Quote With An Awesome Characterization of Louisa
“Upon a nature long accustomed to self-suppression, thus torn and divided, the Harthouse philosophy came as a relief and justification. Everything being hollow and worthless, she had missed nothing and sacrificed nothing. What did it matter, she had said to her father, when he proposed her husband. What did it matter, she said still. With a scornful self-reliance, she asked herself, What did anything matter - and went on,” (Dickens 163)
I thought this quote really represented Louisa's attitude as she grew up in the Gradgrind household. After the circus incident she seemed to take on this attitude of "what did it matter" anymore. It also shows that because nothing matters in life, she hasn't really done anything of importance with her life. I think that the words that describe Louisa in this quote - "self-suppression", "torn", "divided", "hollow", "worthless", and "sacrifice" - really capture the inability for the Gradgrindian system to provide happiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment