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= Vanity_Fair_(novel) =
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Introduction
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'Vanity Fair' is a novel by the English author William Makepeace
Thackeray, which follows the lives of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley
amid their friends and families during and after the Napoleonic Wars.
It was first published as a 19-volume monthly serial (the last
containing Parts 19 'and' 20) from 1847 to 1848, carrying the subtitle
'Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society', which reflects both its
satirisation of early 19th-century British society and the many
illustrations drawn by Thackeray to accompany the text. It was
published as a single volume in 1848 with the subtitle 'A Novel
without a Hero', reflecting Thackeray's interest in deconstructing his
era's conventions regarding literary heroism. It is sometimes
considered the "principal founder" of the Victorian domestic novel.
The story is framed as a puppet play, and the narrator, despite being
an authorial voice, is somewhat unreliable. The serial was a popular
and critical success; the novel is now considered a classic and has
inspired several audio, film, and television adaptations. It also
inspired the title of the British lifestyle magazine first published
in 1868, which became known for its caricatures of famous people of
Victorian and Edwardian society. In 2003, 'Vanity Fair' was listed at
No. 122 on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's best-loved books.
Title
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The book's title comes from John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress', a
Dissenter allegory first published in 1678. In that work, "Vanity
Fair" refers to a stop along the pilgrim's route: a never-ending fair
held in a town called Vanity, which represents man's sinful attachment
to worldly things. Thackeray does not mention Bunyan in the novel or
in his surviving letters about it, where he describes himself dealing
with "living without God in the world", but he did expect the
reference to be understood by his audience, as shown in an 1851
'Times' article likely written by Thackeray himself.
Robert Bell--whose friendship later became so great that he was buried
near Thackeray at Kensal Green Cemetery--complained that the novel
could have used "more light and air" to make it "more agreeable and
healthy". Thackeray rebutted this with Evangelist's words as the
pilgrims entered Bunyan's Vanity Fair: "The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"
From its appearance in Bunyan, "Vanity Fair" or a "vanity-fair" was
also in general use for "the world" in a range of connotations from
the blandly descriptive to the wearily dismissive to the condemning.
By the 18th century, it was generally taken as a playground and, in
the first half of the 19th century, more specifically the playground
of the idle and undeserving rich. All of these senses appear in
Thackeray's work. The name "Vanity Fair" has also been used for at
least 5 periodicals.
Plot summary
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The story is framed by its preface and coda as a puppet show taking
place at a fair; the cover illustration of the serial installments was
not of the characters but of a troupe of comic actors at Speakers'
Corner in Hyde Park. The narrator, variously a show manager or writer,
appears at times within the work itself and is somewhat unreliable,
repeating a tale of gossip at second or third hand.
In London in 1814, Rebecca Sharp ("Becky"), daughter of an art teacher
and a French dancer, is a strong-willed, cunning, moneyless young
woman determined to make her way in society. After leaving school,
Becky stays with her friend Amelia Sedley ("Emmy"), who is a
good-natured, simple-minded young girl, of a wealthy London family.
There, Becky meets the dashing and self-obsessed Captain George
Osborne (Amelia's betrothed) and Amelia's brother Joseph ("Jos")
Sedley, a clumsy and vainglorious but rich civil servant home from the
East India Company. Hoping to marry Sedley, the richest young man she
has met, Becky entices him, but she fails. George Osborne's friend
Captain William Dobbin loves Amelia, but only wishes her happiness,
which is centred on George.
Becky Sharp says farewell to the Sedley family and enters the service
of the crude and profligate baronet Sir Pitt Crawley, who has engaged
her as a governess to his daughters. Her behaviour at Sir Pitt's house
gains his favour, and after the premature death of his second wife, he
proposes marriage to her. However, he finds that Becky has secretly
married his second son, Captain Rawdon Crawley, a plot orchestrated by
Bute Crawley to ensure that Sir Pitt's elder half sister, the spinster
Miss Crawley, who is very rich (having inherited her mother's fortune)
disinherits Rawdon; and the whole Crawley family compete for her
favour so she will bequeath them her wealth. Initially her favourite
is Rawdon Crawley, but his marriage with Becky enrages her. First she
favours the family of Sir Pitt's brother, but when she dies, she
leaves her money to Sir Pitt's eldest son, also called Pitt.
