In which we are introduced to the austere and unyielding Mr. Gradgrind, a man devoted to the relentless instruction of facts and the suppression of fancy, who endeavours to instil his rigid philosophy upon the young pupils in his stark schoolroom. We observe, with a gentle dawning of doubt, the uneasy stirrings of imagination within his own children as they momentarily stray from their prescribed lessons and confront the colourful world beyond the mathematical precision of their upbringing.