An Englishman’s Home Themes

“An Englishman’s Home” satirizes the rural English upper class. Every single major character is a member of this socioeconomic bracket, and the story’s humor derives in large part from the petty squabbles and minor injustices within their insular little world. Above all else, Waugh pokes holes in the cliché conception of wealthy landowners as magnanimous benefactors to their communities. In doing so, Waugh calls attention to the petty nearsightedness of the landed gentry: despite their…

The four upper-class households in Much Malcock react to the prospect of development with comically hyperbolic horror. Their initial fear about what Mr. Hargood-Hood will build on the land is soon inflated into visions of poorly built council houses (affordable, government-owned housing communities for the poor) and bungalows. Mr. Hargood-Hood, who turns out to be a country gentleman himself, preys expertly upon such fears by painting a picture of something even worse: a massive industrial…