Charles Dickens' display of social space and class hierarchy in Great Expectations

Abstract

In Victorian era English society social class was based on an inflexible system built around an individual’s profession, their familial ties, and other cultural elements such as behavior. This system means that moving up the social ladder was difficult for anyone who was not born into an upper-class family. However, when the Industrial Revolution came, 19^th century society witnessed drastic changes since suddenly, economic opportunities presented themselves and social mobility became something that viable. In Great Expectations, Charles Darwin finds an excellent opportunity to present to readers the realities of the inflexible Victoria era social structure. Through the different characters included in the novel, the author paints a picture of the cultural, social, and psychological factors that separated the different social classes in early English society. Each of the characters were carefully crafted to give the audience as much insight into the physical and psychological dimensions of social classes as possible. This paper will, therefore, present a critical analysis of Dickens’ Great Expectations paying special attention to the theme of social class and how it is related to concepts such as criminal behavior, education, and ambition. The author will examine the social class and mobility from Charles Dicken’s perception of Victorian society as presented in the novel then compare it to modern society.