and youth as discrete' se1uenced phases of

preparation for adulthood" $1td. in assonde ?%@&. In Aictorian +ngland' it #as elieved that“the training to e otained in primary and grammar school #as thought to inhere as much in

attitude as in the ac1uisition of skills fundamental to future employment" $?%@&.

Ho#ever' not every child has the opportunity to go to school or receive at least some form of

education. Poverty is one of the ma0or causes that deprives children the right to education. In

the nineteenth century in *ritain' there #as a sustantial numer of children from poor

families ecause the fees #ere too e5pensive. 9or e5ample' there #as a school #hich had

“only eighteen scholars' half of #hom came from outside Hernhill. The fees #ere Ed. a #eek

for reading< (s. /d. a 1uarter $or aout (s a #eek& for reading' #riting and arithmetic" $Reay

(@(&. :oreover' “fe# laouring families chose $or #ere ale& to pay for the education of their

children; of fifty Dunkirk families intervie#ed y iardet only ten paid for the schooling of

their young" $1td. in Reay (@&.

:oreover' the education system offered to the poor #as 1uite inefficient as illustrated y

Charles Dickens in 2reat +5pectations;

“:r ,opsle’s great aunt kept an evening school in the village<

that is to say' she #as a ridiculous old #oman of limited

means and unlimited infirmity' #ho used to go to sleep from

si5 to seven' in the society of youth #ho paid t#opence per #eek

each . . . . . and :r ,opsle had the room upstairs' #here #e

students used to overhear him reading aloud in a most dignified

and terrific manner. . . ." $%8&

The parody of :r ,opsle’s great aunt’s evening school is a satire of the education providedfor the lo#er class. Pip also comments that he learnt the alphaet from *iddy and neither from

:r ,opsle nor his aunt #hich indicates that neither of them #ere doing their duty of

educating the keen learners.

-nother reason many children #ere unschooled is that the lo#er class generally did not

ackno#ledge the importance of education; “To many #orking class parents' ho#ever'

schooling appeared as a kind of idleness incongruous #ith the organi3ing principle of family

life in the nineteenth century . . ." $:odell et al 1td. in assonde ?%@&. The Aictorian society'

particularly the lo#er class memers' elieved that “education #as not needed" $-ltick )%8&.

:oreover' “There #as a feeling that school education' ook learning' did little to mould a

potential agricultural laourer. 7chool might e a udding agriculturalist’s general

education'’ ut laour #as his special education’" $Reay (@%&. It is 1uite evident that most ofthe children #ere deprived of education ecause their parents did not perceive schooling as a



priority' ut rather preferred that their offspring ecame laourers. - survey #as carried out

in 2lasgo# #hich revealed that “most oy laourers and learners $as opposed to ound

apprentices& passed through at least si5 0os et#een fourteen and t#enty one' more often the

figure #as t#elve 0os' #hile figures of t#enty to thirty #ere not unheard of" $Childs 8(&.

:ost youth during their adolescent years had een employed more than five years' #hich

indicates that most of these 0uveniles never got the chance to attend school as they spent mostof their time moving from one occupation to another.

-lthough some children #ent to school' their attendance al#ays fluctuated as the oys #ould

leave the classroom to earn money #hile the girls #ould do domestic chores. The nineteenth

century *ritish child #as deprived of education ecause he or she #as “removed #henever a

0o of #ork can e found for him. . ." $iardet 1td. y Reay (@&. This caused prolems such

as forgetting #hat he or she learnt efore #hile fe# children had more than t#o or three years

of schooling and “in (?%@ only )@O of the youth population had any schooling at all" $Cody&.

In the nineteenth century' there #as a minimum numer of children #ho #ent to school

ecause they elieved that “#orking earned them money #hile school earned them nothing"

$-ltick )/@&. =ut of forty t#o laourers’ children under the age of fourteen #ho attended

school' only si5 could read and #rite' thirteen could read fluently #hile nine read very littleand the rest could not read at all $Reay ((&. This #as a survey from the Hernhill census in

(?( calculated from the 7chool og *ook in the nineteenth century. 7uch statistics reveal the

level of literacy #ithin the children of the lo#er class memers of society #ho #ere deprived

of education due to poverty and insufficient funds to pay the school fees.

6evertheless' lack of education often perpetuates poverty #ithin the circle of the socially

disadvantaged. - poor child #ill never live a life etter than his or her parents if one is

deprived of formal education. :oreover' it is also difficult to e elevated in society if illiterate

and uneducated; “Children #ithout proper education #ill dim the future of their country. -nd

as for children themselves' they #ill suffer from poverty and ill condition of the society after

they gro# up #ithout any formal education. .... #ithout proper education' the poor cannot

change their social status and #ill e the less privileged group" $4iang )(&. Due to deprivation

of education' most of the socially disadvantaged people are conse1uently forced to e

involved in crime and prostitution as means of survival as evidenced y =liver T#ist’s

criminal friends' 9agin and his cre#.