News arrives that Napoleon has escaped from Elba, and as a result the
stockmarket becomes jittery, causing Amelia's stockbroker father, John
Sedley, to become bankrupt. George's rich father forbids George to
marry Amelia, who is now poor. Dobbin persuades George to marry
Amelia, and George is consequently disinherited. George Osborne,
William Dobbin and Rawdon Crawley are deployed to Brussels,
accompanied by Amelia and Becky, and Amelia's brother, Jos.
George is embarrassed by the vulgarity of Mrs. Major O'Dowd, the wife
of the head of the regiment. The newly wedded Osborne is already
growing tired of Amelia, and he becomes increasingly attracted to
Becky, which makes Amelia jealous and unhappy. He is also losing money
to Rawdon at cards and billiards. At a ball in Brussels, George gives
Becky a note inviting her to run away with him (although this fact is
not revealed until the end of the book). But then the army have
marching orders to the Battle of Waterloo, and George spends a tender
night with Amelia and leaves.
The noise of battle horrifies Amelia, and she is comforted by the
brisk but kind Mrs. O'Dowd. Becky is indifferent and makes plans for
whatever the outcome (for example, if Napoleon wins, she would aim to
become the mistress of one of his Marshals). She also makes a profit
selling her carriage and horses at inflated prices to Jos, who is
seeking to flee Brussels.
George Osborne is killed at the Battle of Waterloo, while Dobbin and
Rawdon survive the battle. Amelia bears him a posthumous son, who
carries on the name George. She returns to live in genteel poverty
with her parents, spending her life in memory of her husband and care
of her son. Dobbin pays for a small annuity for Amelia and expresses
his love for her by small kindnesses toward her and her son. She is
too much in love with her husband's memory to return Dobbin's love.
Saddened, he goes with his regiment to India for many years.
Becky also gives birth to a son, named Rawdon after his father. Becky
is a cold, distant mother, although Rawdon loves his son. Becky
continues her ascent first in post-war Paris and then in London where
she is patronised by the rich and powerful Marquis of Steyne. She is
eventually presented at court to the Prince Regent and charms him
further at a game of "acting charades" where she plays the roles of
Clytemnestra and Philomela. The elderly Sir Pitt Crawley dies and is
succeeded by his son Pitt, who had married Lady Jane Sheepshanks, Lord
Southdown's third daughter. Becky is on good terms with Pitt and Jane
originally, but Jane is disgusted by Becky's attitude to her son and
jealous of Becky's relationship with Pitt.
At the summit of their social success, Rawdon is arrested for debt,
possibly at Becky's connivance. The financial success of the Crawleys
had been a topic of gossip; in fact they were living on credit even
when it ruined those who trusted them, such as their landlord, an old
servant of the Crawley family. The Marquis of Steyne had given Becky
money, jewels, and other gifts but Becky does not use them for
expenses or to free her husband. Instead, Rawdon's letter to his
brother is received by Lady Jane, who pays the £170 that prompted his
imprisonment.
He returns home to find Becky singing to Steyne and strikes him down
on the assumption--despite her protestations of innocence--that they
are having an affair. Steyne is indignant, having assumed the £1000 he
had just given Becky was part of an arrangement with her husband.
Rawdon finds Becky's hidden bank records and leaves her, expecting
Steyne to challenge him to a duel. Instead Steyne arranges for Rawdon
to be made Governor of Coventry Island, a pestilential and
disease-ridden location. Becky, having lost both husband and
credibility, leaves England and wanders the continent, leaving her son
in the care of Pitt and Lady Jane.
As Amelia's adored son George grows up, his grandfather Mr Osborne
relents towards him (though not towards Amelia) and takes him from his
impoverished mother, who knows the rich old man will give him a better
start in life than she could manage. After twelve years abroad, both
Joseph Sedley and Dobbin return. Dobbin professes his unchanged love
to Amelia. Amelia is affectionate, but she cannot forget the memory of
her dead husband. Dobbin mediates a reconciliation between Amelia and
her father-in-law, who dies soon after. He had amended his will,
bequeathing young George half his large fortune and Amelia a generous
annuity.
