Vanity Fair: A Tale of Love, Ambition, and Social Climbing

Posted on Jan 5, 2025 in English

Becky Sharp’s Rise and Fall

Nineteen-year-old Becky Sharp spends two weeks at the home of her younger school friend, Amelia Sedley, the daughter of a wealthy London businessman. Becky sets out to marry Amelia’s rich brother, Jos, on leave from his job in India. Jos likes Becky and plans to propose to her at Vauxhall Gardens, where they go with Amelia, Lieutenant George Osborne, whom Amelia is expected to marry, and Captain William Dobbin, who is attracted to Amelia. Jos gets very drunk and doesn’t propose, to Becky’s disappointment. Becky becomes governess to the daughters of Sir Pitt Crawley and makes herself indispensable to Sir Pitt and his family. She occasionally sees Rawdon, an army captain, and befriends Matilda Crawley, who pays Rawdon’s debts and plans to make him her heir. Becky and Rawdon begin to meet more frequently and secretly marry. When Matilda learns about the marriage, she is so angry at Rawdon for marrying a poor governess that she stops giving him money. Soon, the newlyweds are in debt. When Amelia’s father’s business goes bankrupt, Mr. Osborne forbids George and Amelia to marry. George agrees to his father’s wishes, but Amelia is devastated. Although in love with Amelia himself, Dobbin convinces George to disobey his father and marry Amelia. Mr. Osborne disinherits George. Soon after, the army is ordered to Belgium to fight Napoleon. There, George and Becky flirt with each other, making Amelia jealous. One evening, at a ball, George gives Becky a secret love note. He is killed the next day in the Battle of Waterloo. Becky and Rawdon go to Paris, where their son, little Rawdon, is born. Amelia also has a son, Georgy. Mr. Osborne blames Amelia for George’s disobedience and rejects Dobbin’s pleas that he help her financially. Dobbin, still in love with Amelia but seeing that his love is not reciprocated, leaves for India. Jos also returns to India. He sends his parents money, which his father loses in unsuccessful businesses. When Georgy is ten, old Mr. Osborne offers to pay Amelia if she will allow Georgy to live with him. She sadly agrees after her parents’ financial difficulties worsen. Deeply in debt because of Rawdon’s gambling, Rawdon and Becky flee from their creditors in Paris and return to London.

The Aftermath of Waterloo

There they often entertain and are soon in debt again. A frequent visitor is Lord Steyne, who gambles with Rawdon and flirts with Becky. One night, Rawdon is arrested because of a large debt. Pitt’s wife, Lady Jane, brings the money for his release after Becky claims she’s too ill to do so. Returning home, Rawdon is furious to find Becky alone with Lord Steyne, especially when he learns that Lord Steyne has given Becky jewelry and money. However, Rawdon accepts a job from Lord Steyne as governor of an island in the British colonies and leaves Becky. Becky and Rawdon send their son to live with Lady Jane and Pitt. Because of the gossip about her and Lord Steyne, Becky’s reputation is ruined, and she leaves England. Dobbin and Jos both return to England. Dobbin constantly visits Amelia, as well as Georgy and Mr. Osborne. Soon afterwards, Mr. Osborne dies, leaving a generous inheritance to Georgy and even to Amelia. Dobbin, Amelia, Georgy, and Jos take a holiday in Germany where Jos unexpectedly meets Becky, and she soon starts flirting with him, Rawdon having died two years before. Hearing that Becky’s situation is very difficult, Amelia invites her old friend to move in. Hating Becky for hurting Amelia in the past, Dobbin angrily returns to London. Amelia misses Dobbin, and a few weeks later she writes him a love letter. Later that day, Becky makes Amelia realize that George had never really loved her, and Amelia now feels free to marry Dobbin. Becky and Jos spend Jos’ last years together. When Jos dies, Amelia and Becky each inherit half his money. Becky, now financially secure, lives comfortably in Bath.

Character Analysis

Amelia Sedley

Page 8: “Amelia’s eyes were full of happiness except when she cried, which was much too often.” (Amelia is too sentimental.)
Page 10: “Amelia couldn’t wait to show Becky the entire house, her books, her piano, her dresses and her jewelry.” (Material things are important to Amelia.)

