Moreover, the Victorian middle class reformed the meaning
of work. Before industrialization, working for a living was not
a respectable occupation. Protestant, middle-class values turned work
into a virtue. Working hard and accumulating wealth came to be seen
as a sign of God's favor. Thus, the choice of a vocation was a very
serious matter. This is the dilemma facing Fred Vincy. He hopes
to inherit a large estate and avoid having to earn his living. His
disappointment brings him to face the undesirable prospect of the
Church as his occupation. However, he feels that he is not meant to
be a clergyman. Farebrother became a clergyman because he had to
support his female relatives, but he appears to be better suited
to natural science. Moreover, he must gamble to support his interest
in science. The wrong choice forces him to subvert the office he
occupies. He becomes a contradiction in terms: a smoking, gambling clergyman.
Mr. Brooke never chooses any determined occupation. He
dabbles in everything. He is continually saying that he has "gone
into" a little of everything. Moreover, he tries to run for election
on a whim. For him, it is a strictly self-centered, narcissistic
impulse. He runs on the Reform platform, but, to him, "reform" is
an abstract, fanciful idea, not a matter of improvement of real
human lives. It offers him an opportunity to strut and make speeches.
The opposition, in keeping with the middle-class value system, is
quick to point out the fact that his public image clashes strongly
with his private life.
Dorothea attempts to save her uncle from the consequences
of the contradiction between his public and private selves. Moreover, her
intervention illustrates the much narrower range of choices for women.
Dorothea has an intense desire to be a reforming philanthropist.
However, as a woman, she can only enact the reforms she plans through
men. Her cottage plans come to fruition through Sir James. She attempts
to do the same through Brooke. However, she cannot bring her plans
to action without a man to help her.
