Social class, moral values, English textbooks, critical discourse
analysis.
E. This study analyzes the representation of social class and the moral values of
female characters in two classic children’s novels, A Little Princess and The
Railway Children. Using a descriptive qualitative design with qualitative content
analysis, narrative passages, dialogue, and key scenes are coded through
Weber’s class–status–power dimensions and Lickona’s moral knowing–moral
feeling–moral action domains. The findings show that class (economic position)
is the most dominant dimension in both novels: A Little Princess records class
at 37.60% (47 data units), while The Railway Children records 39.60% (40 data
units). In the moral domain, moral action is the most prominent, portraying
female characters’ principled resilience amid social inequality. Overall, the
comparison indicates that socio-economic pressure functions as the main trigger
of moral agency—Burnett emphasizes discipline and principle, while Nesbit
highlights empathy and relational care. The study recommends using both novels
to support critical literacy about inequality and character-education discussions
grounded in textual evidence