In the early nineteenth century' education #as not accessile to the poor until the later half of

the century #hen the +ducation -cts #here implemented. :ost of the pauper children #here

residents at the #orkhouse' #here they did not receive formal education like the middle class

offspring. The only education that the poor child received #as either that of eing eaten into

sumission y the #orkhouse authorities or employers; “In =liver T#ist' the reproach on

children’s education is e5tremely apparent. =liver' #hen raised y :rs. :ann almost receives

no education at all. ,hat he kno#s is only to oey “the elder lady" if =liver hopes to escapefrom her cruel hands and sticks’ " $4iang )(&.

The education that the paupers received #as that of apprenticeship only' meaning that they

#ere taught aout the trade in #hich they #ere involved such as chimney s#eeping'

lacksmith or a locksmith' 0ust as Pip #as to e apprenticed to 4oe. The Aictorian society laid

a clear cut oundary et#een the paupers and the children from middle class families #ho

attended schools' and had governesses and tutors at home. 9urthermore' in most parts of

+ngland there #as no state!funded schooling availale' especially for the poor' resulting in

many of the lo#er class children not receiving any formal education or they attended evening

school #hich #as often not properly administered.

+ducation is important for psychological and even economic gro#th in every individual.

Gnfortunately' the poor are constantly caught in the #e of poverty ecause of illiteracy#hich is caused y lack of proper and formal education. The poor child cannot live a etter



life than his or her parents if deprived of education' an opportunity to step out of the frontier

3one that separates the poor and the rich.

4.3 $/a0ination o) the &li(ht o) children in Dickens’ novels

Charles Dickens is a #riter #ho is very sympathetic to#ards his child characters. He is

personally a#are of the e5ploitation to #hich the children are su0ected ecause of his o#n

history of #orkhouse incarceration' #hich parallels =liver’s #orkhouse e5perience $4ames?8&. This e5plains the pathos in his novels' surrounding the uneducated and deprived orphans

#hose loss of childhood is echoed through their physical e5ploitation. Dickens’ novels

ultimately petition society to protect these assailed 0uveniles. Ho#ever' the Aictorian society

is parado5ical ecause it perceived childhood as essential' yet most of its 0uveniles are not

given the chance to safely e5perience gro#th and transition into adulthood. 2orham states; “. .

. childhood had great symolic importance' ut many Aictorians suffered from an uncertainty

aout the nature of childhood and the proper relationship of children to the structure of the

family and the #ider society. In the late B Aictorian period' many people #ho #ere concerned

aout the #elfare of children also found themselves uncertain aout ho# the oundaries of

childhood should e defined" $//&.

Dickens’ characters are representations of the actual #orld as Rosenerg remarks; “. . . the est Dickens’ characters are e5amples of verisimilitudinous representation" $(%&. Dickens

characters are not only representations of the #orld' ut also reflections of e5istent eings' “. .

. . and assumed' y virtually all readers' to e representations of people" $(%?&. Therefore' his

child characters represent real children #ith actual e5periences and ackgrounds such as

poverty' orphanage' neglect and deprivation of education.

9irstly' Dickens’ child characters are usually orphaned or their parentage is unclear' for

e5ample Pip $2reat +5pectations&' +sther $*leak House&' =liver $=liver T#ist&' +stella $2reat

+5pectations& and 7issy 4upe $Hard Times&. +stella and +sther are initially introduced as

orphans' ut the reader later discovers that they are actually aandoned children as is 7issy

4upe. -ll the three characters are adopted' for e5ample +stella is adopted y :iss Havisham'

#hile +sther is adopted y 4ohn 4arndyce and lastly' 7issy is adopted y :r Thomas

2radgrind. The three young ladies have a common ackground' that of lo#er class parentage'

yet they are adopted y middle class guardians' therefore they eventually ecome memers of

that class. Charles Dickens’ seems to suggest that a lo#er class memer can never elong to

the middle class unless the elevation into that upper class is generated y the middle class.

Dickens’ elief is that the lo#er class’ dependency on the middle class is inevitale. To a

larger e5tent' he is also suggesting that it is the middle class #ho can change the plight of the

lo#er class and' therefore it is their responsiility to eradicate poverty.

