Essay #6 - Character Analysis: Louisa In the novel Hard Times, Dickens presents a character by the name of Louisa Gradgrind Bounderby who had suffered from her fathers education system. Mr.Gradgrinds philosophy forced Louisa to discard the word fancy altogether (11) causing her to base experiences on facts and not from emotions. Throughoutthe novel, Louisa realizes that she does not have any emotional experiences to guideher. This is apparent when she had been presented with a proposal for marriage, andon her journey to visit her ill mother.By Louisa being able to recognize the need for emotional experiences, Louisa isable to help her father see the wrong doing of his philosophy of facts.It becomes evident that Louisa had suffered from her fathers educationsystem when Mr.Gradgrind had presented Louisa with Mr.Bounderbys proposal ofmarriage. Upon Louisas response, Mr.Gradgrind had inquired whether or not shemight have had another proposal which he was unaware of: You have neverentertained in secret any other proposal(79). This led to Louisa revealing how herfathers school of facts had not permitted her to explore with her own emotions :Father...what other proposal can have been made to me? Whom have I seen?Where have I been? What are my hearts experiences (79). Louisa continues onexplaining that he should have known better than to ask such a question, consideringshe has never been able to question or wonder past his school of facts : Whyfather...what a strange question to ask me....You have been so careful of me, that Inever had a childs heart. You have trained me so well, that I never dreamed achilds dream. You have dealt so wisely with me, father, from my cradle to thishour, that I never had a childs belief or a childs fear.(79). This is significantbecause this is the first time which Louisa attempts to tell her father that she has noemotional experiences because her life has been based on his philosophy of facts.Unfortunately, he...