Becky Sharp

Page 14: “Luckily, a man passing by stepped lightly on her foot, and she fell into Jos’ arms with a little cry of pain.” (Becky knows how to take advantage of even an unpleasant situation.)
Page 16: “One of them cried real tears. The other stopped pretending to cry the moment the carriage turned the corner.” (Becky pretends to show emotions she doesn’t really feel.)
Page 18: “Becky began to make friends with all the correct people at Queen’s Crawley.” (Becky does what she needs to do in order to get what she needs.)
Page 37: “… my dressmaker … would have made something much nicer for you … what did you do with your hair? Perhaps I can help you find a more suitable style.” (Becky is insulting Amelia while pretending to act like her friend.)
Page 39: “Rawdon thought he saw her wipe tears from her eyes before looking up at him with a brave smile.” (Becky is pretending to feel an emotion.)
Page 48: “Balls and dinner parties took up so much of Becky’s time that she had very little time for the boy.” (Becky is selfish and not concerned about her son.)
Page 54: “Becky, you see, had been paying a great deal of attention to Lady Jane’s two children.” (Becky pretends to like the children to try to get what she wants.)
Page 55: “Becky was not spending time with Pitt because of his ideas, of course. She was planning for the future.” (Becky is using Pitt for her own purposes.)
Page 71: “‘Oh, how I miss my son!’ Becky put her hand on her heart and looked very sad.” (Becky doesn’t really care about her son. She’s trying to impress Jos.)
Page 71: “‘You know, Jos,’ she said, in an intentionally shy voice, ‘you were the first man that I ever really loved.'” (Becky is pretending to be shy to manipulate Jos’ feelings.)
Page 74: “And what happened to Becky, the ‘heroine’ of our story?” (‘Heroine’ is in inverted commas. This shows that the author doesn’t really think she’s a heroine.)

Jos Sedley

Page 10: “An extremely fat man dressed in very fashionable, very tight clothes.” (Despite being fat, being fashionable is very important to Jos.)
Page 13: “In fact, Jos had only been on one tiger hunt and had nearly been killed, not by a tiger, but by fright!” (Jos wanted to impress Becky. He was a coward.)
Page 16: “But the horrible headache Jos had got from the punch had erased all thoughts of marriage from his mind.” (Jos wasn’t serious about proposing to Becky.)
Page 39: “He hoped that Dobbin would do this, so that he could go back to sleep.” (Jos is interested in his own comforts, not in other people’s problems.)
Page 50: “The last time we heard of Jos Sedley, he was fleeing from the cannons in Brussels.” (Jos is a coward.)

George Osborne

Page 13: “In fact, she admired George’s face and his beautiful, black mustache almost as much as he himself did.” (George is very vain.)
Page 22: “George really did intend to buy a lovely piece of jewelry for Amelia … however, he saw a very handsome shirt-pin for himself.” (George is selfish.)
Page 23: “Two hours later, which George thought was plenty of time to reassure Amelia …” (George thinks his other activities are more important than being with Amelia; George lies to Amelia.)
Page 23: “… said George, with a satisfied smile. ‘I’m a modest man, but anyone can see that she’s very fond of me.'” (George is conceited, not modest at all.)
Page 23: “‘Poor, little Amelia!’ thought George. ‘Oh, what a headache I’ve got from the punch I drank last night!'” (George is selfish and thoughtless.)
Page 29: “‘You are the finest, kindest man I know,’ said Amelia. … It will be no surprise to know that George was thinking the same thing.” (George is conceited.)
Page 31: “‘How will Amelia and I survive on my army salary and £2,000?’ cried George.” (George is more concerned about losing his father’s money than about losing contact with his father.)

Rawdon Crawley

Page 27: “Suppose she hates this idea so much that she doesn’t leave me her money? … Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?” (Rawdon doesn’t really worry much about money.)
Page 33: “‘What?’ Rawdon said. ‘You just told me that I’ll be in no danger!'” (Rawdon is slow to understand what Becky is trying to do.)
Page 33: “Becky read the letter and said, ‘Fine. It sounds like you wrote it – the sentences are short and simple.'” (Rawdon isn’t very clever, and Becky knows this.)

He was a coward.) p.16: But the horrible headache Jos had got from the punch had erased all thoughts of marriage from his mind. (Jos wasn’t serious about proposing to Becky.) p.39: He hoped that Dobbin would do this, so that he could go back to sleep. (Jos is interested in his own comforts, not in other people’s problems.) p.50: The last time we heard of Jos Sedley, he was fleeing from the cannons in Brussels. (Jos is a coward.) George p.13: In fact, she admired George’s face and his beautiful, black moustache almost as much as he himself did. (George is very vain.) p.22: George really did intend to buy a lovely piece of jewellery for Amelia … however, he saw a very handsome shirt-pin for himself. (George is selfish.) p.23: Two hours later, which George thought was plenty of time to reassure Amelia … (George thinks his other activities are more important than being with Amelia; George lies to Amelia.) p.23:… said George, with a satisfied smile. “I’m a modest man, but anyone can see that she’s very fond of me.” (George is conceited, not modest at all.) p.23: “Poor, little Amelia!” thought George. “Oh, what a headache I’ve got from the punch I drank last night!” (George is selfish and thoughtless.) p.29: “You are the finest, kindest man I know,” said Amelia. … It will be no surprise to know that George was thinking the same thing. (George is conceited.) p.31: “How will Amelia and I survive on my army salary and £2,000?” cried George. (George is more concerned about losing his father’s money than about losing contact with his father.) Rawdon p.27: Suppose she hates this idea so much that she doesn’t leave me her money?… Do you want to go out for dinner tonight? (Rawdon doesn’t really worry much about money.) p.33: “What?” Rawdon said. “You just told me that I’ll be in no danger!” (Rawdon is slow to understand what Becky is trying to do.) p.33: Becky read the letter and said, “Fine. It sounds like you wrote it – the sentences are short and simple.” (Rawdon isn’t very clever and Becky knows this.)

