Class is an important factor for several of the characters in The Waves. In fact, it figures heavily in Louis's psychology, coloring his relationships with the other narrators. Louis is extremely mindful of class—his own and that of others—throughout the book, introducing us to the professions of each of the narrators' parents early in the first chapter and later taking great pains to highlight how he has come up in the world.
Questions About Class
- What is the significance of the fact that the narrators all come from relatively different class backgrounds? Does Louis's reference to each friend's background simply provide context for his character, or is there something else going on here?
- How does the novel's presentation of class tie in with other themes?
- Louis desperately wants to elevate his station in life and, yet, notes a lifelong attraction to the seedier elements of life (e.g., public houses). Does maintaining duality in this respect enrich Louis's life or tear him apart?
Chew on This
Though class is never presented as an important source of tension for the characters other than Louis, Louis's class-consciousness provides yet another way for the novel to draw attention to the differences of the narrators.
Louis's attraction to the seedier elements of his urban life is tied to his abandoned talents as a scholar and writer and perhaps even symptomatic of his yearning for this alternate life.