The structure of vanity Fair

Thackeray's original title, Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society, indicates his intention to describe a succession of social situations. As he was writing his novel, the idea of society as a Vanity Fair came to him, and he changed both his plan for the novel and the title. The term " vanity fair" comes from the allegorical story The Pilgrim's Progress, published in 1678 by John Bunyan where there is a town fair held in a village called Vanity.

The phrase " vanity fair" came to mean " a place where all is frivolity and empty show. For Thackeray, everyone lives in Vanity Fair or society; vanity has become the desire for society's approval and rewards; the individual seeks, not spiritual salvation, but the rewards of this world–success, status, and wealth.

When I read this novel I asked myself –is the time difference in the first half and the second half of the novel; the first half covers two years before Waterloo and is compact while the second half sprawls over the next twenty-five years. Is the novel formless? - The Victorians did not perceive structure and unity in a novel the same way as modern readers.

William Makepeace Thackeray's VANITY FAIR, " a Novel Without a Hero" is a satiric masterpiece that encapsulates all the layers of British society in a microcosm while conveying the spirit and atmosphere of an epoch, and introduces literature's most charming picaresque anti-heroine, Becky Sharp. When Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley leave school, their feet are set on very different paths. Kind, foolish Amelia returns to her comfortable home and wealthy family, to await a suitable marriage, while Becky must look out for herself, earning her own living in a hard world. But Becky is neither kind nor foolish, and with her quick brain and keen eye for a chance, her fortunes soon rise, while Amelia's fall. Greed, ambition, loyalty, folly, wisdom... Thackeray's famous novel gives us a witty and satirical picture of English society during the Napoleonic wars.

The novel has inspired several film adaptations.

THEMES IN VANITY FAIR:

Society's values.

Selfishness. Everyone is selfish in varying degrees. The selfishness of characters like Becky, Jos Sedley, and Lord Steyne is obvious; however, even apparently selfless characters like Amelia, Dobbin, and Lady Jane are selfish, though to a much lesser degree.

Illusion and reality. Is it possible to distinguish between illusion and reality? Motivated by self-interest, the characters practice hypocrisy, they misrepresent themselves both to others and to themselves, and they lie.

Heroism. Men and women are not heroic; the heroic poses and pretenses of characters, literature, and society are consistently deflated.

Fiction versus reality. The false portrayal of human nature and activities in novels, romance, and literary conventions is distinguished from real life.

Married and parental relationships. In a novel of domestic life, there are no happy marriages because of the egotism, selfishness, folly, and false values of individuals and of society. Similarly, selfishness, vanity, snobbery, and/or materialism affect every child-parent relationship.

The gentleman. Thackeray rejects the older concept of a gentleman as a man of rank and leisure, a member of the gentry or aristocracy. The true gentleman, as well as the true lady, is recognized by moral character, by being considerate, benevolent, and diligent, and by having a certain culture and education. Amelia, Lady Jane, and Dobbin are among the few real ladies and gentlemen in this novel.

Time. The action is set in the past, and the narrator compares and contrasts the past with the present as he moves between them; occasionally he tells us a future event or outcome. Thackeray also shows the effect which the passage of time has on the characters.