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.

中文翻译：

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综合作为社会观察站

19 世纪欧洲城市引入了公共汽车和有轨电车服务，不仅带来了更大的流动性，而且还增加了对社会多样性的接触。城市居民现在经常发现自己与来自不同社会背景的人密切接触。这一时期的文本经常证明这种遭遇的尴尬以及他们导致的对社会差异的高度认识。本文考察了 19 世纪巴黎、伦敦和马德里城市交通系统中社会“他者”的文学表现。特别地，它探讨了资产阶级观察者如何对贫困和低等乘客做出反应并与之互动，这些遭遇的呈现视角以及阶级差异的概念化和表现方式。通过仔细阅读，它确定了该时期作品中常用的六种方法：(a) 贫困的审美化或精神化；(b) 言语与沉默的对比；(c) 行为的社会分析；(d) 类并列；(e) 相互理解的故事；(f) 同情心的教训。