Vidal Gore — Eighteen Seventy [2188]

I should note that not one member of the house party admits to having read my articles for the Herald. But then, of course, the Herald is not really a respectable newspaper and perhaps they mean to do me a kindness by not mentioning my shameful connection with it. The talk is of food, clothes, horses, servants, children, arrivals and departures. Like money, the arts are never mentioned. Unlike money, the arts are never thought of. — Vidal Gore, Eighteen Seventy, 2188

Note

The passage exposes class distinctions and societal ignorance through the narrator’s observations, serving to deepen the character’s sense of cynicism and alienation from the elite. The contrast between the mundane topics of conversation and the speaker’s professional concerns highlights the disconnect.