The industrial revolution brought both progress and harsh realities for workers. Rebecca Harding Davis' story "Life in the Iron Mills" depicts this through characters Hugh and Debora Wolfe, who toil in iron mills. The narrator observes the mill town from above, describing the poor conditions and smoke-filled skies. Davis aims to expose the evils of the class system and industrial society, while promising a better future. She shows that viewing workers as less than human is wrong.