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class in 'the little stranger' - Coggle Diagram
class in 'the little stranger'
Hundreds Hall
an allegory for the decay of the British upper class
a straightforward iteration rather than a subversion
for the Ayres, Hundreds embodies traditional class power relations
defines social standings and identities of masters and servants
everyday life is tangled with the old-fashioned system of class discourse
ironically co-exist at Hundreds :
unaffordable maids and impoverished masters
respectable masters and coarse maids
created for the upper-class, but reliant on servants to keep it running
as servants began to withdraw their labour from and belief in the house, inevitably it began to collapse
'like a pyramid of cards' page 27
'we've been so keen to hang on to Betty. I cant tell you what a difference its made to mother's spirits.' page 46
Betty is only kept for Mrs Ayres' sake
C + R's acceptance that although they require servants to keep the property running, they cant afford it.
they also realise the servants status has changed
request Faraday to treat Betty well
servants should get better treatment in post-war society
'neglecting the servants is a capital offense these days' page 6
in exploiting Hundreds, Faraday feels pride and elation, he feels he deserves Hundreds
Faraday fails to escape the conventional convictions of class authority
fails to keep at pace with the rapidly changing world because of his transfixation on Hundreds
the presence ambushes the mansion and haunts those who are unable to advance with the times
Faraday comes from a destitute family background
regularly dismisses Betty
either a reflection of her young age and gender or that she is seemingly of a lower class than he is.
Faraday's self-percieved class inferiroity simultaneously compromises with his envy and jealousy for the Ayres
Faraday's class complex looms from time to time, as he recounts how his parents sacraficed everything to give him an elite medical education
Caroline: 'I thought you must hate us slightly...but now it sounds almost as though-well, as though you hate yourself.'
hatred directed at the family, but also at his own modest background regarding his parents and the society that defines his social status
with so many efforts his life remains ordinary
omnipresence of conflict between his current reality, his modest past and his future imagination of being Master of Hundreds
discontent (miture of hatred and helplessness) with humble background
deformed by subtle affection for Hundreds and its grand social life
Faraday considers that he deserves an infalliable role rising from rising from a maid's son to master of Hundreds
Faraday is an educated outcast from all classes (Byronic Hero)
upper-class patients dont consider Faraday as one of them
'I dont hunt or play bridge: but i dont play darts or football either[...] I'm not grand enough for the gentry' page 36
PARADOXICALLY
lower class patients dont accept him either
want to 'look up to their doctor. They dont want to think hes one of them' page 36
an obsessive man suffering from class envy
Roderick and Caroline are upper-class
they realise servants have rights under current social opinion
wihtout servants the house would be in terrible shape
'Hundreds Hall had been maintained, I thought, by the very people they were laughing at now.' page 27
Caroline
Caroline has difficulty marrying someone of the same social class due to the combined decline of Hundreds combined with her appearance
disappoints Mrs Ayres
Caroline helps with most of Betty's chores, despite being an upper class woman
breaks class expectations
the least attached of the Ayres to her social standing
cares about her wealth and Hundreds
seemingly willing to give it all up at the end
doesnt cling to it like her Mother and brother
Roderick
heir to the upper class family fortune
rather than inheriting sums of wealth and property, he has no money and the property becomes a burden. As he heir he is also expected to take the job on and run it.
The Ayres represent the upper class
class priority remains even with the deterioration of the house
the Ayres retain their dominant system
live as a prestigious family according to their self-image
the family's perpetual inconsistency between past and present results in the disastrous decline of the mansion and family
class hierachy is problematic at Hundreds Hall
fading social status in an ever changng society
the pressure of financial expense is the only thing preventing them from hiring more maids
against the trends of the decline of domestic service
the Ayres' pride and superciliousness excites Faraday's hatred, envy and extreme class retaliation
after the Colonel died, they withdrew from the upper class social circle
Mrs Ayres represents 18th century aristocratic legacy
'I do think eighteenth century houses the nicest. Such a civilised century.' page 70
past symbolises civilisation; the contemporary age is deemed an uncivilsed society
convictions regarding servant-master hierachy are unyielding
cares greatly about public appearance
does everything in her power to hide scandal, fearful of a damaged reputation
As Faraday hears the Ayres' sarcasm about their previous servants, he detests their upper class pride and arrogance over the lower class
Betty represents a modern working class
requested to wear an outdated, Victorian style uniform
creates a strange every day life scene
'she was rather quainty dressed, in a black frock with a white apron, and with starched cuffs and a collar dwarfing her childish wrists and throat, and on her head was a fussy frilled cap, the kind of thing i couldnt remember having seen [...] since before the war.' page 72
incompatible with working costumes in fashion
what was expected to be worn by maids for special occasions
Mrs Ayres is stuck in the past
Faraday's mother represents the traditional working class
domestic servants became the largest group of working class in 1840's Britain
the upper class / bourgeoisie employed domestic servants to show off their fotrune and social status
only Betty is employed as the family cant afford more
'almost impossible to get girls in the past few years'
'too far from the bus routes'