Published in the late 19th century, Abbott's novel uses the narrative to satirize the social structure of Victorian Britain in terms of social castes, classes, dogmas, and gender issues. Flatland acts as the allegory and the other dimensions as foils to the two-dimensional paradigm. The social structure renders the Victorian civilization to shapes and figures with polygons representing the men and lines the women. Alluding to the gender oppression of the era with the protagonist, the Square, with the same contempt towards women. Even though the women are in a two-dimensional paradigm they are one-dimensional in a similar way the residents of Lineland are perceived. Moreover, the regulations placed to ‘manage’ the women in Flatland directly allude to the social rules in the 19th century that imposed oppressive female roles.
Social castes in Flatland are extremely restrictive in terms of social mobility; polygons cannot progress into a higher caste in one generation. The next generation of a polygon achieves one more side and so on and therefore social advancement is generational. This illustrates a simplified idea of the rigidity in progressing into higher social classes in the Victorian social structure. The subdivision of castes into lower order, middle to higher and noble orders reflect the structure of working-class to the bourgeoisie, aristocrats and nobles.
The social stratification was restrictive to serve the structures adopted to guarantee economic and political constancy. The working-class in the newly industrializing world worked the menial and hard labor jobs to ensure the running of the mechanized economy. The bourgeoisie were primarily academics and professionals in their field creating the caste of middle-classes. Whereas the higher classes are aristocrats with vast wealth, ownership of land, and links to royalty.
The nobles in Flatland are circles upheld as the morally superior caste comprising of priests and ordained ministers. Therefore delving into the idea of dogmas and churches and the role they played in creating the social constructions of the Victorian era. Furthermore, the rising scientific skepticism that collided with the Anglican churches as scientific advancements were taking place. The Square's claims regarding different paradigms and new perceptions are received with doubt and his words considered heresy. Expressing the difficulty of disrupting the social order and difficulty of accepting new discoveries and scientific notions of the era and through history.
