Louisa's breakdown forces her father to reevaluate his worldview. From love for Louisa, Sissy delivers Harthouse an ultimatum. From rage, Bounderby delivers a different ultimatum to Louisa and Gradgrind. The town's search for Blackpool ends in tragedy. When the circus returns to Coketown, it is the setting wherein truth can finally emerge and Gradgrind can find hard-won wisdom.