=rphans are usually vulnerale and susceptile to e5ploitation and neglect' #hich is the case

#ith 4o' the urchin in *leak House. Gnlike other Dickens’ characters' 4o is the most pathetic

child ecause of the a0ect poverty in #hich he lives and his early death from small po5makes his character even more pitiale. 4o is dehumani3ed almost to the point of non B

e5istence. -s a street child' 4o is a lonely eggar #ho has een deprived of oth paternal and

maternal love and the only other person #ith #hom he shares a connection is 6emo' #ho also

dies. The dysfunctionality of 4o’s life as an orphan reflects the impaired lives of the people

around him' #hich further translates into the dis0ointed social relationships of the nineteenth

century Aictorian society. Ho#ever' the lack of a proper family structure in Dickens’

characters sho#s the fragmentation of the nineteenth century family. The degeneration of the

family is a symol of the disintegration of the nineteenth century society' an issues greatly

depicted y #riters such as T.7. +liot in his poems “The Hollo# :en" and “The ,aste

and." The isolation of Dickens’ child characters presents the reader #ith a yearning for

family and social reform $Pykett (%%&.



4o’s e5perience contrasts #ith Pip from 2reat +5pectations #ho lives #ith his sister and her

husand. -lthough' Pip receives familial care from his sister' she physically e5ploits him and

he lives in perpetual fear of her;

:y sister' :rs. 4oe' thro#ing the door #ide open' and finding

an ostruction ehind it' immediately divined the cause' and applied

Tickler to its further investigation. 7he concluded y thro#ing me B Ioften served as a connuial missile. . . . $(&.

His sister’s physical ause highlights the vulneraility of children #ho lack proper care and

protection. Gltimately' he is emotionally affected ecause he feels like a urden to his sister'

#hose presence appals him' yet she should e his surrogate mother; “I think my sister must

have had some general idea that I #as a young offender #hom an -ccoucheur Policeman had

taken up $on my irthday& and delivered over to her' to e dealt #ith according to the

outraged ma0esty of the la#. I #as al#ays treated on eing in opposition to the dictates of

reason' religion and morality. . ." $2reat +5pectations )8&. :oreover' Pip’s e5perience in a

dysfunctional family unit also resemles the Pockets family #hose children #ere “tumling

up" due to lack of proper maternal care from their mother :rs. Pocket' #ho had surrendered

the responsiility of caring for her children to servants and child minders.Through the creation of Pip and 4o as orphaned children' Dickens portrays the dynamics and

parado5es e5perienced y oth characters. 4o’s life is characterised y a #orld of

marginalised e5istence' in an isolating society. Pip inhaits an ineffectual family unit #ith a

violent sister and a #eak rother in B la# #ho fails to nurture and protect him. Their

ehaviour parallels the e5ploitative nature of the #orkhouse authorities #ho #ere instructed

to care for the orphans under their authority. :oreover' the parish clerk' :r. ,opsle in 2reat

+5pectations says; “,hat is detestale in a pig' is more detestale in a oy" $&' #hich also

reaffirms the harsh mentality of the church authorities #ho strongly elieved that young

children #ere not to e treated etter than animals. If :r. ,opsle thinks a young oy is more

unearale than a pig' then his statement accounts for the actions of the #orkhouse oard of

guardians.

9urthermore' Dickens’ traumatic e5periences are immensely echoed in =liver #ho is stripped

of his ne# clothes ought y :r. *ro#nlo#' “. . . =liver in 9agin’s kitchen' stripped of his

good’ clothes' deprived of *ro#nlo#’s ooks' and laughed at y the urchins...." $4ames ?8&.

This incident replicates Dickens’ o#n e5perience #hich; “. . . imaginatively emodies the

humiliation of the sensitive middle class Dickens amid the #orking B class fello# B

employees' one of #hom #as indeed called 9agin. =n the other hand' fear of this environment

#as matched y his hatred of middle class parents' #ho had so promptly aandoned him into

it" $4ames ?8&. =liver T#ist also mirrors Charles Dickens ecause they oth elong to the

middle class' ut are aandoned into a #orkhouse. -lthough at this point the reader is not

a#are of =liver’s memership in the middle class' his innocence and failure to 0oin a gang ofcriminals is synchronous to Dickens’ e5posure to the #orking class at the factory as a young

oy of t#elve.

