Hard Times

What is Dickens attempting to express with this character Stephen Blackpool?

Compare Stephen Blackpool to the characters we experience in the works of Austin (Darcy and Wickham).

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Stephen is a poor laborer in one of Josiah Bounderby's factories. He is married to a drunk woman who wanders in and out of his life. After losing his job at the factory, Stephen is forced to leave Coketown and find work elsewhere. In his absence, Stephen is accused of committing a crime that he did not actually commit. When returning to Coketown to defend his honor, Stephen falls into a pit and injures himself. He is rescued but he eventually dies. Jane Austin's Mr. Darcy comes from the upper class. Unlike Blackpool, Darcy has money and lives a life of privilage. Mr. Darcy has the time and luxury to find an appropriate wife and muse about pride and prejudice. Wichham isn't as privileged as Mr. Darcy but he is of high station in life. He does not have to work in a factory and has the luxury of having romantic affairs with many women.