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Victorian Era Social Class Essay

573 Words3 Pages

Back when Queen Victoria ruled over Great Britain, financial and social standings were immensely significant in determining one’s lifestyle, just as it is today. The rich live peaceful, lazy lives, while the poor struggle just to get through the day. If they are lucky enough, some people can satisfy themselves with a plain lifestyle. There are four main social classes that separate these different types of people in the Victorian Era: the Upper class, Middle class, Working class, and the Lower class. The Upper class of this time period consists of aristocrats, nobles, dukes, and other types of rich families. Extremely powerful landowners and politicians, classified as aristocrats, inherit most of their wealth from their predecessors. With enough money and investment, anyone can become an aristocrat (Avery 37-58). Similarly, nobles also inherit riches from their forefathers belonging to the royal bloodline; dukes follow behind as their “appointment holders” or acquaintances (Fleming 1). Various huge factory owners fall into the role of being upperclassmen as well, especially with the Industrial Revolution at its peak. A luxurious lifestyle and a better education is lead by this group due to their abundance in fortune, leading to better job opportunities than most. However, the majority of the rich sit around at their estate and focus …show more content…

Clerks, shopkeepers, merchants, maids, and other “morning coat” persons comprise this social group, standing just below the ranks of the Upper class (Loftus 1). In fact, many individuals would have belonged in the class above them since they are quite wealthy; however, since none of them were in any way related to royalty, they did not qualify (Victorian Era Society). Still,Due to the scarcity of decent housing and good jobs, the number of people in the class also dwindled throughout the

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