The vulneraility of children and their su0ection to child laour is further reflected in =liver

T#ist #hen the man in the #hite #aistcoat #ants to sell =liver to 2amfield as a chimney

s#eeper. Instead' =liver is later sold to :r. 7o#ererry the undertaker and assigned the role

of a funeral mute. The Industrial Revolution #as a period in #hich many children #ere

#orking at the #orkhouses due to poverty like the orphaned =liver #ho #as assigned to pick

oakum at si5 every morning $(&. ,hen =liver is almost sold to 2amfield as a chimney

s#eeper' one is reminded of ,illiam *lake’s poem “The Chimney 7#eep" also echoes the

effects of orphanage and child laour on 0uveniles. +ighteenth century poets such as ,illiam

*lake also critici3ed child laour through his poem;“-nd ecause I am happy and dance and sing'



They think they have done me no in0ury'

-nd are gone to praise 2od and His priest and king'

,ho made up a heaven of our misery." $“The Chimney 7#eeper"&

The poem is aout a little child protesting against e5ploitation and child laour. Dickens’

sympathy to#ards child laourers is also noted in *lake’s use of the child’s voice to e5press

discontent #ith harsh treatment. 6ot only does Dickens portray young characters #ho are su0ected to child laour' he also

rings to the foreground that many children #ere deprived of education due to their social

status. 4o' Pip and =liver are aandoned children #ho receive no education in their early

stages of life. 4o is a street urchin throughout the course of his life< thus his life does not

elevate to a level #hich transcends poverty. 4o is uneducated;

“It must e a strange state to e like 4oL . . . To see people read'

and to see people #rite' and to see the postmen deliver letters'

and not to have the least idea of all the language!to e' to

every scrap of it' stone lind and dumL" $))@&

Through 4o' Dickens suggests that a poor child deprived of education #ill never rise in

society< in actual fact< his or her life #ill e centred on material need and struggle forsurvival. The lindness" and “dumness" of 4oe is representative of his lack of

psychological gro#th as a character.

=n the other hand' Pip is fortunate enough to receive an opportunity to e educated. Pip is

raised y his sister and her husand 4oe #ho later apprentices the minor into the trade of

lacksmith< ho#ever' it is at this point that Pip’s life takes a successful turn. He is informed

that a enefactor is sponsoring his education to ecome a gentleman. It is 1uite apparent from

this turn of events that unlike the children from the poor families' those from the middle class

are educated to ecome young gentleman and ladies. Pip’s life shifts up#ard from lo#er class

to middle class. It is through the formal education that he receives in ondon that he ecomes

a gentleman' #hich is reflected through his manners. Pip’s access to education and resultant

financial success illustrates that in order for one to defeat poverty' one has to e educated<

thus' #ithout education' one #ill al#ays e poor. Ho#ever' the parado5 lies in that Pip’s

enefactor' :ag#itch' is not a memer of the middle class' nor is he a gentleman. He is an

ordinary man #ith manners and the speech of an uncivilised lo#er class memer' ut #ho has

managed financial success to support Pip.

Pip’s endo#ment y :ag#itch is an antithesis to =liver’s adoption y :r. *ro#nlo#. ,here

Pip is adopted y the convict :ag#itch' =liver is rescued y a middle class memer and

ultimately it is later revealed that =liver’s father #as' in fact' a #ealthy man. It is assumed

that =liver finally received education after his adoption y :r. *ro#nlo#. Dickens seems to

suggest that the only #ay that one can access education and escape poverty is through the

generosity of the middle class memers. =n the other hand' Dickens also proves that one doesnot need to e a middle class memer to possess a munificent heart' and this is sho#n y

:ag#itch #ho paves a #ay for Pip to ecome a gentleman.

Jet' Dickens also challenges the drudgery of education through the parody of Thomas

2radgrind #ho continuously demands facts from the school children. His rigid system of

education has eliminated the innocence in his children and they have ecome like “remote

controlled roots" #ho only act or think according to their father’s desire. 2radgrind’s system

of education is also a reflection of the oppression of children in institutions such as the

#orkhouses and factories< hence' Dickens has created a parallelism of the t#o institutions<

education and industry. :r. 2radgrind’s system of education inhiits the limitation of

childhood impulses and promotes that children “must e 0udged y adult standards< and that

feelings do not e5ist as kno#ledge and must therefore e ignored' or' etter yet' not felt" $>arl(/)&. :r. 2radgrind’s philosophy on education is destructive ecause it e5ploits the child'



#hich is representative of the “in0ustice of society to its individual memers' the in0ustice of

government to its su0ects and finally' the in0ustice of an economic system to its #orkers"

$(/)&.

Dickens’ ama3ing art of character creation can only e e5plained through his desire to reform

a society that su0ugates the 0uveniles. Children are susceptile to e5ploitation as they are

very defenceless eings and Dickens successfully portrays the ause of children in nineteenthcentury *ritain and evokes reader sympathy to their plight.

A Critical Study of Charles Dickens

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