Genteel poverty

Uncommon card · No. 183666

Genteel poverty is a state of poverty marked by one's connection or affectation towards a higher ("genteel") social class. Those in genteel poverty are often people, possibly titled, who have fallen from wealth out of various circumstances. The term can extend down to the lower-middle class. Spinsters from wealthy families were likely to fall into genteel poverty during the points in history that barred women from earning a living wage through work. Aristocratic families with a lack of male heirs risk falling into genteel poverty if the family money then passes out of the household to the oldest male relative. Those described as the genteel poor who come from the aristocratic class may still retain one or more servants and live off rental income or income from a country estate, although the money may not sufficiently cover daily expenses or the luxuries typical to those from a lineage of landed gentry. The genteel poor may also describe those on fixed income such as pensioners. Genteel...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Author Frances Hodgson Burnett Artist Reginald B. Birch., Public domain