The function and shape of the family was completely transformed by life in the industrial city. (i) Ties between members of households loosened (ii) Among working class the institution of marriage tended to break down (iii) Women of upper and middles classes in Britain, faced increasingly high level of isolation.Their lives though were made easier by maids who cooked, cleared and cared for young children on low wages. (iv) Women who worked had some control over their lives, specially among the lower social classes. Many reformers felt that marriage as an institution had broken down. (v) When women lost their industrial jobs, conservative people forced them to withdraw into their homes. 20 th century saw another change, the family became the heart of new market – of goods, services and of ideas. Families after the war became smaller units.