The Prince and the Pauper

The Prince and the Pauper examines how one’s social class defines, or is unable to truly define, personal identity. Characters in the novel are often described by their social standing, as when the guard calls Tom a “young beggar” (21) in Chapter 3. Many chapter titles follow this model, including “The Prince with the Tramps” (124), “The Prince with the Peasants” (157), and “The Prince with the Prisoner” (185). Indeed, the title of The Prince and the Pauper itself defines the characters by who they are in English society. Markers of social class, especially clothing, are central to how people interact: Tom and Edward switching clothing and thereby reversing their social statuses is the plot’s premise. To many characters, personal identity and social status are synonymous.

However, Twain challenges this method of judging a person, condemning the conflation of identity and class. Primarily, this is achieved by the central premise of the plot. Through imagining two identical, but personally distinct, people born at opposite ends of society, Twain satirizes a society that believes in rigid social class. Both Edward and Tom frequently admit that they have swapped identities and act in ways unexpected for a person of their station.