Introduction to Sissy Jupe
Without Sissy Jupe, the novel Hard Times by Charles Dickens seems to be a harsh criticism on the rise of capitalism and industrialization of the society of that time. Not only Dickens has pictured very harsh conditions of the industrial centers but also presented harsh situations and treatments that the different characters have to go through. The matter of fact is that some of the characters have been named in a way that they show the seamy side of reality of capitalism and its impacts. The proliferation of industry and consequential financial prosperity has divided the society into classes where the hands (the laborers) are facing the worst of the social ills in the shape of unemployment, exploitation and even outright expulsion from the social fabric. The hard shackles of the capitalism and industrialization has wrested the society of its moral and spiritual heritage.
Sissy Jupe Among Other Characters
Another important thing is that there is no room for personal and individual development which is amply shown by Charles Dickens through his two female characters which stand in contrast to each other. Although the system does not support the left-over people such as Sissy Jupe, Thomas Gradgrind and Mr. Choakumchild take up the responsibility in Coketown, an emblem of the worst sort of industrialized city. It also is a fact that the atmospheric pleasantness of the novel comes through Cecilia or Sissy Jupe who enters the scene and spreads a fresh wave of happiness. Sissy Jupe, though comes from the circus and left by her family, has had her influence that not only impacts the entire novel but also the very household where she lives. Symbol of better times, she stands in contrast to Louisa Gradgrind, the dear but mathematically measured daughter of Mr. Gradgrind.
Sissy Jupe and Louisa
If Sissy is to be understood as a fresh wave of happiness, it is imperative to create a binary of her character with some other characters of her age. Here Louisa Gradgrind immediately comes to mind. She is the major female character in whose shadow Sissy Jupe emerges yet prevails her when the novel reaches its end. Also, Sissy Jupe does not receive attention that she deserves. In fact, it is the difference of upbringing. Louisa has been brought up in a purely utilitarian atmosphere of Gradgrind where only mathematical and monetary value rules the roost. She knows only the value of money and of hard facts. However, as compared to her, Sissy Jupe is the child of nature despite the fact that she has been from almost a broken family, as she was left by her father to live on herself.
Sissy Jupe and Gradgrinds
Moreover, Sissy Jupe lives with Gradgrinds, as her father leaves her. She is taken by Gradgrind for her upbringing. Hence, Mr. Gradgrind is keeping her at home to help Mrs. Gradgrind in her domestic work. Dickens has beautifully contrasted both of them, Louisa and Sissy, in slightly ambivalent terms such as “No little Gradgrind had ever learnt the silly jingle” (Dickens 4). However, Sissy Jupe has obviously learned all these things in her circus life. As a daughter of the clown, she is left and has to compromise everything to make Gradgrind agree to keep her at her home. This contrast makes Louisa, a daughter of the fortune, imprisoned in the facts of Mr. Gradgrind. Actually, it is Sissy Jupe’s experience that makes her to stand apart from Louisa Gradgrind. This standing apart brings a fresh wave of feelings and passions in the readers.
Impact of Sissy Jupe
The second argument is about her impacts that she has at home and on the other characters. It comes in the shape that Louisa Gradgrind entirely starts loving her and alleges that her father’s utilitarian upbringing has brought her to her doom. She clearly tells her father that it is his education that has not done any good to her. Even Sissy makes her realize that she loves Louisa and that Louisa wants to know it too (247). This means that Sissy knows what love is and that Louisa, in contrast to her, does not know anything about such passions. However, she also sees that Jane, her sister, too, knows it better than her, as she has lived in the company of Sissy who has taught her what love is. She is quite happy and even more than Louisa, her real sister. Jane tells her that it is Sissy who has made her happy (243), so much better is her impact on Jane that it wins the hearts of Louisa. This may have awakened in Louisa a sort of loathsomeness for the hard and harsh rules and regulations of Mr. Gradgrind and increased her love for Sissy.
The other impact of Sissy Jupe is on the events of the novel. Sissy, though, is strictly told to stay in facts and rules of Mr. Gradgrind, starts spreading the impacts of her happiness and loveable nature in the atmosphere. In the midst of the hard and mechanized life, she is a representative of Victorian feminine quality. Her positive character traits come into play from the very start when she does not accuse her father of leaving her, saying, “You are gone away for my sake, I am sure” (10). This positivity stays with her at other times when she is with Louisa or even with Mr. Gradgrind. She has shone like a light when the moments are dark. Despite becoming a “girl number twenty” (11), she never ever makes realized Mr. Gradgrind of his faults how he treated her in the past. In fact, with the passing of time, she becomes a mature and confident girl in a way that she even saves Louisa from the likely ruin of Mrs. Sparsit’s bad intentions of linking her to Mr. Harthouse.
