Between the 19th and 20th century, class structure changed a lot. There was a shift from a feudal society based on family status, to a society dictated by capitalism. Feudalistic society divided people based on lifestyle, either leisure or working. The leisure group, made up of monarchs, nobility, and gentry were landed and wealthy. They lived lives of luxury and did not work to sustain living expenses. The working class, born into much poorer families often worked for the upper-class and only made enough money to sustain basic living expenses. Jane Austen wrote in the era of feudalism, while Virginia Woolf wrote in the time period of capitalism. These two social class styles are found in Austen's Emma and Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway.
In Jane Austen’s Emma, social classes were defined by feudalism, which was a economic land based system. Emma was a member of the leisure class which was fortunate for her because a person’s class status was determined only by birth, and there was little class mobility. Compared to Emma Woodhouse, Robert Martin was on the other end of the class ladder. He was a farmer, part of the working class and was not likely to move up in the social class. The law of primogeniture, which drove feudalism was shown by Mr. Knightly eventually passing his estate down to Henry. While Henry is not Mr. Knighty's son, he was next in line in the Knightly family. The children after Henry would inherit nothing but the family name and would become lawyers, members of the clergy, or military men
In Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, social classes were defined by capitalism, which was very different from social classes in Emma Woodhouses’s time period. Mrs. Dalloway was part of the leisure class, show by the fact that she lived in Westminster which was historically occupied by the nobility and the wealthy. Since Emma Woodhouse's time period, there was a movement towards capitalism. London became a center for business and trade. Lower class citizens were then more able to earn money and move up in social class. Successful tradesmen were able to challenge the leisure class in terms of wealth. This lead the laws of class hierarchy to break down and become less concrete.
After reading novels from both class structures examples, I would much rather have lived in the time of Clarissa Dalloway. Feudalism was not a fair system. Being the second born son in my family, by the law of primogeniture, I would have practically had to start over. Because of the law, I would have the choice of being in the clergy, in the military, or a lawyer. Despite still living in leisure, I find the limited opportunity unappealing. There would not be as much opportunity for my family because I would not own land and all my children would have is the family name.
In Jane Austen’s Emma, social classes were defined by feudalism, which was a economic land based system. Emma was a member of the leisure class which was fortunate for her because a person’s class status was determined only by birth, and there was little class mobility. Compared to Emma Woodhouse, Robert Martin was on the other end of the class ladder. He was a farmer, part of the working class and was not likely to move up in the social class. The law of primogeniture, which drove feudalism was shown by Mr. Knightly eventually passing his estate down to Henry. While Henry is not Mr. Knighty's son, he was next in line in the Knightly family. The children after Henry would inherit nothing but the family name and would become lawyers, members of the clergy, or military men
In Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, social classes were defined by capitalism, which was very different from social classes in Emma Woodhouses’s time period. Mrs. Dalloway was part of the leisure class, show by the fact that she lived in Westminster which was historically occupied by the nobility and the wealthy. Since Emma Woodhouse's time period, there was a movement towards capitalism. London became a center for business and trade. Lower class citizens were then more able to earn money and move up in social class. Successful tradesmen were able to challenge the leisure class in terms of wealth. This lead the laws of class hierarchy to break down and become less concrete.
After reading novels from both class structures examples, I would much rather have lived in the time of Clarissa Dalloway. Feudalism was not a fair system. Being the second born son in my family, by the law of primogeniture, I would have practically had to start over. Because of the law, I would have the choice of being in the clergy, in the military, or a lawyer. Despite still living in leisure, I find the limited opportunity unappealing. There would not be as much opportunity for my family because I would not own land and all my children would have is the family name.
Emma and Mrs. Dalloway displayed how class systems affected society. The differences between the lives of Emma Woodhouse and Robert Martin are an example of the gap between the leisure and working classes. In Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa lived in a time in which the gap between these two gaps lessened as capitalism took control. I find the movement made towards capitalism to be more rewarding and beneficial to myself and my endeavors.
Andrew Corbitt
Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. 1925. Print.
Austen, Jane. Emma. New York: Penguin. 1815.
One small change that would help your first two body paragraphs is noting how the time of writing the novel played a greater effect on the style of the novel. Something that could be included with this would also be the perception of the class structures. This would help ease into the main argument you present better. Developing your ideas in the last body paragraph, perhaps even lengthening it into another paragraph, would help out as well. Another option, which is more fluid but may lose some personal appeal, would be to list your personal pros and cons with the two first body paragraphs and then your final verdict in the conclusion. Either way, it is a strong essay, though slightly awkward during transitions.
ReplyDeleteEric Carl
I feel like you tend to repeat your self, which, for me at least, is distracting and takes away from the essay as a whole.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Do you think that Clarissa also believes in a feudal system even though she obviously lives in a capitalistic society...i mean she did grow up pretty well off, wouldn't that make her more like Emma?
Katie Delgado
Katie-
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point about Clarissa. It seems obvious to me that during her time, a motion toward capitalism was successfully overturning feudalism. Therefor, it seems pointless to argue that feudalism is more effective when capitalism is naturally taking over. Regardless of Clarissa's own ideas, (she probably would prefer feudalism given her status) she is hopefully aware of the success of capitalism.
I didn't intend to compare Emma and Clarissa in the post. The focus was meant to be more towards how a feudal society was present Jane Austin's Emma while trend towards capitalism was present in Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway.(found in the end of the intro paragraph). I probably should have given more examples, rather than state what we discussed in class, in paragraph 3 to make this clearer.
Andrew Corbitt