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The phrase “from rags to riches” originated from Horatio Alger’s 19th-century children’s books about poor boys who achieved financial security through hard work. The concept is also found in fairy tales and is associated with the American Dream. However, it is not unique to the US, and similar stories exist in other industrialized nations. While these narratives have been criticized for promoting capitalism, they continue to capture the public’s imagination.
From rags to riches is a very common phrase in English that is often used to describe people or stories of people who start their lives in extreme poverty and end up feeling comfortable and affluent, often thanks to hard work or talent exceptional. The idiom is thought to have originated from the writings of Horatio Alger, an American writer, whose most popular 19th-century works were aimed at children and described stories of extremely poor boys whose virtuous deeds or hard work brought them a better financial security. Ironically, most of these fictional characters didn’t get rich, but they got jobs and the chance to improve their situation in life.
While going from poverty to wealth may be an idiom that emerged in the 19th century, the concept of going from poverty to wealth is not new. It’s a common theme in fairy tales. Cinderella moves from a world where she literally wears rags and does all the household chores to marry the prince, and she notes that it is her virtuous actions of hers, as well as her beauty, that achieve this. Many other princesses have a rags-to-riches origin in fairy tales.
The phrase is often thought to be related to the American Dream most of all, and there is certainly evidence that many immigrants saw America as a place where they could end poverty and have the opportunity to do wonderful things. Yet the idea of getting rich after a long period of poverty is not unique to the United States and many other industrialized nations told similar stories in the 19th century as well, and long before. In particular, a valuable concept in England was the idea of the serious person, the person who kept trying again and again, even when life got tough. Seriousness is one of the main traits of characters like David Copperfield, in Charles Dickens’ novel of the same name, which is semi-autobiographical. David does indeed go from penury to riches, as did Dickens, whose father was at one point imprisoned for debt.
The work of Horatio Alger and many others portraying characters who have risen from rags to riches began to be somewhat looked down upon or considered minor literature in the 20th century. However, children still enjoyed some of these tales, as evidenced by the continued popularity of fairy tales and even some legitimate science fiction books such as Robert Heinlein’s Starman Jones, written in the 1920s. While literary critics may find these tales corny or of minor significance, they still tend to capture the imagination, and the real-life examples of people who have risen from rags to riches are often of great interest to the public.
One criticism of these narratives, especially those that are true biographies, is that the more extreme ones encourage capitalism. Such stories can only be possible in a capitalist society. Unfortunately, capitalism depends on some people being left in rags, while other forms of economic structures such as socialism tend to ensure that nobody wears rags, but nobody gets rich.
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