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She was being mocked, or she was being punished – she did not know which was worse. Punished for being in a different circle at Cambridge, for not having a charlady for a mother; mocked for her poor degree – not that they actually awarded degrees to women anyway.

While Cecilia and Robbie were at Cambridge, Cecilia became increasingly aware of their class difference and the effect it had on their social lives. While the two had grown up together as childhood friends, the reality of their differing statuses becomes clear when they enter the outside adult world. England’s class system was especially rigid at this time and discouraged social mingling between the classes. Cecilia believes that Robbie is angry at her for not attempting to breach these class barriers and spend more time with him at Cambridge. However, Cecilia also points out that despite the contrast in their financial power, Robbie does hold the advantage in terms of gendered power, as he can still earn a real college degree, while Cecilia cannot due to being a woman. Women were permitted to study at Cambridge but, unlike male students, were not granted degrees upon graduation until 1948.

In fact, being at odds with her father about anything at all, even an insignificant domestic detail, made her uncomfortable, and nothing that great literature might have done to modify her sensibilities, none of the lessons of practical criticism, could quite deliver her from obedience.

Although Cecilia is living through a time of progress for women’s rights and has gained a lot of knowledge from her Cambridge education, it’s still not enough to give her the confidence to stand up to her father in any meaningful way. Jack Tallis is seemingly the classic patriarch: wealthy, absent, and powerful. Cecilia’s fear of her father makes her rebellion against her family all the more meaningful. Before Robbie is accused of rape, Cecilia cannot bring herself to make a single move against her father. After Robbie’s accusation, Cecilia is freed of this terror and distances herself from her father, who turns out to be a passive and disappointing man.

As for the rest of them, I can never forgive what they did. Now that I’ve broken away, I’m beginning to understand the snobbery that lay behind their stupidity.

Before Robbie is accused of rape, Cecilia was already beginning to understand the class barriers that kept them from socializing at Cambridge or admitting their love to one another. However, after disowning her family for their treatment of Robbie, Cecilia realizes the extent of her family’s classism. Cecilia’s parents are old money, meaning they are steeped in England’s strict and historic class hierarchy. Within this class system, it was a common belief that wealthy people were superior to lower-class people not only in intelligence and decorum but also in morality. Thus, Cecilia’s parents find it plausible that Robbie is a rapist simply because of his inferior position in society, despite being familiar with his kind, bright, and hardworking personality.

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