How are the various social classes represented in Candleford?

The social classes of the time in which Candleford was set were defined by different social parameters than they are today. Candleford does much to clarify the distinctions between classes. But it also explains the unrest which was happening at the time. Britain was making a slow shift from a feudal society to a capitalist one. The view from Candleford is very much that of the feudalistic society.


Most interesting is it's portrayal of what we would call today the 'chattering classes'. Folk who have a modest income, a house and some fine clothes, enough to show their status. This class retains some social rules, this is particularly obvious in the old widow (damn and blast I have forgotten her name!) who insists on maintaining these rules. At the same time she is forced to accept the friendly newcomer (forgotten his name too) and his forward manners.
The nobility are represented as decadent and malicious. Cold colours are used to denote the Lady's detached manner. When she interviews the young serf for a job the camera angle awards her higher status and the mise-en-scene creates an imposing atmosphere (the marble floor with a high roof lit by ambient white light). The dialogue betrays the Lady's dishonest intentions when she confides in her butler that she would not have educated servants because they would threaten her authority.
This leads me on to my next point about the representation of the educated serf. This documents the creation of a literate, educated working class who are only just coming about in the age. The nobility (simply represented here as the bad guys) reject them, and in doing so paint them as the opposite (the good guys). This serf wouldn't ascend to the rank of the middle class of the time, as evidenced by their need to scrape for a job as a servant.