William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, published serially from 1847 to 1848, is often considered one of the finest and most enduring novels of the 19th century. Subtitled “A Novel Without a Hero,” it represents a complex tapestry of Victorian society, unearthing its hypocrisies, vanities, and moral ambiguities. Through its memorable characters, rich narrative, and biting satire, Vanity Fair delves into the greed, ambition, and superficiality that drive human behavior. As Thackeray guides us through the lives of Becky Sharp, Amelia Sedley, and their circles, he presents a caustic yet profound critique of the social, economic, and gender dynamics of his time. This article explores Vanity Fair’s intricacies, offering an in-depth summary, character analysis, and thematic exploration.
Summary of Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair follows two contrasting female protagonists, Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley, from their youth at Miss Pinkerton’s Academy to adulthood. The novel begins as Becky, an orphaned daughter of an artist and a French opera singer, leaves Miss Pinkerton’s with her friend Amelia, who belongs to a wealthy merchant family. From the outset, Thackeray sets the stage for Becky’s ambition and cunning. She rejects the life of poverty into which she was born, determined to rise through any means necessary.
Upon her departure, Becky spends time at Amelia’s house, where she meets Amelia’s brother Jos Sedley, a wealthy but bumbling civil servant in the East India Company. Becky’s initial attempt to charm Jos into marriage fails, but her ambition remains unshaken. Meanwhile, Amelia is engaged to George Osborne, a dashing but shallow soldier. However, when the Sedley family faces financial ruin, George’s father breaks off the engagement, viewing the Sedleys as beneath them. Despite his father’s disapproval, George marries Amelia, though his affection for her rapidly fades. His treatment of her throughout the novel is marked by cruelty and indifference, and their relationship highlights the deep emotional suffering Amelia endures for love.
Becky, undeterred by her initial failure with Jos, takes a position as a governess for Sir Pitt Crawley’s family. Her intelligence and charm soon win over the eccentric Sir Pitt, who proposes marriage. However, it is revealed that Becky has secretly married Pitt’s son, Rawdon Crawley, a dissipated and dashing officer. Rawdon’s wealthy aunt, Miss Crawley, who holds the key to the Crawley fortune, disinherits him after learning of the marriage, forcing Becky and Rawdon into a life of financial precariousness. Despite their initial passion, the Crawleys’ marriage is undermined by Becky’s unquenchable thirst for social status. She ingratiates herself with the nobility, most notably the scheming and immoral Marquess of Steyne, in an attempt to climb the social ladder.
As the narrative unfolds, both Amelia’s and Becky’s lives become intertwined with the broader events of the Napoleonic Wars, culminating in the Battle of Waterloo. George Osborne dies at Waterloo, leaving Amelia widowed and heartbroken, while Rawdon Crawley survives. After the war, Becky’s social ascent continues, albeit through increasingly unscrupulous means, while Amelia’s life spirals into poverty and grief. Eventually, Rawdon abandons Becky upon discovering her affair with Lord Steyne, leaving her to fend for herself in an unforgiving world. Meanwhile, Amelia is pursued by Captain William Dobbin, George’s loyal friend, who has loved her from afar for years. Only after much suffering and hardship does Amelia finally recognize Dobbin’s devotion, leading to their eventual marriage.
The novel concludes with a sense of ambiguity. Becky, although disgraced, continues to survive through her wiles, while Amelia and Dobbin achieve a form of contentment, though far from a traditional “happy ending.” Thackeray’s world of Vanity Fair, much like the world it reflects, is one where success and failure are often more a matter of circumstance and moral compromise than virtue.
Character Analysis
Becky Sharp
Becky Sharp is the quintessential anti-heroine, a character of dazzling intelligence, wit, and ruthlessness. From her humble beginnings, Becky refuses to accept the limitations of her social status. Her manipulative nature and willingness to exploit others set her apart from the more passive and virtuous women of her time. However, Thackeray’s portrayal of Becky is far from one-dimensional. While her moral compass is deeply flawed, her determination and independence make her a remarkably modern figure. She is both a victim of her circumstances and an active agent in her fate, using her beauty and intelligence to challenge the constraints of Victorian society.
Becky’s relationship with money and status is central to her character. Throughout the novel, she engages in a relentless pursuit of wealth and social standing, yet her success is always fleeting. Thackeray presents Becky as a symbol of the futility and emptiness of worldly ambition. Her charm and adaptability allow her to ascend socially, but her lack of genuine human connection leaves her isolated and unfulfilled. Despite her numerous faults, Becky’s resourcefulness and resilience make her a compelling and sympathetic figure in a world that offers few opportunities for women of her class.
Amelia Sedley
In stark contrast to Becky, Amelia Sedley embodies the traditional ideals of femininity: kindness, passivity, and self-sacrifice. However, Thackeray’s portrayal of Amelia is not entirely favorable. While she is undoubtedly virtuous and loving, her passivity and blind devotion to George Osborne make her an ineffective and, at times, frustrating character. Amelia’s inability to recognize George’s selfishness and cruelty, as well as her initial rejection of Dobbin’s love, underscores her lack of agency and self-awareness.
Amelia’s journey throughout the novel is one of gradual disillusionment. Her blind loyalty to George, even after his death, illustrates the extent to which she has been conditioned to value love and marriage above all else. Only through her hardships and Dobbin’s unwavering devotion does Amelia eventually come to realize her own worth and assert some measure of independence. In this sense, Amelia’s character arc represents the struggles of women in a patriarchal society who must navigate between their personal desires and the expectations imposed upon them.
