James Harthouse

E952152

James Harthouse is a charming, cynical gentleman in Charles Dickens's novel "Hard Times," whose idle curiosity and flirtation with Louisa Gradgrind expose the moral emptiness of the utilitarian society around him.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Fictional character
Literary character
Male character
appearsIn Hard Times NERFINISHED
appearsInForm Novel
associatedWith Josiah Bounderby NERFINISHED
Louisa Gradgrind NERFINISHED
Thomas Gradgrind NERFINISHED
Tom Gradgrind NERFINISHED
authorNationality British
belongsTo Characters in Hard Times NERFINISHED
characterTrait Amoral
Charming
Cynical
Indolent
Worldly
creator Charles Dickens NERFINISHED
education Well-educated
exposes Moral emptiness of utilitarian society
firstAppearsIn Hard Times NERFINISHED
flirtsWith Louisa Gradgrind NERFINISHED
genre Realist novel character
influences Louisa Gradgrind’s emotional crisis
languageOfWork English
literaryPeriod Victorian literature
literaryRole Foil to utilitarian characters
moralAlignment Morally ambiguous
motivation Boredom
Idle curiosity
narrativeFunction To expose the weaknesses of utilitarian philosophy
To test Louisa Gradgrind’s moral integrity
nationality English
occupation Gentleman
personalityContrastWith Josiah Bounderby NERFINISHED
Thomas Gradgrind NERFINISHED
presentedAs Man of the world NERFINISHED
roleInWork Antagonist
Tempter figure
romanticInterestIn Louisa Gradgrind NERFINISHED
setIn Coketown NERFINISHED
socialClass Upper class
symbolizes Cynical opportunism
Idle aristocracy
Moral emptiness
tempts Louisa Gradgrind NERFINISHED
workPublicationYear 1854
worldview Non-utilitarian
Skeptical

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hard Times mainCharacter James Harthouse