Abstract
This paper compares the themes of realism and art in Rebecca Harding Davis's "Life in the Iron Mills" by arguing that Deb and Hugh are symbolic characters. The author believes that Davis's work breaks down the traditional boundaries between art and realism by suggesting that realism has supplanted the more traditional understanding of art as a way of seeing the world.

Abstract
This paper introduces, discusses and analyzes the two works "Life in the Iron Mills" by Rebecca Harding Davis, and "St. Elmo" by Augusta Evans Wilson. The paper also looks at the differences between male and female artists in nineteenth century America. According to the paper, these two works are written from very different perspectives and viewpoints, and yet, they share many commonalities.

From the Paper
"Artists seem to suffer the world over. The term "starving artist" had to originate somewhere, and perhaps it originated in the nineteenth century steel mills such as the one Hugh works in. Hugh is an artist, but he does not have the time or money to truly hone his craft. Davis writes, "Out of the blocks of this korl, Wolfe, in his off-hours from the furnace, had a habit of chipping and moulding figures,--hideous, fantastic enough, but sometimes strangely beautiful" (Davis). The problem Hugh faces, besides money, is being taken seriously as an artist and a man. His co-workers do not understand his artistic side, and jeer at him and his creations. Thus, not only does he face crushing poverty and little time to devote to his artistic talents, he also faces derision from his co-workers, who do not take his art seriously. More than that, he faces disinterest from the people who could help him. They are too selfish and self-centered to aid someone who needs help. They "wash their hands" of those they feel they cannot help, and with no remorse."

Tags:iron-mill, towns, smoke, Mrs., Murray, Edna, education, spiritual, peace, hunger, love

Abstract
The following paper discusses the story by Rebecca Harding Davis with an aim to show the beginning of a resurgence of interest in a woman whose first major work wrought radical changes in how fiction would be written and read in America.

From the paper:

"Life in the Iron Mills" has been called "one of the revolutionary documents in American literary history." The same year it was published by Atlantic Monthly, then America's leading national magazine, the country became embroiled in the Civil War.

"The narrator of this story is very familiar with, but at the same time very removed from the world she describes. She takes the reader on a tour of a factory town and an iron mill, where a young man named Hugh Wolfe shovels coal for the iron furnaces. Hugh is worshiped by his cousin, Deborah, who while visiting Hugh at the Mills steals the wallet of leading males citizen of the factory town when he comes through the mills for a tour and notices, along with the other men on the tour, the "korl woman" figure sculpted by Hugh."

Tags:feminism, woman, revolution, civil, war, narrator, discrimination

Abstract
The paper first examines Charles Dickens' novel "Hard Times", which shows how the Industrial Revolution left in its wake a changed system that benefited a few and enslaved many. The paper then shows the similarities between this novel and Rebecca Harding Davis' "Life in the Iron Mills", which depicts how the Industrial Revolution caused many of the same problems in America.

From the Paper
"The Industrial Revolution was a major shift in economic terms during the nineteenth century in Britain and the United States, and it was a shift not without damage to many people. British social commentary infused the writings of many British novelists of the time, and American writers also responded to the growing perception that the economic changes taking place benefited some and harmed others, at least in the short term. The working class moved from rural to urban regions in search of work in the new factories, but the conditions in those factories was harsh, the work deadening, and the pay not enough to move enough people out of poverty."

Tags:factories, poverty, greed

Abstract
This paper provides an essay on Rebecca Harding Davis' story of the tragic lives of laborers in "Life In The Iron Mills". The essay discusses how the novel is a critique of capitalism but also an appeal for business owners to adopt a more charitable stance toward their worker's problems.

From the Paper
"Rebecca Harding Davis' "Life In The Iron Mills" illustrates the tragic tale of Hugh Wolfe and other miners during the rise of American industrialism. Clearly in favor of worker's rights, this story is a scathing criticism of their treatment at the hands of greedy industrialists. The novel advocates Marxism by depicting business owners who view their laborers as part of an extended family, deserving of humane treatment. A social reform novel, Harding Davis' story is clearly identifiable as an American novel in its delineation..."

Tags:family, statues, art, realism, social justice, theft, death, Quakers

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that Rebecca Harding Davis's "Life in the Iron Mills" and Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" differ in how the two stories construe class relations. The writer maintains that by incorporating chapter seven from 'Lies My Teacher Told Me' by James W. Loewen into this analysis, it becomes clear that the former piece depicts a more realistic vision of class relations while the later presents a humorous, non-realistic view of class relations.

