Fragmented Class Consciousness

Peter BarakanI was nominated by Kaori to be her conversation partner this time, but I'm not that much of a dandy myself...

Kaori NakanoNarcissism doesn't seem to be well-regarded. But many dandies are narcissists. Beau Brummell, for example, wasn't necessarily well-liked by his contemporaries, perhaps because he provoked irritation, like, "Why is he so obsessed with his appearance? Doesn't he have anything else to do...?"

BarakanThat might be true, but more than anything, perhaps they couldn't forgive him for trying to climb out of his social class? Britain has a very strong sense of that. Especially in that era, I think that feeling was even stronger.

NakanoEven now?

BarakanConsiderably.

NakanoI thought that since Tony Blair started talking about a "classless society," people would talk about class less than before.

BarakanThere's a book called "Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour" by Kate Fox. It's an easy-to-understand book about the attitudes and behaviors of the English. She writes that the classes, which used to be divided into upper, middle, and lower, are now blurred, with about five categories. Upper middle and lower middle have merged.

NakanoIt feels like the middle has been subdivided.

BarakanThose who are upper middle and lower middle are very particular. They insist they are upper middle, not just middle (laughs). Apparently, the truly upper class are surprisingly not particular and don't hold prejudices.


NakanoReverse snobbery?

BarakanRather than acting upper class, it's better to be casual. There's quite a bit of that. In that kind of atmosphere, if you speak normally and clearly, or intellectually, it's a no-go (laughs).

NakanoYou have to be quite careful.

BarakanIt was around the time of Princess Diana that more people started speaking in a commoner's style.

NakanoThe era of the 80s, when "Sloane Rangers" started becoming a topic?

BarakanPrincess Diana never spoke like a queen. Prince Charles did, though. Even though Diana must have been raised in that environment. Things changed from that generation, didn't they?

NakanoDid Princess Diana intentionally speak that way? Like, "I'm going to break royal conventions..."

BarakanNo, it was the mood of the times. Something you unconsciously go along with. Princess Diana had that kind of vibe even before she married Charles. Not that she was rude, but she seemed like an ordinary person. Being upper class yet commoner-like is what's most admired.

NakanoBoris Johnson is like that too. He's rather eccentric. I sometimes wonder if he's doing it on purpose.

BarakanBritain is a country that cherishes eccentricity, unlike Japan. Many wealthy people go their own way, and no one really says anything about it.

Even Among the British Aristocracy...

BarakanThere's an old saying, like a proverb: "When an Englishman opens his mouth, someone will dislike him" (laughs). Just by the way you speak, it tells everything about your family, education, and background, so it can give a very distant impression to certain people.

NakanoIn what situations do they get disliked?

BarakanThey aren't disliked from high up. They're disliked from below. Especially from those just below them. I think it's mostly "envy."

NakanoIt's frightening how they don't appear that way from the outside world.

NakanoWe can see the reality of impoverished modern nobles at National Trust mansions. I also read an article about a nobleman who works as a gardener. A gardener with "Lord" before his name (laughs).

BarakanIn a way, that's kind of nice, isn't it? (laughs)

NakanoIt's not that high class means good economic status, nor that low economic status necessarily means low class... That's what's interesting about Britain, but that complexity seems to be the cause of complicated feelings about class.




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