Hard Times Allusions & Cultural References

Literary and Philosophical References

• Adam Smith (1.4)
• Thomas Malthus (1.4)
• Daniel Defoe (1.8)
• Euclid (1.8)
• Edward Cocker (1.8)
• Greco-Roman mythology (throughout)
• The Arabian Nights (throughout)
• Twinkle, twinkle, little star (1.3)
• Tom Thumb (1.3)
• Mrs. Grundy from The House that Jack Built (1.3)
• Oliver Goldsmith's "The Deserted Village" (1.7)
• Blue Beard (1.15)
• Coriolanus (2.1)
• Lord Chesterfield's "Letters to His Son" (2.6)
• William Shakespeare, Hamlet (2.8)
• William Shakespeare, Othello (2.8)
• Daniel DeFoe, Robinson Crusoe (2.11)
• John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress (3.5)

Biblical References

• Galatians 6:7, "for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (the Volume titles are "Sowing," "Reaping," and "Garnering")
• Luke 10:42, "the one thing needful" (1.1 Title)
• Matthew 2:16, "murdering the innocents" (1.2)
• Millennium (1.2)
• "Gloria" in the Book of Common Prayer, "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end, Amen" (1.5)
• Catechism of CofE and Matthew 7:12, "do unto all men as I would that they should do unto me" (1.9)
• Genesis 3:14, "submissive to the curse of all that tribe" (1.10)
• Litany in the Book of Common Prayer, "from battle, and murder, and from sudden death, Good Lord, deliver us" (1.11)
• Matthew 8:23-7, "abate the raging of the sea" (1.12)
• Genesis 11:1-9, Tower of Babel – 1.12
• John 8:1-11, "Let him who is without sin among you, cast the first stone at her" (1.13)
• Ezekiel 18:27, "saved my soul alive" (1.13)
• 1 Corinthians 15:52 & Revelation 11:15, Judgment Day (1.15)
• Judas Iscariot (2.4)
• Genesis 25:30-34, Jacob and Esau (2.4)
• Matthew 26:11, "the poor you will have always with you" (2.6)
• Psalms 42:7, "depth answers unto depth" (2.7)
• Mark 5:9, "my name is Legion, for we are many" (2.8)
• Revelation 21:8, fire and brimstone (2.8)
• Mark 10:14, "suffer the little children" (2.9)
• Matthew 7:16, "the golden waters were not there" (2.9)
• Luke 10:29, the Good Samaritan (2.12)
• Genesis 3.4, "creeping on your bellies all the days of your lives, like the serpent in the garden" (3.4)
• Daniel 5, The Writing on the Wall (3.9)

Historical References

• Schedule B, the teacher training scheme set up in 1846 (1.2)
• Sir Richard Owen, a famous zoologist and anatomist (1.3)
• Teetotal Society (1.5)
• The Calmucks of Tartary (1.15)
• George Bidder, the calculating boy (1.16)
• New Poor Law of 1834 (2.1)
• The Roman Brutus (2.4)
• Lord Castlereagh (2.4)
• The Holy Office, a.k.a. the Inquisition (3.2)
• William Harvey, physician who demonstrated the circulation of blood (3.8)