Flush: A Biography

Flush portrays the sharp contrast in the lifestyles of the wealthy and poor in 19th-century London. The Barrett family, residing on Wimpole Street, is comfortably middle class and insulated from the harshness of poverty, thanks to the money made by Mr. Barrett’s merchant business. While Elizabeth’s personal circumstances are not happy, the Barretts themselves are insulated from financial struggles. Wimpole Street is an extension of this prosperity; it is a bastion of affluent, middle-class living in the imperial capital of the world. Woolf notes the importance of neighborhoods such as Wimpole Street as being emblematic of the health of the British Empire: She says that if Wimpole Street falls, then the rest of the Empire will collapse soon after. This highlights the idea that the wealth in this neighborhood is acquired through the unsavory means of colonialism.

Not too far away from Wimpole Street, however, there are neighborhoods that are defined by their poverty. In places such as Whitechapel, poverty is rampant, living conditions are deplorable, and people are mistreated because they are poor. Big families are crammed into small, unhealthy spaces, sometimes living above cowsheds, and landlords limit their access to even basic necessities like water. Within the same city, the working class and middle class inhabit what seem to be different worlds. Elizabeth is genuinely shocked when she encounters this poor neighborhood so close to her home, highlighting the vast distance between the classes despite their geographic closeness. The novel depicts the stark, systemic unfairness embedded in the social structure of Victorian England, which led to the vast differences in the lives of the rich and the poor.

This critique of social inequities extends to the world of dogs. The social class system for dogs in London is created by humans, who breed and pamper certain dogs while neglecting others. The people project these ideas onto their dogs, who internalize the social ordering. Flush, for example, is aware that his features distinguish him as a particularly well-bred dog; while in London, he thinks of himself as an aristocrat. He is treated deferentially by other dogs, suggesting that even dogs internalize and reinforce this class system. However, the novel uses this hierarchical dog society to satirize the absurdity of human social class. The notion that dogs follow a class system based on breeding highlights how ridiculous, arbitrary, and disposable human social classes are, too. When Flush, with his proud, aristocratic airs, is kidnapped, his proximity to poverty demonstrates that there is nothing inherent that separates him from other dogs. For all his features and his breeding, he eventually drinks the same stagnant water that he needs to survive, just like any other dog. This underscores the idea that class is a mere social construct, both for humans and dogs.

The absurdity of class distinctions is further demonstrated when Flush moves to Italy and finds that there is no equivalent hierarchy among the Italian dogs. Flush is one among equals, and he quickly comes to terms with this egalitarian view of the world. Flush’s shock and horror at losing his privileged status is quickly replaced by the social benefits of equality. The speed with which he adapts demonstrates the disposability of social class. By portraying an egalitarian social culture, the novel critiques the rigid and harmful class systems of Victorian England and shows the possibility of a more just alternative.