# Class and Bohemianism in The Coming of Bill

> Theme guide for The Coming of Bill by P. G. Wodehouse.

The narrative contrasts the rigid, moneyed world of the Bannisters with the free-spirited, bohemian artist community Kirk inhabits, exploring themes of snobbery, belonging, and the value of unconventional lifestyles.

## Where it surfaces

- [I: A Pawn of Fate](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/chapters/i-a-pawn-of-fate): Kirk is an artist with a private income, living in a studio with a servant, representing a bohemian yet comfortable lifestyle.
- [III: The Mates Meet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/chapters/iii-the-mates-meet): Kirk's studio serves as a gathering place for a bohemian crowd, including impecunious artists and friends like Hank Jardine and Steve Dingle, contrasting with conventional married life.
- [IV: Troubled Waters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/chapters/iv-troubled-waters): The contrast between the Bannisters' wealthy, conventional lifestyle and Kirk's bohemian artist circle is highlighted, with Bailey viewing Kirk as a 'scrubby dauber' unworthy of his sister.
- [Wherein Opposites Agree](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/chapters/v-wherein-opposites-agree): Bailey's outrage at Ruth marrying a 'nobody' contrasts with the bohemian world of Kirk's studio and Mrs. Porter's intellectualism.
- [VI: Breaking the News](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/chapters/vi-breaking-the-news): John Bannister dismisses Kirk as a loafer, highlighting the clash between bourgeois values and bohemian artistry.
- [IX: The White Hope Is Turned Down](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/chapters/ix-the-white-hope-is-turned-down): The clash between the bohemian studio life of Kirk and Steve and the rigid, wealthy formality of John Bannister's Fifth Avenue household.
- [The Misadventure of Steve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/chapters/iii-the-misadventure-of-steve): Steve's discomfort in the formal Fifth Avenue home versus his ease at the bohemian studio highlights the clash between wealth and artistic simplicity.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/themes/class_and_bohemianism
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/themes