Chapter 11 & 12

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Chapter 11 is set against the backdrop of the mechanical operation of the factories in Coketown, telling the story of Stephen, a worker, who falls into a marital impasse after his dissolute wife suddenly returns home and then turns to his employer Bounderby for help with a divorce. He honestly recounts his nineteen years of marital suffering, only to be rejected by Bounderby, who claims that "divorce requires a huge sum of money and the law only serves the rich", and is even reprimanded for "not keeping to his place". In the end, Stephen descends into despair upon learning of the institutional injustice, while Bounderby and Mrs Sparsit remain cold and contemptuous, showing no empathy whatsoever.

The law has become a tool of privilege for the bourgeoisie, and workers are deprived of basic rights (such as freedom of divorce) due to economic barriers, exposing the hypocrisy of "equality before the law".

Stephen, hardworking and decent, is trapped in a desperate situation by institutional oppression, and individual resistance is completely powerless under class solidification and capital hegemony, demonstrating the "no way out" fate dilemma of the working class in the industrial era.

Chapter 12 centers on the experiences of the worker Stephen. After failing to seek help from his employer Bounderby, he encounters an elderly country woman who has traveled a long way on the street. Dressed neatly but with mud on her shoes, the old woman has made the arduous journey to Coketown by "Parliamentary train" just to catch a glimpse of Bounderby from afar, and she is greatly satisfied when she hears that Stephen has met Bounderby and that he is well. On the way, the old woman praises the bustle of Coketown and the "grandeur" of the factory bell; upon learning that Stephen has worked in the factory for twelve years, she even kisses his hand in approval, and remains standing staring at the factory after Stephen enters, regarding the roar of the machines as a "proud symphony". Meanwhile, Stephen is constantly tormented by his marital troubles: after work, he tries to wait for his fellow worker Rachael for comfort but fails to meet her, so he wanders in the rain, filled with regret for his life bound by his dissolute wife and guilt for delaying Rachael’s happiness, ultimately returning home in depression.

This chapter further shapes Stephen’s image as a "suffering member of the underclass". He shows forbearance and kindness outwardly, embodying the typical representative of the working class in the industrial era who is "alienated in body and oppressed in spirit".

The old woman he meets is a key symbolic figure in this chapter. Her seemingly eccentric actions—traveling far just to see Bounderby and praising the factory—reflect the underclass’s blind admiration for "upper-class success" and their mistaken perception of industrial civilization (viewing the factory that oppresses workers as "glory"). Her existence contrasts sharply with the spiritual numbness of the underclass in a utilitarian society: the lower classes are not only exploited materially but also "tamed" spiritually, regarding the very things that oppress them as good, highlighting the difficulty of the underclass to break free from their predicament.