The Condition of the Working Class in England · Character
Dr. Andrew Ure
A contemporary apologist for the factory system whose confident pronouncements Engels quotes precisely so he can dismantle them.
supporting
Also known as Ure, Dr. Ure
First appearance: Single Branches of Industry
As a supporting figure in The Condition of the Working Class in England, Dr. Andrew Ure is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.
Quoted extensively as a bourgeois apologist for the factory system, dismissing worker complaints and defending the status quo.
Ure is the voice of respectable industrial opinion, the man who can look at the same mills Engels describes and pronounce them healthy, orderly, and beneficial. He functions as a foil: his claims about factory conditions are set against the narrator's evidence, and the gap between them is where the book's argument does its work. His importance is not as a person but as a representative of the hypocrisy Engels accuses the bourgeoisie of practicing under the disguise of philanthropy.
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Character Web
34 connectionsA slice of how Dr. Andrew Ure sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.
Relationship types
- Other
Character groups
- Factory Critics and Irish Immigrants
- Protagonist
- Central Figures and Movements
+29 more in the full Character Web
Open in readerNarrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak where the workers’ suffering…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingIn the story
Dr. Andrew Ure appears across 3 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.
Chapter companion notes
Spoil-light check-ins for Dr. Andrew Ure unlock in the free preview.
See Dr. Andrew Ure in Single Branches of Industry