Class Distinctions

Bowen uses Hugo’s identity as an aristocrat as a point of reference to discuss the way class distinctions change with World War II. Bowen conveys the message by describing the way that Hugo lived his life according to the guidelines of his class before the war but discovered that he had relaxed in his beliefs after the war. Hugo also realizes as he is forced to leave his ancestral home that the time of lords and manors has passed and families can no longer afford to keep up large estates. Regardless, Hugo appears to have been deeply hurt by the loss of his family home, a loss from which he never quite recovered.

When Joanna describes her father, she describes a person who lived according to the moral standard of the aristocracy. She believed that he did not want her living with her boyfriend...