Travel Essays · Question
How does Travel Essays develop the theme of Social Class and Inequality?
Answer
Travel Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson develops Social Class and Inequality across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Stevenson contrasts the lives of the poor, such as laborers and pedlars, with the wealthy, highlighting class distinctions, the dignity of work, and the moral discomfort of privilege when faced with others' hardship.
The narrator's discomfort at eating better food than the laborers underscores the theme of class distinction and the moral unease of privilege.
The narrator reflects on being mistaken for a pedlar and compares his own station with that of the Gilliards, noting that in the alehouse kitchen they all cut a similar figure.
The barge couple's pride in their modest life contrasts with English whining about poverty, reflecting different attitudes toward social status and fortune.
Evidence in the book
- Pont-sur-Sambre: We Are Pedlars
The narrator's discomfort at eating better food than the laborers underscores the theme of class distinction and the moral unease of privilege.
- Pont-sur-Sambre: The Travelling Merchant
The narrator reflects on being mistaken for a pedlar and compares his own station with that of the Gilliards, noting that in the alehouse kitchen they all cut a similar figure.
- Sambre and Oise Canal: Canal Boats
The barge couple's pride in their modest life contrasts with English whining about poverty, reflecting different attitudes toward social status and fortune.
- Origny Sainte-Benoîte: The Company at Table
The landlord's proud declaration 'I am a proletarian' and the contrast between the workman's life and the peasant's life highlight class consciousness and the dignity of labor.
- La Fère of Cursed Memory
The narrator reflects on how a single rejection from an inn can change one's view of society and morality.
- Epilogue to An Inland Voyage
The differing treatment of the Arethusa (poorly dressed, suspected) and the Cigarette (elegant, respected) underscores how appearance and class affect one's experience with authority.
- Introductory
The chapter highlights stark contrasts between the wealthy in Princes Street and the unwashed in tenements, and the displacement of aristocrats by cobblers and beggars during the city's expansion.
- II: Old Town—The Lands
The chapter vividly contrasts the rich and poor, noting how the High Street's back garrets are visible from Princes Street, and how the Cowgate below South Bridge offers a direct view of one rank of society from another.
