Hard Times is a slightly different Dickens novel. Set in the industrial Midlands, rather than in London and shorter than many other Dickens novels, it has its own strengths and challenges. Dickens chooses to portray the hardships and the darkness of the lives of the millworkers and to contrast them with the greed and ruthlessness of the industrialists who own the mills and of their friends and associates. As he satirizes the mill owners who deserve his ire, he also targets some of the major thinkers of the 19th century. Like all satire, his writing doesn’t have to be fair to be effective. As we read the novel, we will compare it with samples from other novels portraying the lives of millworkers and will discuss some of the real ideas of the historical figures Dickens is criticizing. We will also discuss familiar Dickensian themes and patterns in the novel.
Above all, beyond the framework of its plot and devices, Hard Times is a novel about education and the development and cultivation of the heart or feelings over the world of facts. These themes will form the heart of our own discussions.
For your reading, I strongly recommend a new or used version of the Norton Critical Edition of Hard Times. This will be a discussion class. Class Limit: 15
Instructor Ann Nesslage is a graduate of Vassar, with a M.A. in British literature from Bryn Mawr. Ann retired from Choate Rosemary Hall, where she taught different levels of literature including British Studies and world literature. She also created electives in fantasy literature, satire, Early Irish and Welsh literature, and other topics. Ann lives in Bremen, where she enjoys reading and gardening and serves on the Bremen Conservation Commission and the library board. She is a member of the CSC Curriculum Committee and the Nominating Committee. Ann enjoys creating new courses for CSC, and as much of her graduate work at Bryn Mawr was in Victorian literature, she is happily returning to her roots with this course.