After the death of Mr Osborne, Amelia, Jos, George and Dobbin go to
Pumpernickel (Weimar in Germany), where they encounter the destitute
Becky. Becky has fallen in life. She lives among card sharps and con
artists, drinking heavily and gambling. Becky enchants Jos Sedley all
over again, and Amelia is persuaded to let Becky join them. Dobbin
forbids this, and reminds Amelia of her jealousy of Becky with her
husband. Amelia feels that this dishonours the memory of her dead and
revered husband, and this leads to a complete breach between her and
Dobbin. Dobbin leaves the group and rejoins his regiment, while Becky
remains with the group.
However, Becky has decided that Amelia should marry Dobbin, even
though Becky knows Dobbin is her enemy. Becky shows Amelia George's
note, kept all this time from the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, and
Amelia finally realises that George was not the perfect man she always
thought, and that she has rejected a better man, Dobbin. Amelia and
Dobbin are reconciled and return to England. Becky and Jos stay in
Europe. Jos dies, possibly suspiciously, after signing a portion of
his money to Becky as life insurance, thereby setting her up with an
income. She returns to England, and manages a respectable life,
although all her previous friends refuse to acknowledge her.
Emmy Sedley (Amelia)
======================
Amelia, called Emmy, is good-natured but passive and naïve. Pretty
rather than beautiful, she has a snub nose and round, rosy cheeks. She
is well-liked by men, and women when few men are around, as was the
case when she was at school. She begins the work as its heroine
("selected for the very reason that she was the best-natured of all")
and marries the dashing George Osborne against his father's wishes,
but the narrator is soon forced to admit "she wasn't a heroine" after
all as she remains soppily devoted to him despite his neglect of her
and his flirtation with Becky.
After George dies in the Battle of Waterloo, she brings up little
George alone while living with her parents. She is completely
dominated by her increasingly peevish mother and her spendthrift
father, who, to finance one of his failing investment schemes, sells
the annuity Jos had provided. Amelia becomes obsessed with her son and
the memory of her husband. She ignores William Dobbin, who courts her
for years and treats him shabbily until he leaves. Only when Becky
shows her George's letter to her, indicating his unfaithfulness, can
Amelia move on. She then marries Dobbin.
In a letter to his close friend Jane Octavia Brookfield while the book
was being written, Thackeray confided that "You know you are only a
piece of Amelia, my mother is another half, my poor little wife 'y est
pour beaucoup'". Within the work, her character is compared and
connected to Iphigenia, although two of the references extend the
allusion to all daughters in all drawing rooms as potential Iphigenias
waiting to be sacrificed by their families.
Becky Sharp (Rebecca)
=======================
Rebecca Sharp, called Becky, is Amelia's opposite: an intelligent,
conniving young woman with a gift for satire. She is described as a
short, sandy-haired girl who has green eyes and a great deal of wit.
Becky is born to a French opera dancer mother and an art teacher and
artist father Francis. Fluent in both French and English, Becky has a
beautiful singing voice, plays the piano, and shows great talent as an
actress. Without a mother to guide her into marriage, Becky resolves
that "I must be my own Mamma".
She thereafter appears to be completely amoral and without conscience
and has been called the work's "anti-heroine". She does not seem to
have the ability to get attached to other people, and lies easily and
intelligently to get her way. She is extremely manipulative and, after
the first few chapters and her failure to attract Jos Sedley, is not
shown as being particularly sincere.
Never having known financial or social security even as a child, Becky
desires it above all things. Nearly everything she does is with the
intention of securing a stable position for herself, or herself and
her husband after she and Rawdon are married. She advances Rawdon's
interests tirelessly, flirting with men such as General Tufto and the
Marquis of Steyne to get him promoted. She also uses her feminine
wiles to distract men at card parties while Rawdon cheats them blind.
Marrying Rawdon Crawley in secret was a mistake, as was running off
instead of begging Miss Crawley's forgiveness. She also fails to
manipulate Miss Crawley through Rawdon so as to obtain an inheritance.
Although Becky manipulates men very easily, she is less successful
with women. She is utterly hostile to Lady Bareacres, dismissive of
Mrs. O'Dowd, and Lady Jane, although initially friendly, eventually
distrusts and dislikes her.
