Chapter 9: Sissy’s Progress
Sissy did not have an easy time of things and she continually considered running away. The belief that her father would be unable to find her was the only thing that kept her in Gradgrind's custody. Gradgrind has some pity for the girl, mainly because he questions whether any amount of education will undo the damage that has been done. Sissy tells Louisa that she is luck to have been so trained at an early age, but Louisa replies that she is not necessarily the better for it. Sissy is able to help Mrs. Gradgrind with tasks and chores and she is able to keep Louisa in a cheery mood but mistakes "seem to come natural" to her when she is in the classroom.
When Mr. M'Choakumchild is teaching National Prosperity, Proportions and Statistics, Sissy always answers incorrectly. Her responses are based more on compassion that on calculation. Louisa asks Sissy about what her life was like before and she learns that the girl's mother died when she was very young. Talking about her father, Sissy admits that he has left her‹but he has left her for her own good. He traveled as a clown but as he got older his skills weakened. Sissy worries that it was partly in embarrassment that her father left her‹and the traveling company as well.
Sissy remembers that her father loved when she would read stories to him, though these same stories she is forbidden to speak of in the Gradgrind's house. Sissy begins crying, while she is telling these stories to Louisa. Their conversation is interrupted when young Tom enters the room and announces that Bounderby has arrived, and that if Louisa will make an appearance than Bounderby will take Tom out to dinner. Sissy often asks if her father has sent her any letters but none have arrived. Again, Mr. Gradgrind is dismayed by Sissy's slow learning.
Chapter 10: Stephen Blackpool
The story turns to the workers of Coketown, a group of laborers known as "the Hands." Among them lived a decent man named Stephen Blackpool. He is forty but he looks much older and has had a hard life. In fact, those who know him have nicknamed him "Old Stephen." Stephen has very little as far as intelligence or social graces and he is very simply defined as "good power-loom weaver, and a man of perfect integrity." After his long hours in the factory, once the lights and bells are shut down, he looks for his friend Rachael. On this night, he cannot find her but just when he is convinced that he has missed her, she appears.
Rachael is also a laborer, she is thirty-five years old and she is a gentle, caring person. They have been friends for many years and Stephen takes consolation in this. Whenever his life seems unbearable, Stephen knows that Rachael will make him feel better. She repeatedly advises him that when life is as unpleasant as theirs, it is better not to think about it at all. They walk together towards the part of town where they both live. Here, the houses are extremely small and dirty. Stephen does not even live in a house‹he lives in a small room above a shop. He tries best to keep things as orderly as possible and he is always courteous in regards to the woman who rents the small room to him.
It seems that this night is full of bad luck for Stephen. He enters his room and he stumbles against a wretched figure that frightens him. A drunk and disabled woman is in his room and she is apparently someone that he knows. As the chapter ends, she laughs at Stephen scornfully. She has returned from some part of the past to ruin his life and give him even more to worry about. She passes out in a drunken stupor and Stephen is left to his misery.
Chapter 11: No Way Out
The next day, Stephen Blackpool is back at work, bent over his loom. He is depressed about the woman who has appeared in his room but he does not let this get in the way of his work. His work began early in the morning when it was still dark outside but as it grows later, the lights are shut off and it begins to rain outside. When Blackpool has his lunch break he takes his piece of bread and walks towards Mr. Bounderby's house to seek some advice. Bounderby is the owner of the factory. Stephen finds Bounderby at lunch eating a lavish meal and Mrs. Sparsit was sitting in the room as well, but she did not eat lunch by habit.
Bounderby asks Stephen what his problem is, noting that as an employer he is glad to say that he has never had any problem with Stephen. Unlike many of the other workers, Stephen isn't looking for luxuries like "turtle soup and venison." Bounderby is pleasantly surprised when Stephen confirms that he has not arrived to make a complaint. He only wants advice. With permission, Stephen begins his story.
The woman who apprehended Stephen the night before was the same woman that he married nineteen years previous. He was very good to her, but she became a drunkard and sold the furniture and refused to work. After some time, she disappeared and no one heard anything from her. As a decent gesture, Stephen looked for a way to provide for her without being attached to her lifestyle. For the previous five years, he paid her money to stay away from him and it worked until now. Bounderby does not have very much advice though he does agree that Blackpool is in a very bad situation. Stephen wants to know how he might be rid of the woman and Bounderby and Mrs. Sparsit are both offended.
