Victorian Era Child Abuse: Dickens' Depiction and Social Impact

This essay explores the pervasive issue of child abuse during the Victorian era, using Charles Dickens' novel *Hard Times* as a primary source to illustrate the harsh realities faced by children. It examines how the rise of capitalism and industrialization led to widespread child labor, fueled by poverty and the demand for cheap labor. The essay highlights specific examples of abuse, neglect, and the deprivation of education and parental care, as exemplified by characters like Sissy Jup. Furthermore, it analyzes how societal structures and philosophies of the time, such as Gradgrind's emphasis on fact and rationalism, contributed to the suppression and exploitation of children. The essay concludes by emphasizing Dickens' powerful depiction of the tragic circumstances endured by children in Victorian England, shedding light on issues such as poverty, neglect, and the lack of opportunities for personal development.

Running Head: ABUSES OF CHILDREN DURING VICTORIAN TIMES
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Abuses of Children During Victorian Times
Name of the Student
Name of the Institution

ABUSES OF CHILDREN DURING VICTORIAN TIMES
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Abuses of Children During Victorian Times
Charles Dickens is one of the renowned England novelists who made history during the
Victorian era. He used fiction stories to depict and condemn the social, moral and economic
abuses. He Dickens was empathetic and compassionate towards the oppressed and led to some
social reforms. His familiarity and concerns with the ills that permeated the English society were
cultivated by his childhood traumatic experiences. His father had been imprisoned thus Dickens
was subjected to early working (at the age of twelve) in a shoe industry. Dickens' Hard Times
narrates the transformation that took place during the English industrialization and the adverse
effects it has on the citizens. Children were not spared either. The aim of the paper is thus to
discuss some of the abuses that children faced during the Victorian times.
The emergence of capitalism in England led to the enormous demand for cheap labor. For
this reason, children became prime targets in the companies where they worked as laborers
(Horrell, Humphries & Voth, 2001). Poverty was one of the precipitating factors that saw a
massive enrollment of children into companies and industries (Dutta, 2014). They were expected
to feed themselves as well as cater for their families. The Orphaned, abused, neglected or
exploited children were the most vulnerable during the Victorian times. Dickens' Hard Times
demonstration of child abuse is primarily portrayed by the character, Sissy Jup.
Children, as demonstrated by Dickens, were deprived of parental care and nurture
whereas it (parental care) is a fundamental aspect of the growth and development of a child.
Sissy is a victim of parental negligence. She is abandoned by her mother, father, and family and
lives in a care home with her undependable caring brother-in-law (Dickens, 1996). However, she
is later adopted by Gradgrind and invited to study in his school while living with his family.

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Although living with Gradgrind's family, Sissy is perceived as an outsider and stupid because she
expresses love emotions and a liking for fun, something that Gradgrind was against (Dickens,
1996). She later becomes the caretaker of Gradgrind's family upon the death of his wife. It,
therefore, shows that children were exposed to child labor and denied rights to access education
as well as pursuing their dreams.
The upbringing of Louisa and Tom indicates how children in the Victorian times were
passive subjects who could not make personal decisions. Gradgrind's life was dominated by the
philosophy of fact, rationalism, and self-interest (Dickens, 1996). He also mentored Tom and
Louisa in the same way. One would argue that this form of dominion is a cocoon that inhibited
the children from self-realization and openness to the world. Children were expected to blindly
follow what was dictated by the elderly, powerful and influential personnel of the Victorian era
(Humphries, 2013). An attempt to break the cocoon is what resulted to deviance. For instance,
Tom becomes a persistent seeker of pleasure while Louisa is buried in inner confusion. As a
result, she marries the wealthy Bounderby who is more than twice older than her.
In conclusion, the representation of children abuse in Dickens' Hard Times and his other
novels represent children and their suffering in the real world. He successfully pictures the tragic
background and experiences that children in the Victorian era were subjected to. It includes
experiences such as deprivation of education, poverty, neglect, and orphanage.

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References
Dickens, C. (1996). Hard times. Broadview Press.
Dutta, A. (2014). Children in Dickens’s Novels. International Journal on Studies in English
Language and Literature (IJSELL), 2(2) 1-4.
Horrell, S., Humphries, J., & Voth, H. J. (2001). Destined for deprivation: Human capital
formation and intergenerational poverty in nineteenth-century England. Explorations in
Economic History, 38(3), 339-365.
Humphries, J. (2013). Childhood and child labour in the British industrial revolution. The
Economic History Review, 66(2), 395-418.