The exceptions to this trend are (at least initially) Miss Crawley,
her companion Miss Briggs, and her school friend Amelia; the latter is
the recipient of more-or-less the only kindnesses Becky expresses in
the work, persuading her to marry Dobbin in light of what Becky comes
to appreciate to be his good qualities and protecting Amelia from two
ruffians vying for her attentions. This comparative loyalty to Amelia
stems from Becky having no other friends at school, and Amelia having
"by a thousand kind words and offices, overcome... (Becky's)
hostility"; 'The gentle tender-hearted Amelia Sedley was the only
person to whom she could attach herself in the least; and who could
help attaching herself to Amelia?'
Beginning with her determination to be her "own Mamma", Becky begins
to assume the role of Clytemnestra. Becky and her necklace from Steyne
also allude to the fallen Eriphyle in Racine's retelling of 'Iphigenia
at Aulis', where she doubles and rescues Iphigenia. In lesser
contexts, Becky also appears as Arachne to Miss Pinkerton's Minerva
and as a variety of classical figures in the works' illustrations.
George Osborne
================
George Osborne, his father (a merchant, of considerably superior
social status to Dobbin's grocer father, albeit self made, and
ironically a mere corporal in the City Light Horse regiment of which
Dobbin senior, by this time an alderman and a knight, is colonel), and
his two sisters are close to the Sedley family until Mr. Sedley (the
father of Jos and Amelia, and George Osborne's godfather, from whom
the latter takes his middle name of 'Sedley') goes bankrupt following
some ill-advised speculation. Since George and Amelia were raised in
close company and were childhood sweethearts, George defies his father
to marry Amelia. Before father and son can be reconciled, George is
killed at the battle of Waterloo, leaving the pregnant Amelia to carry
on as well as she can.
Raised to be a selfish, vain, profligate spender, handsome and
self-obsessed, George squanders the last of the money he receives from
his father and sets nothing aside to help support Amelia. After
marrying Amelia, he finds after a couple of weeks that he is bored. He
flirts with Becky quite seriously and is reconciled to Amelia only a
short time before he is killed in battle.
William Dobbin
================
The best friend of George Osborne, Captain William Dobbin is tall,
ungainly, and not particularly handsome. He is a few years older than
George but has been friends with him since his schooldays, even though
Dobbin's father is a fig-merchant (Dobbin & Rudge, grocers and
oilmen, Thames Street, London - he is later an alderman and colonel of
the City Light Horse regiment, and knighted) and the Osbornes belong
to the genteel class and have become independently wealthy. He defends
George and is blind to his faults in many ways, although he tries to
force George to do the right thing. He pushes George to keep his
promise to marry Amelia even though Dobbin is in love with Amelia
himself. After George is killed, Dobbin puts together an annuity to
help support Amelia, ostensibly with the help of George's fellow
officers.
Later, Major and Lieutenant Colonel Dobbin discreetly does what he can
to help support Amelia and her son George. He allows Amelia to
continue with her obsession over George and does not correct her
erroneous beliefs about him. He hangs about for years, either pining
away over her while serving in India or waiting on her in person,
allowing her to take advantage of his good nature. After Amelia
finally chooses Becky's friendship over his during their stay in
Germany, Dobbin leaves in disgust. He returns when Amelia writes to
him and admits her feelings for him, marries her (despite having lost
much of his passion for her), and has a daughter whom he loves deeply.
Rawdon Crawley
================
Rawdon, the younger of the two Crawley sons, is an empty-headed
cavalry officer who is his wealthy aunt's favourite until he marries
Becky Sharp, who is of a far lower class. He permanently alienates his
aunt, who leaves her estate to Rawdon's elder brother Sir Pitt
instead. Sir Pitt has by this time inherited their father's estate,
leaving Rawdon destitute.
The well-meaning Rawdon does have a few talents in life, most of them
having to do with gambling and duelling. He is very good at cards and
billiards, and although he does not always win he is able to earn cash
by betting against less talented gamblers. He is heavily indebted
throughout most of the book, not so much for his own expenses as for
Becky's. Not particularly talented as a military officer, he is
content to let Becky manage his career.
Although Rawdon knows Becky is attractive to men, he believes her
reputation is spotless even though she is widely suspected of romantic
intrigue with General Tufto and other powerful men. Nobody dares to
suggest otherwise to Rawdon because of his temper and his reputation
for duelling. Yet other people, particularly the Marquis of Steyne,
find it impossible to believe that Crawley is unaware of Becky's
tricks. Steyne in particular believes Rawdon is fully aware Becky is
prostituting herself, and believes Rawdon is going along with the
charade in the hope of financial gain.
