In class, we are discussing a text by Galdos, a XIXth-century Realist writer.
“Which social class do these characters belong to?” I ask.
“The aristocracy!” the students respond in unison.
“What makes you think that?” I ask.
“Because it says here that they have a servant,” students explain.
OK, I don’t understand. Is the presence of a servant evidence that the people were of the aristocratic class or not?
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No, of course not. This was the time when a significant class of bourgeoisie was coming into existence everywhere in Europe, and even in Spain. The central mark of that social class (the equivalent of today’s middle-class pretty much) was the refusal to do any manual labor at all. So impoverished bourgeoisie would go hungry and cold but still retain a servant to do the manual work.
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Aristocrats have many servants. On a small state dinner in the 18th century you would have a ratio of four workers per diner, I learned last night.
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I can easily imagine US university students not being clear on the differences between socio-economic class and … bloodline class (for lack of a better term).
And servants (as opposed to occasional hired help) have traditionally been restricted to higher economic classes.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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