Middle Class??
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raketex — 15 years ago(August 20, 2010 10:21 AM)
"They had a son at Oxford, two children in private elementary school, a maid, a cook, nice house and the ability to buy whatever they wanted."
Plus they had a house and private dock on a river and a 30+ ft boat to go with it. (I'm assuming that it was at least 30 ft since in the movie the person charged with rounding up the boats in the area for their "secret mission" said he was looking for all boats over 30 ft in length.)
But thanks to k999m who on Jul 26, 2010 helped explain the difference between "middle class" in England and "middle class" in America. I too wondered the same thing when I first watched the movie. -
laxlon — 15 years ago(February 07, 2011 09:58 PM)
And we never saw the nanny. I just watched the film and these people gave scant attention to their children. I'm sure you couldn't ask a maid or a cook to look after children so I'm sure they must have had a nanny lurking just off camera.
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jamdonahoo — 13 years ago(May 14, 2012 07:43 AM)
In answer to the OPs opinion that the Miniver family was not middle class they most assuredly were by British standards. The British upper class consisted of the royalty, nobility and landed gentry. The upper class traditionaly could not work for a living. They had virtually three professions available to them, the clergy usually at the bishop level, politics, and the military. Other endeavors were in the arts, poetry (Lord Byron, Lord Tennyson) but these were not means of support but were dilletantish in nature. The middle class included barristers, doctors, architects and business men many of whom were wealthy.
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ec1979 — 13 years ago(November 23, 2012 10:36 PM)
Everyone in that area of England had a boat and private dock if their house was on the river (also apparent in the movie Hope and Glory). It was a village, they were upper middle class at best. Remember, even in Austen and Bronte novels, families were often described as living in "genteel poverty"they were poor, but still had cooks and servants.they were living off a very old estate.
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Mandyjam — 14 years ago(January 02, 2012 08:05 PM)
BoomerMovieFan, if you look very, very closely at the earlier of your two posts, I don't think that you will find Lady Beldon mentioned.
It is worth a mention. It impacts on the attitude of Her Ladyship.
"great minds think differently" -
HarvSoul — 1 month ago(January 31, 2026 08:42 AM)
You hit on one of the biggest points of confusion for modern (and American) viewers! In 1940s England, the Minivers were the textbook definition of the upper-middle class, a very specific social tier that sits right below the titled aristocracy (like Lady Beldon). The National Archives notes that during this era, having domestic help was a standard marker of this status, not a sign of extreme wealth.
Here is why they are considered "middle" despite the luxury:
The Help: Having a maid and a cook was common for professional families before the war. It wasn't until the post-war labor shortage that "middle class" became synonymous with doing your own housework.
Professional Income: Clem is an architect. In the British class system, he is a "professional" who works for a living, which separates him from the "landed gentry" who live off inherited estates.
Oxford and Private School: For this specific social stratum, these weren't "splurges" but mandatory requirements to maintain their social standing. Oxford University during that period was the expected path for the sons of professionals.
The "Everyman" Propaganda: The U.S. Office of War Information encouraged the film to make them look "average" so American audiences would sympathize with them. The fact that their "average" includes a riverfront house and a cook is a reflection of 1940s Hollywood glamour glossing over British reality.
Basically, they are "middle" because they still have to worry about the cost of a car or a new hat, unlike Lady Beldon, who owns the whole village