The Human Cost of Modern Society: Both novels reveal how rapidly changing social systems—industrialization in Hard Times, urban modernity in Mrs. Dalloway—place profound emotional and psychological pressures on individuals. Dickens exposes how mechanized labor, utilitarian values, and rigid social structures dehumanize people, while Woolf shows how modern urban life, class expectations, and the aftermath of war create inner turmoil and fragmentation. Each text critiques a society that prioritizes productivity, order, or appearances at the expense of human feeling, imagination, and mental well-being.
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