The time of the Enlightenment brought forth a major change to Western Europe. Many citizens of Western Europe countries introduced ideas about reform. The ideas that were introduced for reform ranged from rights of people to the government. One part of the Enlightenment that brought on reform was the gap between social classes. During the enlightenment if you happened to fall in the middle class you were often looked down upon and viewed as less than everyone else. The effects of living in certain social classes during the Enlightenment Period depict the character Ellena Rosalba in the book The Italian by Ann Radcliffe. The character, Ellena Rosalba, is a major character within the story of The Italian by Ann Radcliffe. The character of Ellena
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As mentioned previously the poor or people who fell into the lower social class where often looked down upon and viewed as less. As mentioned in the book, “. . . an orphan, living under the care of her aunt Signora Bianchi” (Radcliffe 92). Due to Ellena being an orphan she did not have money or a wealth to her name the Marchesa did not allow the marriage between Ellena and Vivaldi. The Marchesa viewed Ellena as most people did at the time of the Enlightenment. As stated in the novel “If I believed you could so far forget what is due to the honor of your house, I would forever disclaim you as my son” (Radcliffe 28). Many people looked down on a relationship between different social classes and show it as a disgrace towards your family. During the time of the Enlightenment the poor or bottom social class had received little attention from the upper class which was most people in power. This is evident from the book Popular and Elite Understandings of Miracles in Enlightened England, “After all, no one with power paid attention to the poor and ignorant on any other issue” (Graves 48). The poor class received little to no awareness and many people lacked knowledge of the challenges that where faced by the lower class. During the Enlightenment most people married within their own social class and mainly did not spread throughout other social
As mentioned previously the poor or people who fell into the lower social class where often looked down upon and viewed as less. As mentioned in the book, “. . . an orphan, living under the care of her aunt Signora Bianchi” (Radcliffe 92). Due to Ellena being an orphan she did not have money or a wealth to her name the Marchesa did not allow the marriage between Ellena and Vivaldi. The Marchesa viewed Ellena as most people did at the time of the Enlightenment. As stated in the novel “If I believed you could so far forget what is due to the honor of your house, I would forever disclaim you as my son” (Radcliffe 28). Many people looked down on a relationship between different social classes and show it as a disgrace towards your family. During the time of the Enlightenment the poor or bottom social class had received little attention from the upper class which was most people in power. This is evident from the book Popular and Elite Understandings of Miracles in Enlightened England, “After all, no one with power paid attention to the poor and ignorant on any other issue” (Graves 48). The poor class received little to no awareness and many people lacked knowledge of the challenges that where faced by the lower class. During the Enlightenment most people married within their own social class and mainly did not spread throughout other social