A big sign of respect is demonstrated when speaking of men of high class. They knew that there are certain things that should not be spoken of because it can ruin their status and the way they are seen. In this case, Lizze Hazeldean’s husband was a man of money and he was from a generation of old money. Old money brought the idea of respect and values. Everyone was aware that a person of old money was not to be spoken of and had to be shown respect. In this case a married woman of a high-class status was known by many and being spoken by them. Lizzie was disrespecting her husband, and no one could say anything out of respect for him.

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Men Wearing Overcoats, 1901s.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1907. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-ee5b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Family Fortunes speaks on men and how a man of class has more opportunity in their survival in the world. The way manliness is explained is that it came to be with all the opportunity and high positions in a job a man was able to receive. Davidoff states, “Rich new opportunities were opening up for men in the world of commerce, manufacturing and the professions. Manliness and occupational position came to be more intimately linked, particularly occupations which gave independence from immediate patronage. The increasingly elaborated world of the market had few spaces for women of the middling ranks. Provincial Corn Exchanges, banking houses and attorneys’ offices were not sites for ‘ladies’ and their marginalisation from gainful employment in public places meant that ‘private’ activities such as writing, having lodgers or taking in pupils were crucial to their survival.” (14). Men were always superior to women and would always get the better choice. In addition, not just any man was able to get this position or sense of manliness, he had to be white and of high-class. The work area of a man would not consist of many females which also gave them their independence.

A man of high class like the one described in Family Fortunes, is important because of the jobs they were able to get but also the respect for being in that position. This is due to the high positions that high classed men received. Like, Lizzie Hazeldean’s husband, a man of high class, money, and a high class job, he was respected due to all of these factors and no one found it in themselves to disrespect that.

Davidoff, Leonore, and Catherine Hall. Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class 1780-1850. London: Hutchinson, 1987. Print.

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