 The academic Nick Rance identifies three categories of Raffles stories : " the rise of the New Woman " , in which Raffles either escapes from romantic <unk> , or uses the <unk> of a woman in order to achieve his aims ; " the rise of the <unk> " , in which Raffles steals from the <unk> <unk> as much as the upper classes ; and those stories that seek " to <unk> or re @-@ establish a sense of middle @-@ class identity " . The last category is based on Raffles not being a member of " Society " , only being accepted because of his cricketing ability and associated fame . From this point , Raffles 's stealing from the rich is a " rearguard action on behalf of the puritan values " which was perceived as making up middle @-@ class values , although Rance also states that those values are obscured because of the changing boundaries between the classes . <unk> makes the same point , and considers that " Raffles 's daring exploits and fantastic adventures symbolized the growing rebellion against Victorian sensibility at the turn of the century " . 
