Table-Talk · Theme

Social Class and Pretension

How Table-Talk develops Social Class and Pretension.

Hazlitt dissects the relationship between vulgarity and affectation, showing how both the lower classes aping gentility and the genteel desperately avoiding vulgarity reveal a shared emptiness and lack of authentic self-worth.

Where it surfaces

On Will-Making
Hazlitt critiques the pretensions of legacy-hunters and the social dynamics of flattery and expectation in inheritance.
On Vulgarity and Affectation
Central theme: Hazlitt dissects how both the vulgar and the genteel define themselves through opposition, and argues that true refinement is independent of class.
On Coffeehouse Politicians
The chapter contrasts London society, where individuals are judged by wit and manners, with provincial society, where wealth and status dominate social interactions.
On the Aristocracy of Letters
Hazlitt dissects how birth, wealth, and a 'grave face with an impenetrable manner' allow individuals to assume unearned literary reputation, contrasting them with the 'mere canaille of letters.'
On Great and Little Things
Hazlitt reflects on the lingering effects of low birth, the discomfort of unequal matches, and the servility that persists across generations.
On the Disadvantages of Intellectual Superiority
Explored through the contrast between refined knowledge and vulgar ignorance, and the futility of condescension.
On the Knowledge of Character
Hazlitt examines the hypocrisy and deception of uneducated servants and lower classes, viewing them as a degraded caste in conflict with their betters.