This article is a sequence of vignettes. Each vignette emphasizes one specific idea and can be understood on its own but is also part of something bigger than itself.
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The second half of the 19th Century was difficult for the Sick Man of Europe.
My mother and I are a class apart. It is probable that my father and I are too. I come from a family that for half a century has been zigzagging across class positions, even though I only experienced the last thirty years or so of it. But my relationship to class is as much about gender as it is about my family’s financial situation. It is always tricky for me to locate my class position. I have repeatedly found myself in situations where I wanted to identify my class, but I have no easy answer to give.