I'm a sociology major and I'm currently taking a class on social stratification. (Stratification is the ranking of members of society in a hierarchy based on status which results in unequal access to the resources of society) At present, we are talking about class differences, occupational prestige, social status, and social mobility. Reading about the Vincy family history in Chapter 11, beginning on page 89, got me thinking about this. Up until the Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution in Europe, social positions were relatively fixed and determined at birth. Children of peasants themselves became peasants and so on. The same occurred for the aristocracy. Eliot's novel takes place during the 1830s where society was going through rapid social, economic, and political changes. A new middle class emerged and many men began to find themselves capable of working up the social ladder.
For example, Walter Vincy, father to Rosamond and Fred, is a third generational manufacturing businessman. His grandfather was most likely a self-made man and passed down his business and social class and status to subsequent generations.
Lucy Vincy, who came from a pretty humble background as an innkeeper's daughter, was able to marry up the social ladder by becoming the wife of Walter Vincy. This intermarriage between classes was not particularly looked upon fondly, but it was more acceptable than it would have been a hundred years ago. (This kind of marriage probably wouldn't have even happened a hundred years ago)
Rosamond Vincy is an aspiring social ladder climber. She's embarrassed by her mother's lower class background and frequently calls her mother out on her use of lower class slang. Rosamond, who has been raised an upper-middle class lady, wants to advance even further up the ladder to the upper class.
I think Eliot does a really good job of capturing this social phenomenon. The Vincy family is a good example that gives us a glimpse into the dynamics of social class.
Thanks for the background on the social classes. I wrote my questions before you posted that great explanation. It really does answer a lot of questions about the way the characters interact with each other. I have always found the class structure and hierarchy of the families in all of those British novels to be fascinating. I'm sure Downton Abbey would answer of lot of those questions too. LOL!
ReplyDeleteKudos on the Darboe definition of social stratification.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit it on the head with this post. Also for today's reading we discover the pitfall in Rosamond's plans for social climbing in an age of dying aristocracy and rising middle class. She has NO idea how to be an economic agent and was taught poorly to identify upward mobility in a changing system.
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