The English

Mrs. Jones

Mrs. Jones represents a domestic or common perspective in contrast to the broader English identity.

Charles I

Charles I's relationship with the English is one of historical tension and symbolic conflict.

IV: The Fear of the Past

Implied as the audience and subject of the critique of modern imperial and futurist attitudes.

The Unfinished Temple

Criticized for their theory that wealth protects against political corruption, contrasting with the revolutionary ideal of poverty.

VI: The Enemies of Property

Referenced in the context of the French Revolution and the ideal of the poor man uppermost.

IX: History of Hudge and Gudge

Described as almost the only people in Europe without peasant proprietorship, governed by an oligarchy.

X: Oppression by Optimism

Referenced as the ordinary Englishman who is pacified by optimistic explanations from the aristocracy.

XI: The Homelessness of Jones

The ordinary Englishman who has been duped out of his old possessions and dreams of an ordinary home.

Part II: Imperialism: Or the Mistake About Man

Referenced as a nation prone to the sentimental imperialism Chesterton criticizes.

I: The Charm of Jingoism

Described as a poetical and optimistic people whose Empire is vague, sympathetic, distant, and dear, but ultimately a weakness.

II: Wisdom and the Weather

Implied as the cultural context for the discussion of clubs, regiments, and weather customs.

The Insane Necessity

Referenced as the people whom the House of Commons truly represents in its love of leisure and debate.

The Emancipation of Domesticity

Implied in the reference to the French King's saying about women varying; the narrator contrasts French and English views.

II: The Tribal Terror

Implied as the audience for popular science and the subject of the creeping return to savagery through realism and problem plays.

The Humility of Mrs. Grundy

The English poor are described as quick-witted and over-civilized, bombarded by commercial and political propaganda.

The Broken Rainbow

Implied in the critique of flying a flag on Empire Day as un-English, and in the discussion of modern patriotism.

The Need for Narrowness

Implied as the society whose institutions (public schools, Parliament, churches) are being discussed and critiqued.

X: The Case for the Public Schools

Referenced as the English aristocratic schools and the English officer, embodying the public school product.

XI: The School for Hypocrites

Described as having a character weakness of untruthfulness, particularly in public schools and the political system.

III: The Dreadful Duty of Gudge

The English people are described as too poor to be domestic, yet more domestic than the governing class.