William Dobbin
Captain William Dobbin serves as the novel’s moral compass, a figure of unwavering loyalty, kindness, and integrity. In contrast to George Osborne, who is shallow and self-serving, Dobbin represents the ideal of true love and sacrifice. His unrequited love for Amelia drives much of his character’s development, and his patience and humility make him a stark contrast to the more flamboyant figures in the novel. However, Dobbin is not without flaws. His excessive self-effacement and tendency to idealize Amelia render him somewhat passive, mirroring the same lack of assertiveness that plagues Amelia.
Dobbin’s character arc is one of quiet perseverance. His love for Amelia, though seemingly hopeless for much of the novel, ultimately triumphs, though not in the conventional sense. Rather than a grand romantic resolution, Dobbin’s reward is a life of quiet contentment with Amelia, marked by mutual respect and understanding rather than passion. In this way, Thackeray suggests that true happiness lies not in idealized love but in the shared experiences and companionship that come with time and patience.
Rawdon Crawley
Rawdon Crawley, like George Osborne, represents the archetype of the dashing but ultimately shallow military officer. However, unlike George, Rawdon is portrayed with a greater degree of complexity and sympathy. His initial love for Becky is genuine, and he is, at least initially, blind to her manipulative nature. As their marriage deteriorates, Rawdon’s disillusionment with Becky becomes one of the novel’s most tragic elements. His eventual abandonment of her, spurred by her affair with Lord Steyne, marks the point at which he asserts his own moral boundaries, even if it leads to his own downfall.
Rawdon’s loyalty to Becky, even as she increasingly disregards him, makes him a more sympathetic figure than his fellow officers. Yet his ultimate fate—estranged from Becky and his son, and living a modest life—reflects Thackeray’s broader critique of the empty promises of ambition and social advancement. Like many characters in Vanity Fair, Rawdon’s journey is one of moral compromise and disillusionment.
Themes in Vanity Fair
The Illusion of Social Mobility
One of the central themes of Vanity Fair is the illusion of social mobility and the futility of ambition. Becky Sharp’s relentless pursuit of wealth and status drives much of the novel’s plot, yet her success is always temporary and unsatisfying. Thackeray portrays the social hierarchy of Victorian England as rigid and unforgiving, with few opportunities for true advancement, especially for women. While Becky manages to climb the social ladder through her charm and cunning, her rise is fraught with moral compromises and personal betrayals. Ultimately, her ambitions leave her isolated and disgraced, a cautionary tale of the dangers of vanity and greed.
Similarly, characters like George Osborne and Sir Pitt Crawley, who enjoy positions of power and privilege, are depicted as deeply flawed and morally bankrupt. Thackeray’s critique of the aristocracy and the wealthy merchant class is biting, exposing the hypocrisy and shallowness that underpin their success. In this way, Vanity Fair serves as a scathing indictment of a society that prizes wealth and status above integrity and human connection.
Gender and Power
Gender dynamics play a crucial role in Vanity Fair, particularly in the ways women navigate power and agency within a patriarchal society. Becky Sharp, in particular, embodies the complexities of female ambition in a world that offers few opportunities for women to assert control over their lives. Her manipulation of men like Jos Sedley, Sir Pitt Crawley, and Lord Steyne reflects the limited avenues available to women for achieving financial security and social status. However, Becky’s reliance on her beauty and charm ultimately proves unsustainable, as her relationships with these men deteriorate when they recognize her for what she truly is: a woman determined to survive by any means necessary.
Amelia Sedley, on the other hand, represents the traditional model of femininity, characterized by passivity and self-sacrifice. Yet, as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that Amelia’s adherence to these ideals leaves her vulnerable to exploitation and heartbreak. Her unwavering devotion to George Osborne, despite his callousness, highlights the limitations of the Victorian ideal of womanhood. Through both Becky and Amelia, Thackeray explores the ways in which women are constrained by societal expectations, while also demonstrating their resilience in the face of adversity.
The Vanity of Human Desires
As the title suggests, Vanity Fair is a meditation on the vanity and futility of human desires. Thackeray’s world is one in which characters constantly strive for wealth, power, and social standing, yet their pursuits are ultimately hollow and unsatisfying. Becky Sharp’s ambition drives her to great heights, but it also leads to her downfall. George Osborne’s desire for status and recognition compels him to marry Amelia, yet his love for her is fleeting and insincere. Even Dobbin, the novel’s moral center, is motivated by a desire for Amelia’s love, yet his idealization of her blinds him to her flaws.
Through these characters, Thackeray suggests that the pursuit of worldly success is inherently flawed. Vanity, in all its forms, corrupts and degrades those who seek it. The novel’s subtitle, “A Novel Without a Hero,” reinforces this idea, as none of the characters emerge as truly heroic or virtuous. Instead, they are all flawed individuals, shaped by their desires and ambitions in a world that rewards vanity and superficiality.
Conclusion
Vanity Fair remains a timeless exploration of human nature, social ambition, and moral compromise. Through its richly drawn characters, biting satire, and profound insights into the human condition, Thackeray’s novel continues to resonate with readers today. Becky Sharp, Amelia Sedley, and William Dobbin, among others, represent the complexities and contradictions of a society obsessed with appearances and status. In the end, Vanity Fair offers no easy answers or happy endings—only a reflection of the vanity and futility that define the human experience.
