Author: Berdiboyeva, Khushnoza Bakhodir kizi

Annotation: This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the representation of childhood in relation to social inequality in nineteenth-century English literature. The profound social transformations caused by the Industrial Revolution, rapid urbanization, and rigid class stratification significantly affected the lives of children, turning childhood into one of the most vulnerable social categories of the period. Drawing on selected works by Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Thomas Hardy, the study examines literary portrayals of orphan hood, child labor, poverty, limited access to education, and social injustice. The article argues that childhood functions not only as a literary image but also as a powerful means of social criticism aimed at exposing the moral and economic failures of Victorian society.

Keywords: childhood, social inequality, class division, nineteenth-century English literature, Industrial Revolution.

Pages in journal: 176 - 183