Class and Social Mobility

The story examines rigid class structures, from the impoverished farmers at World's End to the rising industrialists and aristocrats, highlighting how characters like Aymer and Marese navigate or are trapped by their social positions.

The rise of the Baskette family from basket-makers to chieftains illustrates early social mobility, while the coming of Steam and Legal Rights threatens to disrupt this order.

The claimants range from common labourers to judges and financiers, showing how the promise of wealth drives social aspiration and mobility across classes.

Characters like Sternhold Baskette and Aymer Malet illustrate the precarious nature of social standing and the pursuit of wealth.

Aymer's low social status and poverty contrast with his intellectual aspirations and his brief escape to Florence, highlighting the barriers of class.