Exercises

A. 1. Fashionable 2. Handwriting 3. Guests 4. Loyal 5. Debt 6. Tour 7. self-confidence 8. Jealous/B. 1. H 2. F3. E4. g 5. C6. A7. D8. b/ C. 1. False. Jos became very tired at Vauxhall and didn’t ask Becky to marry him. (drunk) 2. False. Miss Crawley paid Rawdon’s gambling debts after his marriage. (didn’t pay) or False. Miss Crawley paid Rawdon’s gambling debts after his marriage. (before) 3. True. 4. True. 5. False. Dobbin bought Amelia’s jewellery so that he could send it to her. (piano) 6. True./D. 1. to leave 2. to buy 3. Playing 4. Writing 5. to accompany 6. gambling/&/&/A. 1. wipe2. hardly3. at once4. amount5. delightful6. encouraged7. valuable8. True/ B. 1. looked for 2. live on 3. lay down 4. give up 5. get out 6. grow up //C. 1. D 2. E 3. B 4. F 5. C 6. A //D. 1. Becky thought that she could sell the presents if she needed to. 2. Amelia told Jos that she would be fine alone there. 3. Amelia told Georgy that she hadn’t got / didn’t have any money to buy him presents that Christmas. 4. Amelia told Becky that she had written to Dobbin that day. 5. Rawdon asked Becky if / whether Lord Steyne had given her that jewellery./&//&/ A. 1. b 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. a 6. C /B. 1. nicer 6. started 11. had been killed 2. could 7. owe 12. Widow 3. amount 8. got married 13. a great deal of 4. each other 9. inheritance 14. no longer 5. loyal 10. harm 15. Grateful /C. Accept all logical and grammatically correct answers. Possible points for inclusion: 1. Becky and Amelia have very dif erent personalities. Becky is strong, selfish and manipulative, and often pretends to show dif erent emotions than what she really feels. She also knows what she wants in life and how to get it. Amelia is weak, doesn’t hide her emotions and she isn’t selfish or manipulative. She usually reacts to events and people; she doesn’t try to influence them. Becky tries to get Jos to propose marriage to her, while Amelia simply waits for George to do the same.

When Jos doesn’t propose, Becky hides her disappointment and gets on with her life. Amelia cries when Becky leaves to begin her job at Sir Pitt’s, but Becky only pretends to cry. When George’s father ends her engagement to George, Amelia seems to do nothing but cry and be depressed until George returns to her, but after marrying Rawdon, Becky continues to act in her own self-interest. 2. I believe that growing up as the daughter of a poor artist was the main influence on Becky’s goal in life, which was to achieve ‘comfort and security’. These were things we can imagine she didn’t have as a child, because the author tells us that her father drank a lot and she had to deal with debt collectors at a young age. Becky learned how important money was because she didn’t have any. Therefore, having money and the security it brings was her main goal in life. Her desire to join the upper classes was part of her attempt to achieve that. Becky’s childhood experiences and the early deaths of her parents also meant she was independent from a young age. She began to work at the age of 17 and had to find a husband for herself. 3. I think that George should have married Amelia. Although he was very vain and selfish and enjoyed his reputation as a ladies’man, he had virtually promised Amelia that they would get married and it would have been wrong of him to break that promise. I also think that George loved and appreciated Amelia, even though he rarely knew how to show it. For example, when Dobbin brought George the box of letters and presents that Amelia had asked him to deliver and George read her note, he immediatel

y thought about how sweet Amelia was and soon after asked her to marry him as Dobbin had encouraged him to do. I don’t think that George should have married Amelia. He was a vain, conceited man who didn’t seem to love Amelia very much before their marriage, or even after it. Instead of visiting Amelia, he preferred to spend time drinking and

playing cards with his friends, and instead of buying a nice gift for her, he bought a shirt-pin for himself. He also had a reputation as a ladies’man, and enjoyed the fact that other of icers gossiped about his love af airs. When his fat

her told him not to marry Amelia because her father didn’t have enough money, George accepted his father’s decision and didn’t even tell Amelia about the conversation. 4. I think Amelia and

Dobbin

were very suitable for each other because both of them were loyal people. Amelia continued to love George long after his death, even though she hadn’t always liked the way he acted. Dobbin was very

faithful in his love for Amelia over many years, although he knew she didn’t love him. Becky and Jos were also suitable for each other. Jos was able to provide the money and security that Becky wanted, and Becky gave Jos the companionship that he probably wanted. Jos felt comfortable with Becky and could talk to her easily.