Our Mutual Friend Society and Class

If you're looking for an example of an upper-class snob whom you should avoid being like, look no further than Mr. Podsnap. This dude is a rich jerk who thinks that the world revolves around him and that he has a direct line to capital "T" Truth on any subject he talks about.

As far as the rich Mr. Podsnap is concerned, anything he doesn't think about isn't worthwhile. Worse yet, anything he's dismissed no longer exists in his eyes. He's just about as self-absorbed as a human being can get.

Eugene Wrayburn has a tough time explaining to his father how he has married a poor girl like Lizzie Hexam. But what's done is done, and the dad needs to accept it one way or another.

Lady Tippins likes to think that she has a direct line on "The Voice of Society." In other words, she thinks she has the right to judge other people because her values conform to the general views of society.

When people at a dinner party learn that Eugene Wrayburn has married a working-class girl, they nearly faint. Yup, these people are pretty judgmental when it comes to issues of social class. Little do they know that Dickens has spent this entire book making them look like entitled fools.

Mr. Wilfer wants Mr. Rokesmith to be clear about his daughter Bella. The girl cares a whole lot about what people think of her, and that means she'll probably get married to someone rich. As the book goes on, though, we see that this might not be the real Bella after all.

Mr. Twemlow is a nice enough guy, but he's also super insecure. That's why he always dresses up to the nines, even for a casual breakfast. He just does it because he's worried about what people might think of him otherwise.

When Mr. Wilfer tells Bella he thinks Mr. Rokesmith is in love with her, she replies that anyone can be in love with her. It doesn't mean they're worthy of her. At this point in the book, Bella is still pretty full of herself and hard to sympathize with.

Bella begins the book being pretty selfish and status-oriented. But once she sees the kind Mr. Boffin becoming cruel and paranoid, she blames his money and his newfound status for his sudden dirtbag behavior. This moment causes a change in Bella, and from this point, she cares more about people's character than she does about their social status.

Mr. Boffin proudly declares that he is no longer his old self. He's gone from being a servant to being a rich master, and he plans on acting the part of rich master instead of being a naïve softie like he used to be.