Dickens' characters are some of the most memorable in fiction. Often these characters were based on people that he knew: Wilkins Micawber and William Dorrit (his father), Mrs. Nickleby (his mother), and David Copperfield (himself).
Characters such as Scrooge (miserly) and Pecksniff (hypocritically affecting benevolence) have become defining terms in the everyday vernacular.
Dickens' names for his characters are some of the most unique in fiction. Characters such as Sweedlepipe, Honeythunder, Bumble, Pumblechook, Podsnap, and Muddlebranes are easily recognizable as Dickensian even by those unfamiliar with the stories.
Here are the main characters from Hard Times:

Blackpool, Stephen: A worker in Bounderby's mill. His wife is a drunk and he befriends Rachael. He falls out with his employer and leaves to look for work elsewhere. He is accused of robbing the bank and before his name is cleared he falls down a well and dies. Later he is cleared with the discovery that the robbery was committed by young Tom Gradgrind.
Bounderby, Josiah: Coketown Banker and mill owner. Marries his friend Gradgrind's daughter, Louisa.
Gradgrind, Louisa: Daughter of Thomas, a child of fifteen or sixteen. She marries Bounderby who she doesn't love. She later leaves her husband and returns to her father.
Gradgrind, Thomas: A mill owner retired from business and father of Louisa and Tom. He runs a school and emphasizes the importance of facts and figures over fancy to his students and his children. By the end of the story he learns that facts and figures must be tempered by love and forbearance.
Gradgrind, Tom: Son of Thomas. He is employed at Bounderby's bank from whom he later steals, the blame is set on Stephen Blackpool. He later leaves the country with the aid of Sleary and his circus troupe.
Jupe, Sissy: Daughter of Signor Jupe, a clown in Sleary's circus who is taken in by Gradgrind where she befriends Louisa.
Rachael: Friend of Stephen Blackpool, who loves her but cannot gain release from his drunken wife. She defends Stephen when he is accused of theft from the bank.
Sparsit, Mrs.: Housekeeper of Bounderby with aristocratic connections. She is a busybody, causing dissension between Bounderby and his wife Louisa Gradgrind.
 
 

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