Social Position Reflected in Roxana and EmmaThere were serious conflicts between the City Party and the Country Party in 18th century Britain. The country party, mainly composed of nobles, was based on land interests, while the city party made money through trade and was based on money interests. The Country Party passed the Land Qualification Act to maintain its power. However, this act simply encouraged more wealthy men to purchase property in the countryside, in many cases displacing the old landed families who truly represented the "landed interests". ¡±[1][1] We can see this shift in power through these two works. , Roxane and Emma. Daniel Defoe was born in London, so he naturally got involved in the City party. Roxana's origin is primarily urban while Emma's is the small country society called Highbury. As we can see the difference in the background of two works, we can also find a different attitude towards the city and the countryside in these two works. I will write about these differences in terms of conception of the gentleman, rank and different attitude towards city life. Defoe says that younger sons who have careers in law and commerce are the backbone of the English nation. The uneducated eldest son is an insult to the word gentleman: he is a man who is of no use to himself or to others.[2][2] He believes that trade is more important than land. We find this attitude in Roxana. Roxana says: “A true thoroughbred merchant is the best gentleman in the nation; that in matters of knowledge, manners, and judgment of things, the merchant surpassed many members of the nobility¡± (Roxana 170, page numbers of other Roxana references will be placed in parentheses in the text). She also says: “That a domain is a pond; but that a trade was a spring ¡± (170). The Dutch merchant also says that "the merchants of London, speaking of the best kinds of trades, could spend more money in their families, and yet give a better fortune to their children, than, generally speaking, the nobility of 'England. from 1000 l¡±(170). We can know that Roxana has a very positive view of a trader. She thinks that a trader is better than a nobility. However, this is perceived differently, as Emma shows. When Emma talks about Mrs. Elton's father, she says this: ¡°a Bristol? merchant, of course, you have to call him; but, as the whole profits of his mercantile life appeared so very moderate, it was not unjust to guess that the dignity of his mercantile life had also been very moderate (Emma, 164).