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The Lady of the Barge · Theme
Class and Social Mobility
How The Lady of the Barge develops Class and Social Mobility.
The book explores rigid social hierarchies and the desire to rise above one's station, as seen in the barge skipper's discomfort with a female passenger, the carpenter's envy of his sister-in-law's inheritance, and the pretensions of the doctor and solicitor forced into menial labor.
Where it surfaces
- An Adulteration Act
Professional men are forced into menial labor and treated as lower class, highlighting rigid social hierarchies at sea.