After Rawdon finds out the truth and leaves Becky for an assignment
overseas, he leaves his son to be brought up by his brother Sir Pitt
and his wife Lady Jane. While overseas, Rawdon dies of yellow fever.
Pitt Crawley
==============
Rawdon Crawley's elder brother inherits the Crawley estate from his
father, the boorish and vulgar Sir Pitt, and also inherits the estate
of his wealthy aunt, Miss Crawley, after she disinherits Rawdon. Pitt
is very religious and has political aspirations, although not many
people appreciate his intelligence or wisdom because there's not much
there to appreciate.
Somewhat pedantic and conservative, Pitt does nothing to help Rawdon
or Becky even when they fall on hard times. This is chiefly due to the
influence of his wife, Lady Jane, who dislikes Becky because of her
callous treatment of her son, and also because Becky repaid Lady
Jane's earlier kindness by patronising her and flirting with Sir Pitt.
Miss Matilda Crawley
======================
The elderly Miss Crawley is everyone's favourite wealthy aunt. Sir
Pitt and Rawdon both dote on her, although Rawdon is her favourite
nephew and sole heir until he marries Becky. While Miss Crawley likes
Becky and keeps her around to entertain her with sarcasm and wit, and
while she loves scandal and particularly stories of unwise marriage,
she does not want scandal or unwise marriage in her family. A
substantial part of the early section of the book deals with the
efforts the Crawleys make to kowtow to Miss Crawley in the hope of
receiving a big inheritance.
Thackeray spent time in Paris with his maternal grandmother Harriet
Becher, and Miss Crawley's character is said to be based on her.
Joseph Sedley
===============
Amelia's older brother, Joseph "Jos" Sedley, is a "nabob", who made a
respectable fortune as a collector in India. Obese and self-important
but very shy and insecure, he is attracted to Becky Sharp but
circumstances prevent him from proposing. He never marries, but when
he meets Becky again he is easily manipulated into falling in love
with her. Jos is not a courageous or intelligent man, displaying his
cowardice at the Battle of Waterloo by trying to flee and purchasing
both of Becky's overpriced horses. Becky ensnares him again near the
end of the book and, it is hinted, murders him for his life insurance.
Publication history
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Thackeray may have begun working out some of the details of 'Vanity
Fair' as early as 1841 but probably began writing it in late 1844.
Like many novels of the time, 'Vanity Fair' was published as a serial
before being sold in book form. It was printed in 20 monthly parts
between January 1847 and July 1848 for 'Punch' by Bradbury & Evans
in London. The first three had already been completed before
publication, while the others were written after it had begun to sell.
As was standard practice, the last part was a "double number"
containing parts 19 and 20. Surviving texts, his notes, and letters
show that adjustments were made - e.g., the Battle of Waterloo was
delayed twice - but that the broad outline of the story and its
principal themes were well established from the beginning of
publication.
:No. 1 (January 1847) Ch. 1-4
:No. 2 (February 1847) Ch. 5-7
:No. 3 (March 1847) Ch. 8-11
:No. 4 (April 1847) Ch. 12-14
:No. 5 (May 1847) Ch. 15-18
:No. 6 (June 1847) Ch. 19-22
:No. 7 (July 1847) Ch. 23-25
:No. 8 (August 1847) Ch. 26-29
:No. 9 (September 1847) Ch. 30-32
:No. 10 (October 1847) Ch. 33-35
:No. 11 (November 1847) Ch. 36-38
:No. 12 (December 1847) Ch. 39-42
:No. 13 (January 1848) Ch. 43-46
:No. 14 (February 1848) Ch. 47-50
:No. 15 (March 1848) Ch. 51-53
:No. 16 (April 1848) Ch. 54-56
:No. 17 (May 1848) Ch. 57-60
:No. 18 (June 1848) Ch. 61-63
:No. 19/20 (July 1848) Ch. 64-67
The parts resembled pamphlets and contained the text of several
chapters between outer pages of steel engravings and advertising. Wood
engravings, which could be set along with normal moveable type,
appeared within the text. The same engraved illustration appeared on
the canary-yellow cover of each monthly part; this colour became
Thackeray's signature, as a light blue-green was Dickens's, allowing
passers-by to notice a new Thackeray number in a bookstall from a
distance.
