7. The Worker as “Hand”
“Among the multitude of Coketown, generically called ‘the
Hands,’—a race who would have found more favour with some
people, if Providence had seen fit to make them only hands”
-Narrator, Charles Dickens, Hard Times
“But he—that is, my informant—spoke as if the masters would
like their hands to be merely tall, large children—living in the
present moment—with a blind unreasoning kind of obedience.”
-Margaret Hale, Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South
8. The Body in Industry
“And I think, if this should be th' end of all, and if all I've been
born for is just to work my heart and my life away, and to sicken
i' this dree place, wi' them mill-noises in my ears for ever, until I
could scream out for them to stop, and let me have a little piece o'
quiet—and wi' the fluff filling my lungs...I think if this life is th'
end, and that there's no God to wipe away all tears from all
eyes...'I could go mad, and kill yo', I could.”
-Bessy Higgins, Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South
9. The Middle-Class Female Protagonist
“Why did she tremble, and hide her face in the pillow?
What strong feeling had overtaken her at last?”
-Margaret Hale, Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South
‘How could you give me life, and take from me all the
inappreciable things that raise it from the state of conscious
death?...Where are the sentiments of my heart?...What have you
done, with the garden that should have bloomed once, in this
great wilderness here!’
-Louisa Gradgrind, Charles Dickens, Hard Times
10. Thank You!
Professor Pyke, for her leadership, intelligence, and keen vision
Professor Martin, for her kindness, optimism, and insight
My friends, who came today
and have been so supportive
throughout this process!
My family, especially my mom:
Hi Mom!
