# Class and Social Mobility in The Lady of the Barge

> Theme guide for The Lady of the Barge by W. W. Jacobs.

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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/chapters/an-adulteration-act): Professional men are forced into menial labor and treated as lower class, highlighting rigid social hierarchies at sea.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/themes/class_and_social_mobility
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/themes