# Social Class and Pretension in Table-Talk

> Theme guide for Table-Talk by William Hazlitt.

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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-i-on-will-making): Hazlitt critiques the pretensions of legacy-hunters and the social dynamics of flattery and expectation in inheritance.
- [On Vulgarity and Affectation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-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.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/themes/social_class_and_pretension
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/themes