Role of Class in A Letter from an Unknown Woman and Other Stories

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Role of Class in A Letter from an Unknown Woman and Other Stories
A Letter from an Unknown Woman and Other Stories is a short novel by Stephan Zweig. The story is about an exciting narrative of an author who, while looking at a letter drafted by a woman he does not recall, gets a hint into her life experience. Upon returning home, the author finds a lengthy letter from an unknown woman who stayed with her poor widowed mother. Apart from becoming obsessed with her neighbors' opulent cultured lifestyle, she also fell in love with the author, a handsome, charming man (Zweig). Despite spending nights with several attractive women, her passion remains unchanged. Unfortunately, the man she is obsessed with does not recognize her and succeeds in spending multiple nights with her. She gets pregnant, loses her job, and gives birth in a rescue center for the poverty-stricken. Later, the child succumbs to the flu pandemic. Due to hopelessness and feeling ill of herself, she drafts a lengthy letter to be read after her death. Zweig’s novella is an abiding masterpiece that utilizes various socio-economic classes to reveal the existing inequalities between the wealthy and the poor. Further, it shows the impact of an economic crisis, especially on the young girls belonging to less privileged families.
Indeed, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident throughout the narrative. Often, wealthier individuals tend to underestimate the less privileged in society and view them as unequal. Most end up feeling unwanted or even unacknowledged. Like the unknown woman, they experience the world from afar while living as a secret. The practice is evident in the novel. The letter’s author drafts a lengthy letter to be posted only after her death (Zweig). The scenario implies that the poor are voiceless in society, and few people regard their opinions. The letter begins with long, familiar, and slightly tedious lines that symbolically depict how the less privileged in the society may appear nagging and annoying when expressing their opinions or seeking help. She falls in love with a wealthy man in her neighborhood. Besides his appealing looks, he is also a prominent author. Again, he resides alone with his male servant and invites stylish women to spend a night with him. The girl belongs to low socio-economic status because her mother is poor. Hence, she only gazes at her ‘beloved’ through a spy-hole in their house’s front door. Other times, she lurks outside, hoping that he will notice her. When she grows older, she secures employment in a shop. However, she continues to stalk him.
Zweig uses classes to reveal why it sometimes becomes challenging for the have and have nots to have free interactions. Mostly, the rich want to be around financially stable people. Others find it embarrassing associating themselves with the poor within the society. In this case, the good looking and wealthy author cannot interact with her poor neighbor. Instead, he invites elegant when who belong to his social-economic class. At eighteen years, the author stops the unknown woman in the streets. Although she is charming, the author does not recall her as his young neighbor residi...