Hard Times, Chapter 10 summary
Chapter 10 of 37 · Book 1: Sowing · 8 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 10, Stephen Blackpool finishes work, walks with his trusted friend Rachael, and returns to his lodging to find a drunken woman who insists on staying. Rachael’s kindness briefly lifts his spirits, but the woman’s return brings distress and leaves him sitting awake through the night.
What happens
- The narrator introduces Stephen Blackpool as a forty-year-old power-loom weaver whose hard life makes him look older.
- After work, Stephen finds Rachael and walks with her through the rainy streets.
- Rachael says they should not walk together too often, and Stephen accepts her concern about gossip.
- Stephen watches Rachael enter her home, then returns to his clean lodging above a shop.
- A drunken woman confronts Stephen, claims his bed, and falls asleep while he sits apart and covers her.
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In this chapter
What to notice
Stephen describes his inability to resolve his troubles. His distress at home gives a concrete example of the burdens behind this statement.
Quick check
Why does Rachael say she and Stephen should not walk together too often?
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