Louisa Gradegrind’s Character in the novel, Hard Times by Charles Dicken

Louisa Gradegrind’s Character in the novel, Hard Times by Charles Dickens

Answer: Louisa, the eldest daughter of Mr. Gradegrind, can be called the protagonist of the novel. From an early age she expresses dissatisfaction with the teachings of truth, which she finds completely pleasurable, and which suppresses her imagination and emotions, distorting her heart. Under the influence of her education, she marries someone she doesn't love, and then almost runs away with another man, James Harthouse, who eventually feels like she's meant to be. With the help of her polite friend Sissy, her heart and her humanity are slowly revived.

Despite the fact that Louisa is the primary female person in the novel, she is not quite the same as different ladies in the novel, particularly her foil, Sissy and Rachael. Albeit these two epitomize the Victorian beliefs of gentility, affability, correlation, and amenability Louisa's schooling kept her from growing such characteristics. All things considered, Louisa is quiet, cold, and apparently numb. Notwithstanding, Dickens may not be demonstrating that Louisa is truly unfeeling, yet rather that she basically doesn't have the foggiest idea how to perceive and communicate her feelings. For example, when her father tries to convince her that it would be reasonable for her to marry Bounderbike, Louisa looks out of the window at the factory chimney:

Unable to express her own dull and monotonous outer turbulent feelings, Louisa can only narrate an event around her, yet this fact, by analogy, also describes the repressed emotion within her.

Despite the fact that she doesn't fit the Victorian goals of womanliness, Louisa makes an honest effort to be a model little girl, spouse and sister. Her choice to get back to her dad's home as opposed to escaping with the Hearthouse demonstrates that while he was maybe awkward, he needed ideals. Indeed, Luisa, though silent, still has the ability to recognize goodness and distinguish between right and wrong, even when it does not fall within the rigid rubric of her father's teachings. Although at first Louisa does not have the ability to understand and act within the gray matter of emotion, she can at least admit that they exist and are stronger than his father or Boundary faith, even without any real basis. Moreover, under Sissy's direction, Louisa shows great commitment in learning to express her feelings. Likewise very familiar with Rachel and Steven, Louisa learns to respond generously to adversity and not just view adversity as a temporary condition that is easily overcome by effort, as her father and Boundaryby do.

So, we see Louisa, the daughter of Gradegrind and the human guinea pig, about twelve to about twenty-two years old. Her father raises her to ignore emotions and sees everything through the eyes of events or statistics. This is a disaster. She is stuck in a loveless marriage, has almost a relationship, and spends the rest of her life learning to be a normal person with feelings.

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