Hard time (page 204-300)

When she wakes up, Louisa is slightly disoriented. She does not immediately remember what has happened the night before. Louisa asks her father for advice but he replies that he does not really trust himself to give her the correct advice. To be honest, he simply does not know enough about emotion to offer proper counsel. So after that Harthouse has been waiting for Louisa and has been freaking out because she hasn't come. At first, he waits in Coketown. Then he checks out Bounderby's country house again. Harthouse decides to keep waiting for some kind of message. And the next day, Louisa does not return.

Bounderby, Tom, and Rachael come to see Louisa and Sissy at Gradgrind's house. Rachael asks Louisa to confirm that Louisa came to see her and Stephen at his house before he disappeared. Louisa tells everyone, including her father, about that evening. A week goes by and Stephen does not come back. Sissy goes over to Rachael's place every day after work. They talk about Stephen, and how no one in town trusts him anymore. Louisa starts being worried that not only did Tom rob the bank, but that he also killed Stephen to throw suspicion off himself.

Gradgrind, Bounderby, Louisa, and Tom come up from Coketown. Men go down into the hole, and come back. Stephen is still alive, but very injured. He survived by using one hand to drink some water from a puddle near him and eat some food that was in his pocket. Stephen makes a little speech to Rachael, saying that all the workers who are oppressed by their labor and he then says that he survived because from the hole he could see a star shining in the night sky. He prayed to the star for peace and understanding between workers and factory owners.

So finally Rachael spends the rest of her life taking care of Stephen Blackpool's alcoholic widow. Tom finally realizes the error of his way and writes sad, apologetic letters to his sister from abroad. Finally, he tries to come and see her, but dies on the journey. Louisa never remarries and never has children, but remains sisterly friends with Sissy. Sissy does have happy loving children, who grow up into good, moral adults