Social Classes in early 19th Century England
Social Hierarchy:
“England is the most class-ridden country under the sun. It is a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and silly.” --George Orwell.
Lower Class
Upper Class
Middle Class
- Split into two classes
- Working class--
- Manual Labourers
- Lowest level of work
- The Poor/Underclass--
- Refer to those who are "chronically unemployed," sometimes for generations
- Live in council housing
- Highest power, authority, and social status holder
- Consisted of aristocrats, ruling families, titled people, and religious hierarchs
- EXTREMELY WEALTHY
- People of leisure
- Difficult for individual to from under classes to move up
- Wide band of English population
- Divided into upper and lower middle class
- Upper: People at administrative levels enjoying high authority and high social status in the society
- Lower: People who are typically employed in relatively unskilled service industry jobs such as retail sales, travel agents, factories, etc.
The "noble family name"
The First Industrial Revolution
Urban Growth
- 1760~1830: Started in Britain
- Shift from agrarian/handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture
- Rise of the middle class, later known as the "nouveau-riche"
- Not as prevalent until mid 19th-century
- Main and crucial difference that separated this class from the other classes
- Most appreciated and valued part of them
- Could not lose reputation or be forgotten easily
- The older, the better
- Noble = rich?
- Industrial Revolution -- more jobs offered in big cities
- BUT...
- Harsh conditions
- Laborers treated as commodities, not human beings
- Working class girls-- prostitution
Marriage
Pride and Prejudice
- Society defines privilege and power based on land, birth, and blood relation
Thus, marriage becomes...
- One of the only methods of
social elevation
- Seen from mostly every marriage in Pride and Prejudice
- Lady Catherine
- Old aristocracy
- Darcy
- Master of Pemberley
- Bingley
- Became wealthy from trade
Pride and Prejudice
- Aleksic, Jovana. "19th Century England: The Upper Class." Glopinion. Glbrain.com, 3 Oct. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
- Cody, David. "Social Class." Victorian Web. N.p., 22 July 2002. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
- The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Industrial Revolution." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Nov. 2014. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
- Hierarchystructure.com. "19th Century England Social Hierarchy." Hierarchy Structure - Social Hierarchy. Hierarchy Structure, 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
- Natarajan, T. "Social Evolution in Pride and Prejudice | MSS Research." MSS Research. MSS Research 2015, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
- Bennets
- Land aristocrat
- Mrs. Bennet's middle class origins cast a shadow on the respectability of the whole family
- Lucases
- Businessman
- Collins
- Gardiners and Phillips