09-08-2020, 07:50 PM
Reading more Dickens, and picked this one because it's one of the shorter ones. It's sort of a polemic against excessive rationalism. The wonderfully named Mr. Gradgrind is a teacher who insists on "facts, nothing but facts." and despises any kind of fantasy. His teachings lead his children astray when they grow up and have no real moral center. There's a pompous "self-made" entrepeneur, a caddish MP, and a few poor but noble types. Not as funny or touching as some of his other work, but more sharply satirical. Ends a bit abruptly. Interestingly, he mentions as an aside in the last chapter that one character's estate was long contested after his death, and just such a legal contest is the subject of his next book, Bleak House. I guess he was already thinking about it.
the hands that guide me are invisible