Stephen would much rather be with Rachael but what he learns from Bounderby is that any sort of annulment or divorce or separation from the drunk woman is going to cost a good deal of money‹far more than Stephen will ever have. Bounderby goes further to express his disappointment in Stephen's "unhallowed opinions" and the fact that he would air them in front of a decent lady like Mrs. Sparsit. Stephen does not linger at the scene; he thanks Bounderby for his time and exits.
Chapter 12: The Old Woman
When Stephen leaves Mr. Bounderby's house he is greeted by an old woman who is very clearly come from the country on a journey. Stephen is at first distrustful of her but he remains polite despite the disappointment of the last two days. The lady asks Stephen if she has seen him exit "that gentleman's house" and Stephen answers that she has. She describes Bounderby and asks if this is the man Stephen has seen. When Stephen answers her in the affirmative, she thanks him warmly.
She continues walking with Stephen and it seems that the very aspects of Coketown that make life all the harder for the residents are the very monstrosities and large attractions that she finds exciting. She has walked nine miles to arrive in town and this is a trip that she makes once a year. This only adds to her mystery and Stephen is puzzled by her insistence that she comes to town each year so that she might see the gentlemen. She is specifically interested in seeing Mr. Bounderby and she hopes that she will be so lucky though this seems doubtful.
Stephen tells the woman that he works in the factory and when she asks him if he is happy he replies that everybody has their troubles. She has expected that he would say he was very happy‹for he is living in the town and not in the country‹and Stephen does not want to disappoint her, though he cannot lie and feign happiness. Stephen does say that his troubles are at home and that they do not follow him to the factory where, under Bounderby, everything is regular and orderly. When Stephen tells the old lady that he has been a continuous worker at the loom for twelve years, she exclaims her pride in him and insists upon kissing him: "I must kiss the hand that has worked in this fine factory for a dozen year." It is clear at this point, that the old lady is a little eccentric but she certainly means no harm and Stephen, being a decent man himself., obliges her as best he can.
Though they part ways when they finally approach the factory and Stephen must return to work. Back at his loom, Stephen is in awe of the old woman and the "harmony" that surrounds her. In the midst of the loud noises and the smoke of the factory, Stephen's thoughts easily fall into a negative slump. At the end of his work-shift, he looks for Rachael but he does not see her. He remembers when they were both young and it is obvious that they would have been far happier together than they have been, separate. Stephen does not want to return to his home; he does not know what he will find there. But in the end, "he went home for shelter."
Chapter 13: Rachael
There is a candle burning in the window of Stephen's room. While Stephen sits he thinks to himself about the larger philosophical questions and mysteries of life and death‹not in an academic way, but in terms of application to his own life. He thinks of all of the people who die despite the fact that they loved others dearly and are dearly missed. In contrast to them all, his drunk wife is loved by no one and loves no one‹yet she lives and survives her own undoing to cause pain to others.
Stephen and his wife are not alone for Rachael is also in the room, tending to the drunken woman. The woman is not in a very good state and Rachael is glad that Stephen has finally come home. A doctor had been by earlier and Rachael reminds Stephen that they all have an obligation not to judge the woman because they are all sinners. Stephen repeats that he is grateful that Rachael is there because he cannot guarantee that he would be able to overcome his desire to do harm to himself and/or his wife. Both Rachael and Stephen are half asleep and Rachael agrees that she will stay with Stephen until three in the morning. Then she will return home.
Stephen sees a bottle on the table; it is mostly empty but it causes him to tremble. Rachael sees that he is in a fit of trembling and she moves to see that he is not feeling too ill. Stephen assures her that he is simply having a fright and that he will soon be better. As he falls asleep, Stephen enters into a "long, troubled dream" that continually blurs with the sad reality surrounding him. He sees himself at his own wedding, happily preparing to marry, except the woman is not Rachael and there is a protest started by one of the witnesses of the wedding. In his half-asleep state, Stephen sees his wife make a move for the bottle on the table but Rachael wakes up in the nick of time. There is a struggle and the drunk woman grabs Rachael by the hair, but Rachael overpowers her and destroys the bottle. Stephen is convinced that Rachael is an angel but she insists that she is not. Still, she is definitely a benevolent force in Stephen's life.
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