The Owl Service is rooted in social inequity. Gwyn's life plans are at risk because he belongs to a class of whom little is expected. No one will object if his talent is wasted clerking in a shop.

Gwyn, Nancy, and Huw can all be dismissed for being Welsh as well. Neither Roger nor Clive considers the Welsh fully human. Gwyn's elocution records are intended to teach him how to sound like an Englishman, and so escape this cultural stigma.

Although Alison comes close to having a genuine relationship with Gwyn, she rejects him whenever her allegiance is strained, partly out of fear of her mother but also because of the class difference between them. As Roger reminds her, Gwyn is nothing but a "yob." Perhaps the novel's most painful moment comes when Alison has exposed Gwyn's deepest secret to Roger's taunts and cannot bear the...