Sissy Jupe and Gradgrindian Philosophy
However, another interesting fact about her life is that whether she has learned something from Gradgrind house or not. This is very important as she has been taken to Gradgrind as a young girl, and she becomes quite mature and adult lady over there, having the courage of her convictions. Although she teaches Louisa much, she also learns many things like facts and other Gradgrindian philosophy of the utility of things. However, it is the act of teaching Louisa about fantasies that she has learned in her child that works wonders, and in turn Louisa, through her own example, teaches her how Gradgrindian philosophy destroys a person. What Sissy learns is that her childhood and upbringing and above all positive thinking is of more value than the utilitarian working of Gradgrind house. Both, Louisa and Sissy, learns kindheartedness form each other, Sissy acknowledges that Louisa knows too much “and I knew so little” (245). This means that she has the courage to acknowledge that she is deficient in something, and this is what she learns. Learning to have some deficiency is a way to progress, and she progresses in this connection.
Influence of Sissy Jupe
As the influence of her maturity is concerned, she has not only saved Louisa but has done a wonderful job of convincing Mr. Harthouse that he should leave Louisa and not slander her. She has demonstrated her confidence in facing him. He is rather impressed by the gentleness of her manners that he seems quite “defeated” (255), which means that she can manage things well, and this is her learning. In fact, her strength lies in her gentle behavior and positive attitude. It is not a sort of simple action, but an action full of confidence. Also, the question of whether it is her nature or nurture looms large on the horizon of her character. Leaving aside this debate, it is clear that she has the courage to be gentle and she has become gentle despite having learnt several things from the Gradgrinds for the first time. There are two other important actions that show her maturity and great heart. She saves Tom from arrest by sending him to the circus and arranging his departure from the country. Despite Mr. Gradgrind’s bad treatment to her, she does not exact any revenge; rather she shows him a better part of her character. The second episode is that of helping Rachel, the wife of Mr. Blackpool after his death. In both of these cases, she demonstrates that her kindness is matchless and limitless. However, it is very interesting if it is compared with Mr. Gradgirnd’s notion of the circus that a girl from circus helps his son and his daughter though he used to loathe the circus world and has never allowed his children to visit the circus. The bad influence of the circus that he has envisaged has come to his house in the shape of Sissy, and saves his entire household from the pernicious impacts of capitalism.
Conclusion
Furthermore, although Sissy Jupe seems a side character and acts or seems to act as a foil to Louisa, her influence on readers, too, is very impactful and striking. She seems to be living and loving character who comes to save the heroin when she needs such a person the most. She is full of jubilation and life. She is compassionate despite belonging to a low family. However, it seems that she has not only learned valuable lessons but also taught very mature and adult lessons to others. For Louisa, she has been a fresh wave of deliverance, who releases her from the clutches of harsh capitalistic mindset. She has taught Mr. Harthouse the lesson how to stick to morality when the situations are changing. Sissy Jupe is a representative of a good world where people love each other and feel compassion for each other. Positive thinking is the hallmark of Sissy Jupe that evinces through every act of her. She not only comes to help Tom and Louisa but also helps all others when the situation becomes gloomy such as Rachel. Moreover, if she is placed in contrast to Louisa, she seems more prominent and towering despite the fact that she is considered lowly due to her relation with the circus world.
Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Feedbooks. Ebook. Online, 2014.
Relevant Questions about Sissy Jupe: A Paragon of Humanism in the Midst of Capitalism
- How does Sissy Jupe’s character in “Hard Times” embody the values of humanism, and what qualities or actions set her apart from other characters who are influenced by the prevailing capitalist mindset in the story?
- In what ways does Sissy Jupe’s compassion and empathy for others challenge the dehumanizing effects of industrial capitalism as depicted in the novel, and how do her interactions with other characters illustrate this contrast?
- How does Sissy Jupe’s presence in the narrative serve as a commentary on the moral and ethical implications of a capitalist society, and what broader messages does her character convey about the importance of human connection and compassion in such a context?
