A woman's role hadn't changed much from the medieval era. The working class woman still had to work every hour to try to feed her ever growing family. The upper class woman still had servants. However, for the middle class woman life was changing. Although always wanting to "marry well", the working 'world' was now opening up for women. Also, many of the upper class started to work, seriously, in charities, with some now going into politics.
Many women became teachers, typists, office workers and telephonists. With the invention of the bicycle and now having their 'own' money, young ladies found a new freedom their mothers never knew. Fashion changed, becoming more practical, and with the invention of the sewing machine, many could copy the fashions found in the ladies magazines.
The food eaten by the lower and working classes make for heart-rending reading. A typical Street-Irish breakfast was a dish of potatoes, coffee and a slice of bread, or a herring (a 'cheaper' fish) and potatoes, and two slices of bread and butter and a cup of tea for breakfast. Coffee stalls dotting the East End supplied a warm breakfast and "Rice-milk" girls, who tramped up and down the streets, with urns of boiled rice, sold with white liquid with sugar, browned with allspice.
The "Formal" Breakfast differed slightly from early luncheon, except that the menu was a breakfast menu: toast, hot muffins, omelettes and other "eggs," delicate starch foods, cafe au lait, etc. A "Formal" breakfast was held at any time between 10am and 12.30pm. A fruit course 'opened' the menu: melons cut in slices, pink, green and yellow; baskets of apples and peaches, with grapes hanging over the rim and plates of pears. This was followed by a mild d'oeuvre or a dish of mush and cream, and then the breakfast plates were laid. The coffee urn was filled, and a hot breakfast was served: beefsteak or lamb/veal chops, with a salad or sliced tomatoes or lettuce, with hard-boiled eggs or poached eggs on toast: or omelette with muffins, or "pop-overs" (a light roll made with egg batter) with butter. Fish could be served, sometimes lobster. For the next course, chicken with rice. Dessert of frozen punch, pastry and jellies followed and coffee. Hot muffins, biscuits and waffles were served. This was a breakfast served when the Family had a "House Party."
For those who afford it, Edwardian food was both rich and tasty, some would often say that the food was rich to the extent of indigestion. There was a huge difference between what the rich and the poor ate. The rich spent a lot of money on food and its preparation. The poor had barely enough for one decent meal a day.
For the upper classes, food was used as a symbol of a Family's social status. They were served by servants and had breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner (dinner was usually 9/10 courses). The servants (who served this rich food) ate much simpler meals. The Family would eat such food as lobster, oysters, game, patisseries, in fact, the list seemed endless. For the working class, there was usually only one meal. Meat and fish was eaten only once a week and this was of the 'cheaper' kind. Fish and chips and pie shops had been opened for these poorer classes, whose diet was tea, bread and jam or dripping, potatoes and bacon.
As seen in the pictures, the difference between the rich and poor (and what they ate) really showed in this Era !
