Employment and wealth in 1830s England

[finding_jay]

My character, Eleanor, is the daughter of a fairly well-to-do family living in 1830s England. They're on the cusp from upper middle class to upper class, but lose their money, though not necessarily their social status. My character's parents are trying to marry her off so as to keep face

Comments

[starry_diadem]

What fatchickengirl said is absolutely right.

The "taint" of trade was very real. This is why, for example, in Pride and Prejudice set just a few years before your time period (in about 1812, say) Caroline Bingley is so desperate to marry Darcy and have her brother marry Darcy's sister - it reduces the taint to marry into the real gentry and ensure that the next generation would be considered to have lost the taint. And it's why even though she is very much poorer, as a gentleman's daughter, Elizabeth Bennet is far closer in class to Darcy than the Bingleys are.

This doesn't mean that an industrialist or city man couldn't be very much wealthier than someone from the landed gentry. He most certainly could, but he'd still be looked down upon in the social sense. The only reason that he might be able to marry his daughter into the landed classes would be if she took an enormous fortune with her. So if you're going to keep Eleanor's family in the industrial sphere and they've lost their money, her marriage options are very limited and fast declining to zero.

[finding_jay]

I do have it in my mind that the family as a whole isn't considered to be accepted socially whether they are self made or not. This would definitely help in that sense. And if my character's marriage options are severely limited due to the loss of money, then that helps even more.

Thanks so much =)