--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No, its the poor I tell you, and the poor…" description: "\"“No, its the poor I tell you, and the poor only, as does such things for the poor. Don't think to come over me with th' old tale, that the rich knows n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/elizabeth-gaskell-894_poor_no-its-the-poor-i-tell-you-and-the-poor_582936.jpg" --- # No, its the poor I tell you, and the poor only, as does… ![“No, its the poor I tell you, and the poor only, as does such things for the poor. Don't think to come over me with th' old tale, that the rich knows nothing of the trials of the poor; I say, if they don't know, they ought to know. We're their slaves as long as we can work; we pile up their…” quote by Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/elizabeth-gaskell-894_poor_no-its-the-poor-i-tell-you-and-the-poor_582936.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/elizabeth-gaskell-894_poor_no-its-the-poor-i-tell-you-and-the-poor_582936.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/elizabeth-gaskell-894_poor_no-its-the-poor-i-tell-you-and-the-poor_582936.jpg) > ““No, its the poor I tell you, and the poor only, as does such things for the poor. Don't think to come over me with th' old tale, that the rich knows nothing of the trials of the poor; I say, if they don't know, they ought to know. We're their slaves as long as we can work; we pile up their fortunes with the sweat of our brows, and yet we are to live as separate as if we were in two worlds..." Chap. 1, p. 12”” [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the exploitation of the working class, whose labor builds wealth for the rich while they remain marginalized and divided. **In simple terms:** Workers create wealth for the rich but stay poor and separated. Key Takeaway Recognize and address systemic inequality. Themes class struggle exploitation social division labor rights economic disparity Mood frustrated determined hopeful Type social critique political commentary When to use this quote - industrial revolution - modern gig economy - union negotiations - policy reform - community organizing Key Concepts capitalism class consciousness social justice power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can workers gain real power? - What policies could bridge the wealth gap? A Different Perspective It may overlook individual agency and the complexity of economic systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Rich people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-people/) [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) [Unfairness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfairness/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“if you think you see no slaves in pennsylvania," replies capt. zhang, his face as smooth as suet, "why, look again. they are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/if-you-think-you-see-no-slaves-in-pennsylvania-replies-capt-zhang-his/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Women are the cowards they are because they have been semi-slaves for so long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/women-are-the-cowards-they-are-because-they-have-been-semi-slaves-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Things I didn't have in the past I try to give to kids. I know how it feels not to have things. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mesut-ozil/things-i-didn-t-have-in-the-past-i-try-to-give-to-kids-i-know-how-it/) [Mesut Ozil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mesut-ozil/) > [“I believe God works through other people. So, if you think about that it means you are God for someone else. Every day, reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-dorfner/i-believe-god-works-through-other-people-so-if-you-think-about-that/) [Maria Dorfner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-dorfner/) > [The saying (Money cant buy you happiness) is something the rich tell poor people to make them feel better about being broke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-saying-money-cant-buy-you-happiness-is-something-the-rich-tell/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nothing good came free. Even love. You paid for all things. 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They need our understanding love and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/our-poor-people-are-great-people-a-very-lovable-people-they-don-t/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [In a state of poverty, illiteracy, people just remain exposed to all kinds of manipulation. That's what we have lived. It's easier to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kagame/in-a-state-of-poverty-illiteracy-people-just-remain-exposed-to-all/) [Paul Kagame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kagame/) > [It has long seemed ridiculous to me to suppose that the nature of things has been so poor and stingy that it provided souls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/it-has-long-seemed-ridiculous-to-me-to-suppose-that-the-nature-of/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [“Father's world was unsparing. Nothing good came free, even love. You paid for all things, and if you were poor, suffering was your currency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/father-s-world-was-unsparing-nothing-good-came-free-even-love-you/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Economists think the poor need them to tell them that they are poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/economists-think-the-poor-need-them-to-tell-them-that-they-are-poor/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Dare to be different! You'll never be successful doing the same things as the poor majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dare-to-be-different-you-ll-never-be-successful-doing-the-same-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) ## More by Elizabeth Gaskell > [“Osborne and Roger knowing that the wife of the former was a Frenchwoman, and, conscious of each other's knowledge, felt doubly awkward; while Molly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/osborne-and-roger-knowing-that-the-wife-of-the-former-was-a/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [In all disappointments sympathy is a great balm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/in-all-disappointments-sympathy-is-a-great-balm/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [But Margaret went less abroad, among machinery and men; saw less of power in its public effect, and, as it happened, she was thrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-margaret-went-less-abroad-among-machinery-and-men-saw-less-of/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“And besides, in the matter of friendship, I have observed that the disappointment here arises chiefly, not from liking our friends too well, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/and-besides-in-the-matter-of-friendship-i-have-observed-that-the/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [What other people may think of the rightness or wrongness is nothing in comparison to my own deep knowledge, my innate conviction that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/what-other-people-may-think-of-the-rightness-or-wrongness-is-nothing/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“The first question sobbed out by his choking voice, oppressed with emotion, was-- "Where is she?" They led him to the room where his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/the-first-question-sobbed-out-by-his-choking-voice-oppressed-with/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Wearily she went to bed, wearily she arose in four or five hours' time. But with the morning came hope, and a brighter view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/wearily-she-went-to-bed-wearily-she-arose-in-four-or-five-hours-time/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [No one loves me, - no one cares for me, but you, mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/no-one-loves-me-no-one-cares-for-me-but-you-mother/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [I won't say she was silly, but I think one of us was silly, and it wasn't me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/i-won-t-say-she-was-silly-but-i-think-one-of-us-was-silly-and-it-wasn/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Mr. Thorton love Margaret! Why, Margraret would never think of him, I'm sure! Such a thing has never entered her head." "Entering her heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/mr-thorton-love-margaret-why-margraret-would-never-think-of-him-i-m/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“He never looked at her; and yet, the careful avoidance of his eyes betokened that in some way he knew exactly where, if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/he-never-looked-at-her-and-yet-the-careful-avoidance-of-his-eyes/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“Ay! but mother's words are scarce, and weigh heavy. Father's liker me, and we talk a deal o' rubble; but mother's words are liker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/ay-but-mother-s-words-are-scarce-and-weigh-heavy-father-s-liker-me/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Margaret liked this smile; it was the first thing she had admired in this new friend of her father's; and the opposition of character,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/margaret-liked-this-smile-it-was-the-first-thing-she-had-admired-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Don’t be afraid,” she said, coldly, “ as far as love may go she may be worthy of you. It must have taken a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/don-t-be-afraid-she-said-coldly-as-far-as-love-may-go-she-may-be/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) [Explore all 330 Elizabeth Gaskell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) ## More Poor quotes > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/dogmatists-have-one-advantage-they-are-poor-listeners/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. 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