The omnibus as social observatory

Abstract The introduction of omnibus and tram services in European cities in the nineteenth century led not only to greater mobility but also to increased exposure to social diversity. City residents now regularly found themselves in close contact with people from very different social backgrounds. Texts from the period often attest to the awkwardness of such encounters as well as to the heightened awareness of social difference to which they led. This essay examines literary representations of the social ‘other’ on urban transportation systems in nineteenth‐century Paris, London and Madrid. Particularly, it explores how bourgeois observers react to and interact with poor and lower‐class passengers, the perspectives from which these encounters are presented and the way in which class difference is conceptualized and represented. Through close readings, it identifies six approaches commonly used in works from the period: (a) the aestheticization or spiritualization of poverty; (b) contrasts between speech and silence; (c) social analyses of behaviour; (d) juxtapositions of classes; (e) stories of mutual understanding; and (f) lessons in compassion.