Charles Dickens' "Hard Times" is a satirical take of the English society during the Industrial Revolution. The novel revolves around the lives of the Gradgrind family, and how their upbringing puts them in conflict with what they observe in others.
<u>Mrs. Sparsit is the housekeeper for Mr. Joisah Bounderby's place</u>. She is a widow who had worked and dependent on Mr. Bounderby for an <em>"annual stipend"</em>. She would later try to jeopardize her master's marriage to Louisa Gradgrind so that she can become the mistress of the house instead.