From the Paper
"Rebecca Harding Davis's' Life in the Iron Mills' and Herman Melville's 'Bartleby the Scrivener' differ in how the two stories construe class relations. By incorporating chapter seven from 'Lies My Teacher Told Me' by James W Loewen into this analysis it becomes clear that the former piece depicts a more realistic vision of class relations while the latter presents a humorous non-realistic view of class relations. In 'Life in the Iron Mills' the reader is confronted by the barbarity of the conditions ..."

Tags:Bartleby the Scrivener, Life in the Iron Mills, class relations, stratification, lower class, working class

Abstract
This paper explains that the female protagonists in Rebecca Harding Davis' 'Life in the Iron Mills" and Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" are very different. However, the two women are markedly the prisoners of the patriarchal society that has caught them in its net. The author points out that both women focus all their energy on their male companions, being almost obsessively preoccupied with them. The paper describes both stories.

From the Paper
""Life in the Iron Mills" is the somber story of the grey, empty life of a worker in the iron mills, Hugh Wolfe. In the midst of his brutish life, he has an artistic vision: he is able to model figurines out of the waste materials left at the mill. His aspirations are thwarted nevertheless, and he dies in utter misery. His fate obviously symbolizes the terrible destiny of the working-class people, who had no perspectives outside a barren, instinctual life. The secondary character of this story, Deborah, who is Hugh's cousin, is however an even more interesting figure which perfect the realistic picture drawn by Davis."

Tags:class, somber, seclusion, haughty, rejection

Abstract
Analysis of Rebecca Harding Davis' 1861 novel. Her realistic portrayal of the horrific life of a factory worker. Author's purpose and views. The historical context. Her solution that spiritual awakening is the only way out of the misery faced by iron mill workers. How her solution holds up against modern research.

From the Paper
"Introduction

Early American life was based in an industrious, mostly agrarian society where the cultural myth that the new United States of America was the place to go for opportunity was already firmly established. Although iron works were already at work by the 1700s, the first cotton mills in the U.S. did not come into being until after 1789, when Samuel Slater reached the U.S. with the plan for a water frame memorized (Tichi 17-19). By 1845, however, as the economies in places such as Ireland and Germany became depressed through political and social unrest, immigrants began coming to the U.S. to seek the opportunity that it was already famous for (Dinnerstein 12). Between 1845, when the labor organization the Industrial Congress of the United States was established (Tichi 28), and 1854, three million immigrants ..."

Abstract
This paper looks at how the divine human right exists as a blessing instilled upon each and every human being. It focuses on how the characters of Hugh Wolfe, in "Life in the Iron Mills" by Rebecca Harding Davis, and Harriet Jacobs, in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs, are both denied their basic human rights. It analyzes the circumstances in which each lived and their attempt to change their destiny by seizing the moment. It shows how they are both perfect examples of how general welfare, the blessings of liberty and posterity, and basic human rights are stolen from the meek and given to a blind, ruling society or class.

From the Paper
"Another character that began with nothing and was restricted from her God given rights was Harriet Jacobs. Similarly to Hugh Wolfe, Harriet Jacobs a slave was restrained from her right to life, and as Wolfe seized his one and only opportunity for betterment by stealing money, Jacobs seizes her one and only opportunity to better her life. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiographical piece that offers a unique female prospective on the plight of slaves, especially female slaves during the Civil War. Being restricted her natural rights, Harriet Jacobs's fights against a society that judges individual societal roles by the color of her skin. In the 1850's, this determined the path in which her life would travel. A future, pre-destined even before her birth, morphed into a struggle for freedom and equality."

Tags:ruling, society, class, hugh, wolfe, system, freedom, equality

Abstract
The paper argues that even though author, Rebecca Harding Davis, prided herself on being an advocate for social change, her book, "Life in the Iron Mills," does little to point out a need for change for the working class. The paper looks at the novella as a contradictory work with an ambiguous message.

From the Paper
"The story's similarities to pro-slavery novels appear again when Kirby and the other men "tour" the iron mill. Kirby acts like a plantation owner while he casually shows his friends around the mill - the workers stop shouting and singing when they notice Kirby's presence, as if they fear punishment from their master. Upon learning that "twelve hundred hands" work at the mills, Mitchell asks if Kirby controls the workers' votes. Kirby replies that he does not, but he adds, "[M]y father brought seven hundred votes to the polls for his candidate last November" (12). Kirby and Mitchell's conversation about controlling the workers' votes shows another man's ownership of human beings and his power to manipulate their rights. This symbolizes Kirby as a master, the iron mill as a plantation, and the workers as slaves."

Tags:immigrants, industrial, revolution, realism, slavery