Class in The 1800s and Now

Class- what is it?  Is it important?  Some researchers and many ordinary people believe that class is still as important today as it was in the times of eighteenth-century England; however, it has been proven by recent studies that class does not play an as important role in the world today.  But before one can understand this, one must first define class, discuss class structure in eighteenth-century England compared to today’s, and explain why class is not as important anymore.

There are many different perceptions on what class is.  The most important aspect about class is money.  Money is the most important part of class because in order to be able to afford high class items, one needs to have a lot of money.  Money as a part of class is most evident in Pride and Prejudice.  Mr. Bennet would not want Lydia to marry Mr. Wickham because he did not have money (Chapter 50).  This was not only because they would need money to support them when their father died, but also because the man would not have any class if he did not have money. There are also other factors that determine one’s class.  These include but are not limited to education, race, and health.  Education is a big factor, just like money.  The more educated one is the higher one’s class.  This is because people nowadays perceive that one needs to be smart to succeed.  Education is also visible in Pride and Prejudice.  When Lady Catherine is talking to Elizabeth, she asks Elizabeth what her skills are.  Elizabeth replies that she is not very skilled.  She says she is not a good writer, nor is she a great reader.  She also believes that she is a mediocre musician.  This causes Lady Catherine to believe that Elizabeth is of a lower class (Chapter 29).   One’s perceived class will impact many parts of their life.  It will affect one’s success in school, career choice, and the rest of their life.  One’s success in school will be mainly determined by their class; more specifically, their amount of money.  More and more colleges charge more to go there, so one must have a lot of money to go there. This is also visible in Pride and Prejudice.  The Bennet daughters did not go to school because the family did not have enough money to support all of them to go to school (Chapter 29).  All of these factors go into defining class.