Editing Brief Encounter (section)

==Social context==
{{tone|section|date=March 2017}}
Frances Gray acknowledges a common criticism of the play: why do the characters not consummate the affair? Gray argues that the characters' restraint is rooted in [[class consciousness]]. While the working classes might be seen as vulgar and the upper classes as frivolous, the middle class, which sees itself as the moral backbone of society, upholds these values. Coward, whose principal audience was the middle class, was reluctant to question or jeopardize these norms.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gray |first=Frances |title=Noel Coward |publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education |year=1987 |isbn=1-3491-8802-6 |series=Macmillan Modern Dramatists |location=London, UK}}</ref>

In her narration, Laura emphasizes that what ultimately holds her back is not class consciousness, but her deep-seated horror at the thought of betraying her husband and her moral principles, despite being profoundly tempted by her emotions. This tension between desire and duty is a key element that has contributed to the film's enduring appeal.

The values that Laura precariously, but ultimately successfully, upholds were widely shared and respected at the time of the film's setting. For instance, the stigma associated with divorce was significant enough to cause [[Abdication of Edward VIII|Edward VIII to abdicate]] in 1936. Updating the story to a more contemporary setting might have rendered these values obsolete, thereby undermining the plot's credibility—a factor that may explain why [[Brief Encounter (1974 film)|the 1974 remake]] failed to resonate as strongly.<ref>{{cite book |last=Handford |first=Peter |title=Sounds of Railways |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |year=1980 |isbn=0-7153-7631-4 |location=[[Newton Abbot]]}}</ref>

The film was released against the backdrop of the Second World War, a period when "brief encounters" were common, and women experienced greater sexual and [[economic freedom]] than before. In ''British National Cinema'' (1997), Sarah Street argues that "''Brief Encounter'' articulated a range of feelings about infidelity that invited easy identification, whether it involved one's husband, lover, children, or country (p.&nbsp;55). In this context, [[Feminism|feminist]] critics have interpreted the film as an attempt to stabilize relationships and restore the pre-war social order.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=1946-08-26 |title=THE SCREEN IN REVIEW |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/08/26/archives/the-screen-in-review.html |access-date=2023-02-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In his 1993 BFI book on the film, [[Richard Dyer]] notes that, with the rise of homosexual law reform, gay men also identified with the characters' plight, seeing it as analogous to their own social constraints in forming and maintaining relationships. [[Sean O'Connor (producer)|Sean O'Connor]] further considers the film an "allegorical representation of forbidden love," informed by Coward's experiences as a closeted gay man.{{sfnp|O'Connor|1998|p=157}}