Victorian bolg #1: Historical Context: Poor and Rich Differences

In the novel there seems to be a big problem when it can to wealth. For example, when Dorian Gray wanted to marry a poorer girl, Sibyl Vane, there was some unhappiness in his circle of friends about how poor she was. Since he discovered her in a greasy performance hall, her intelligence and refinement is questioned.  In the Victorian era, the gap between the rich and the poor was greatly increasing. While members of the middle class were becoming more prosperous, the poor were getting poorer. So the situation with Vane is accurate to the actual Victorian times because "marrying up" and not down was preferable. This also shows the callousness of the upper class towards the lower classes of this era. Lord Henry and Dorian Gray didn't even seem to care that the little poor girl has just sacrificed herself for love.