‘Two nations […] who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different good, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws’ illustrates the rich and the poor in Disraeli’s Sybil. Hugh McLeod states that class hierarchy is important in the Victorian Era, generally recognized status-groups being the ‘working class, middle class and gentry – each with some degree of common identity and limited mobility from one to another’. Although some may claim that Charles Dickens’s writing exaggerated, others say that his works can truly portray the society of the Victorian Era. In Household Words, Dickens presents class through his use of characters, location, and food, and differentiates the rich and the poor in their
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According to Faber, ‘Wealth and power, rather than gentility, were the standards’ (p. 17) of class, therefore class can be distinguished from wealth shown in location. McLeod points out that ‘Divisions of status were further reflected in the social segregation of London […] large tracts gradually assumed a fairly uniform social tone’ (p. 4). This proves that class can be distinguished by looking at the neighbourhood. In ‘Christmas in Lodgings’, the narrator mentions ‘"them washerwomen was," I was told, " always a losing of something or other”’ (296) and at least a servant and a maid serving him in his lodgings, portraying his upper class status because he is always the one being served. Later, the choice of home of the narrator shows his wealth as he ‘took a house’ and even had a ‘suburban villa near Fulham’ (298). The ability to own his own house and villa presents his class as higher in Victorian class hierarchy. Although is the narrator located comfortably, his frustration at those around him, and his inability to settle into the lodgings and the neighbourhood suggest that he cannot fit in the lower class. In ‘A Christmas Pudding’, apart from having a drawing room, there is a description of Mr Oldknow’s
According to Faber, ‘Wealth and power, rather than gentility, were the standards’ (p. 17) of class, therefore class can be distinguished from wealth shown in location. McLeod points out that ‘Divisions of status were further reflected in the social segregation of London […] large tracts gradually assumed a fairly uniform social tone’ (p. 4). This proves that class can be distinguished by looking at the neighbourhood. In ‘Christmas in Lodgings’, the narrator mentions ‘"them washerwomen was," I was told, " always a losing of something or other”’ (296) and at least a servant and a maid serving him in his lodgings, portraying his upper class status because he is always the one being served. Later, the choice of home of the narrator shows his wealth as he ‘took a house’ and even had a ‘suburban villa near Fulham’ (298). The ability to own his own house and villa presents his class as higher in Victorian class hierarchy. Although is the narrator located comfortably, his frustration at those around him, and his inability to settle into the lodgings and the neighbourhood suggest that he cannot fit in the lower class. In ‘A Christmas Pudding’, apart from having a drawing room, there is a description of Mr Oldknow’s