19th Century Class System

The Upper Class

The upper classes were otherwise knows as the aristocracy. This included royalty, lords, knights, gentlemen etc. Although the upper classes were generally extremely wealthy, wealth alone didn't define one as upper class. Many established upper class families weren’t wealthy and didn’t have much money at all. However, they refused to sell property or possessions as they believed it belonged to their families' future generations. The family name was considered more important than wealth. This idea of tradition and respect links in with Blue Stockings as many of the male characters do not want to change their ways and are too stubborn to give in as they believe they will lose power or their dignity. Respect for a family name provided political, social and financial opportunities which lower classes couldn’t not receive.

The Working Class

The working class formed the greatest portion of the population by a long way. This included factory workers, soldiers, servants, builders etc. In general, if you worked with your hands did manual work you were considered to be working class, and that affected how much money you earned and living conditions. It was common for a single member of the upper middle class to employ hundreds, even thousands, of working class people. This shows how rare it was for someone to be upper or middle class in the 19th century. Working class life was hard work and very dangerous. Working conditions were very often tough, with long hours and poor safety measures in place, and the overcrowded living spaces. Working class lives were seen as not being very important to their employers because there wasn’t much between starvation and whatever work you could find. Most working class family members would work, including the women and children, and still struggle to feed, house and clothe themselves.