'Vanity Fair' was the first work that Thackeray published under his
own name and was extremely well received at the time. After the
conclusion of its serial publication, it was printed as a bound volume
by Bradbury & Evans in 1848 and was quickly picked up by other
London printers as well. As a collected work, the novels bore the
subtitle 'A Novel without a Hero'. By the end of 1859, royalties on
'Vanity Fair' had only given Thackeray about £2000, a third of his
take from 'The Virginians', but was responsible for his still more
lucrative lecture tours in Britain and the United States.
From his first draft and following publication, Thackeray occasionally
revised his allusions to make them more accessible for his readers. In
Chapter 5, an original "Prince Whadyecallem" became "Prince Ahmed" by
the 1853 edition. In Chapter 13, a passage about the filicidal
Biblical figure Jephthah was removed, although references to Iphigenia
remained important. In Chapter 56, Thackeray originally confused
Samuel - the boy whose mother Hannah had given him up when called to
by God - with Eli, the old priest to whose care he was entrusted; this
mistake was not corrected until the 1889 edition, after Thackeray's
death.
The serials had been subtitled 'Pen and Pencil Sketches of English
Society' and both they and the early bound versions featured
Thackeray's own illustrations. These sometimes provided
symbolically-freighted images, such as one of the female characters
being portrayed as a man-eating mermaid. In at least one case, a major
plot point is provided through an image and its caption. Although the
text makes it clear that other characters suspect Becky Sharp to have
murdered her second husband, there is nothing definitive in the text
itself. However, an image reveals her overhearing Jos pleading with
Dobbin while clutching a small white object in her hand. The caption
that this is 'Becky's second appearance in the character of
Clytemnestra' clarifies that she did indeed murder him for the
insurance money, likely through laudanum or another poison.
"The final three illustrations of 'Vanity Fair' are tableaux that
insinuate visually what the narrator is unwilling to articulate: that
Becky... has actually been substantially rewarded - by society - for
her crimes." One of the Thackeray's plates for the 11th issue of
'Vanity Fair' was suppressed from publication by threat of prosecution
for libel, so great was the resemblance of its depiction of Lord
Steyne to the Marquis of Hertford. Despite their relevance, most
modern editions either do not reproduce all the illustrations or do so
with poor detail.
* .
* , reprinted 1925.
* , without illustration.
* .
* , reprinted 1898.
* , reprinted 1886.
* .
* .
* , in four editions.
*
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* , reprinted 1995.
* .
* , reprinted 2008.
* .
* , reprinted 2003, 2004, & 2008.
* .
* .
* .
* . &
Contemporaneous reception
===========================
The style is highly indebted to Henry Fielding. Thackeray meant the
book to be not only entertaining but also instructive, an intention
demonstrated through the book's narration and through Thackeray's
private correspondence. A letter to his editor at 'Punch' expressed
his belief that "our profession... is as serious as the parson's own".
He considered it his own coming-of-age as a writer and greatest work.
Critics hailed the work as a literary treasure before the last part of
the serial was published. In her correspondence, Charlotte Brontë was
effusive regarding his illustrations as well: "You will not easily
find a second Thackeray. How he can render, with a few black lines and
dots, shades of expression, so fine, so real; traits of character so
minute, so subtle, so difficult to seize and fix, I cannot tell--I can
only wonder and admire... If Truth were again a goddess, Thackeray
should be her high priest."
The early reviewers took the debt to Bunyan as self-evident and
compared Becky with Pilgrim and Thackeray with Faithful. Although they
were superlative in their praise, some expressed disappointment at the
unremittingly dark portrayal of human nature, fearing Thackeray had
taken his dismal metaphor too far. In response to these critics,
Thackeray explained that he saw people for the most part as
"abominably foolish and selfish".
The unhappy ending was intended to inspire readers to look inward at
their own shortcomings. Other critics took notice of or exception to
the social subversion in the work; in his correspondence, Thackeray
stated his criticism was not reserved to the upper class: "My object
is to make every body engaged, engaged in the pursuit of Vanity Fair
and I must carry my story through in this dreary minor key, with only
occasional hints here and there of better things--of better things
which it does not become me to preach".
Analysis
==========
The novel is considered a classic of English literature, though some
critics claim that it has structural problems; Thackeray sometimes
lost track of the huge scope of his work, mixing up characters' names
and minor plot details. The number of allusions and references it
contains can make it difficult for modern readers to follow.
The subtitle, 'A Novel without a Hero', refers to the characters all
being flawed to a greater or lesser degree; even the most sympathetic
have weaknesses, for example Captain Dobbin, who is prone to vanity
and melancholy. The human weaknesses Thackeray illustrates are mostly
to do with greed, idleness, and snobbery, and the scheming, deceit and
hypocrisy which mask them. None of the characters is wholly evil,
although Becky's manipulative, amoral tendencies make her come pretty
close. However, even Becky, who is amoral and cunning, is thrown on
her own resources by poverty and its stigma. (She is the orphaned
daughter of a poor artist and an opera dancer.) Thackeray's tendency
to highlight faults in all of his characters displays his desire for a
greater level of realism in his fiction compared to the rather
unlikely or idealised people in many contemporary novels.
The novel is a satire of society as a whole, characterised by
hypocrisy and opportunism, but it is not necessarily a reforming
novel; there is no clear suggestion that social or political changes
or greater piety and moral reformism could improve the nature of
society. It thus paints a fairly bleak view of the human condition.
This bleak portrait is continued with Thackeray's own role as an
omniscient narrator, one of the writers best known for using the
technique. He continually offers asides about his characters and
compares them to actors and puppets, but his cheek goes even as far as
his readers, accusing all who may be interested in such "Vanity Fairs"
as being either "of a lazy, or a benevolent, or a sarcastic mood". As
Lord David Cecil remarked, "Thackeray liked people, and for the most
part he thought them well-intentioned. But he also saw very clearly
that they were all in some degree weak and vain, self-absorbed and
self-deceived." Amelia begins as a warm-hearted and friendly girl,
though sentimental and naive, but by the story's end she is portrayed
as vacuous and shallow. Dobbin appears first as loyal and magnanimous,
if unaware of his own worth; by the end of the story he is presented
as a tragic fool, a prisoner of his own sense of duty who knows he is
wasting his gifts on Amelia but is unable to live without her. The
novel's increasingly grim outlook can take readers aback, as
characters whom the reader at first holds in sympathy are shown to be
unworthy of such regard.
The work is often compared to the other great historical novel of the
Napoleonic Wars, Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'. While Tolstoy's work has a
greater emphasis on the historical detail and the effect the war has
upon his protagonists, Thackeray instead uses the conflict as a
backdrop to the lives of his characters. The momentous events on the
continent do not always have an equally important influence on the
behaviours of Thackeray's characters. Rather their faults tend to
compound over time. This is in contrast to the redemptive power the
conflict has on the characters in 'War and Peace'. For Thackeray, the
Napoleonic Wars as a whole can be thought of as one more of the
vanities expressed in the title.
A common critical topic is to address various objects in the book and
the characters' relationships with them, such as Rebecca's diamonds or
the piano Amelia values when she thinks it came from George and
dismisses upon learning that Dobbin provided it. Marxist and similar
schools of criticism that go farther and see Thackeray condemning
consumerism and capitalism. However, while Thackeray is pointed in his
criticism of the commodification of women in the marriage market, his
variations on Ecclesiastes's "all is vanity" are often interpreted as
personal rather than institutional. He also has broad sympathy with a
measure of comfort and financial and physical "snugness". At one
point, the narrator even makes a "robust defense of his lunch": "It is
all vanity to be sure: but who will not own to liking a little of it?
I should like to know what well-constituted mind, merely because it is
transitory, dislikes roast-beef?"
Despite the clear implications of Thackeray's illustration on the
topic, John Sutherland has argued against Becky having murdered Jos on
the basis of Thackeray's criticism of the "Newgate novels" of Edward
Bulwer-Lytton and other authors of Victorian crime fiction. Although
what Thackeray principally objected to was glorification of a
criminal's deeds, his intent may have been to entrap the Victorian
reader with their own prejudices and make them think the worst of
Becky Sharp even when they have no proof of her actions.
Adaptations
======================================================================
The book has inspired a number of adaptations:
Radio
=======
*'Vanity Fair' (7 January 1940), the CBS Radio series 'Campbell
Playhouse', hosted by Orson Welles, broadcast a one-hour adaptation
featuring Helen Hayes and Agnes Moorehead.
*'Vanity Fair' (6 December 1947), the NBC Radio series 'Favorite
Story', hosted by Ronald Colman, broadcast a half-hour adaptation with
Joan Lorring as "Becky Sharp"
*'Vanity Fair' (2004), BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of the
novel by Stephen Wyatt, starring Emma Fielding as Becky, Stephen Fry
as the Narrator, Katy Cavanagh as Amelia, David Calder, Philip Fox,
Jon Glover, Geoffrey Whitehead as Mr. Osborne, Ian Masters as Mr.
Sedley, Alice Hart as Maria Osborne, and Margaret Tyzack as Miss
Crawley; this was subsequently re-broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 20
fifteen-minute episodes.
*'Vanity Fair' (2019), BBC Radio 4 broadcast a three-part adaptation
of the novel by Jim Poyser with additional material by Al Murray
(Thackeray's actual descendant, who also stars as Thackeray), with
Ellie White as Becky Sharp, Helen O'Hara as Amelia Sedley, Blake
Ritson as Rawdon Crawley, Rupert Hill as George Osborne and Graeme
Hawley as Dobbin.
Silent films
==============
*'Vanity Fair' (1911), directed by Charles Kent
*'Vanity Fair' (1915), directed by Charles Brabin
*'Vanity Fair' (1922), directed by W. Courtney Rowden
*'Vanity Fair' (1923), directed by Hugo Ballin
Sound films
=============
*'Vanity Fair' (1932), directed by Chester M. Franklin and starring
Myrna Loy, updating the story to make Becky Sharp a social-climbing
governess
*'Becky Sharp' (1935), starring Miriam Hopkins and Frances Dee, the
first feature film shot in full-spectrum Technicolor
*'Vanity Fair' (2004), directed by Mira Nair and starring Reese
Witherspoon as Becky Sharp and Natasha Little, who had played Becky
Sharp in the earlier television miniseries of 'Vanity Fair', as Lady
Jane Sheepshanks
Television
============
*'Vanity Fair' (1956-7), a BBC serial adapted by Constance Cox
starring Joyce Redman
*'Vanity Fair' (1967), a BBC miniseries adapted by Rex Tucker starring
Susan Hampshire as Becky Sharp, for which she received an Emmy Award
in 1973. This version was also broadcast in 1972 in the US on PBS
television as part of 'Masterpiece Theatre'.
*'Yarmarka tshcheslaviya' (1976), a two-episode TV miniseries directed
by Igor Ilyinsky and Mariette Myatt, staged by the Moscow State
Academic Maly Theater of the USSR)
*'Vanity Fair' (1987), a BBC miniseries starring Eve Matheson as Becky
Sharp, Rebecca Saire as Amelia Sedley, James Saxon as Jos Sedley and
Simon Dormandy as Dobbin.
*'Vanity Fair' (1998), a BBC miniseries starring Natasha Little as
Becky Sharp
*'Vanity Fair' (2018), a seven-part ITV and Amazon Studios adaptation,
starring Olivia Cooke as Becky Sharp, Tom Bateman as Captain Rawdon
Crawley, and Michael Palin as Thackeray.
Theatre
=========
* 'Becky Sharp' (1899), play written by Langdon Mitchell
* 'Becky Sharp' (1924) play written by "Olive Conway"
* 'Vanity Fair' (1946), play written by Constance Cox
* 'Vanity Fair' (2017), play written by Kate Hamill
* 'Vanity' (2023), musical written and composed by Bernard J. Taylor
Fiction
=========
* 'Becky' (2023), novel written by Sarah May
Bibliography
==============
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* , reprinted 2009 by Routledge.
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External links
======================================================================
*
*
*
*[
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/thackeray/gallery1.html
The Victorian Web] - Thackeray's Illustrations to Vanity Fair
*[
http://www.errata.wikidot.com/9781853260193] - Glossary of foreign
words and phrases in Vanity Fair
License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_Fair_(novel)
