Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Vanity Fair, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Greed and Ambition
Vanity
Social Class and Character
Gender
Inheritance and Family Life
Summary
Analysis
Jos helps Amelia and Peggy transport their things to Ostend (in Belgium), and years later, he will tell stories about being at Waterloo that are even grander than his stories about hunting tigers in India. Because Jos is transporting so many things, people on the road assume he must be important.
Like India, Belgium proves useful to Jos because it’s far enough from England that most people won’t know whether or not he’s exaggerating about his adventures there. Jos may not be the most calculating character, but he understands the insular world that many other people live in, and he takes advantage of this ignorance, since he knows that if he acts important, most people won’t know enough to contradict what he says.
Themes
The British soldiers arrive in Belgium, providing a boom for local shops and restaurants. Everyone has faith in the Duke of Wellington, who leads the British forces. Jos acts so brave (even though he isn’t going to fight) that Peggy wants to have him marry her sister-in-law, Glorvina O’Dowd.
Mr. Sedley lost his fortune due to the Napoleonic Wars, and this section further explores how war relates to commerce. Before the war, everyone seems to be in high spirits, particularly those like Jos who don’t have to fight, providing yet another example of how these characters refuse to look outside their own bubble and consider the costs of war.
Themes
The narrator speculates on how Napoleon chose to come back at a bad time that was strategically for him. Meanwhile, when the British soldiers make it to Belgium, many of them continue to eat, drink, and celebrate as if no enemy is nearby. George and Amelia have dinner with a local count and countess. Amelia is disappointed and writes home to Mrs. Sedley about it, although Mrs. Sedley just brags that her daughter is friends with a count and countess.
Thackeray would have expected his contemporary readers to know the general history of the Napoleonic Wars (including how Napoleon lost at Waterloo, the battle that is coming up). And so, on the one hand, it might seem like the British soldiers are justified in celebrating, since they have a momentous victory on the horizon. Still, even with that knowledge, it seems like George, Amelia, and the others may be celebrating prematurely, ignoring the fact that even victories in war can come at a cost.
Themes
One day, when Amelia, Peggy, Dobbin, and George are all out in Brussels, they happen to see old General Tufto buying flowers. George says this general’s presence means Rawdon is there with Becky. Hearing this news makes Amelia feel sad, but she doesn’t understand why.
Amelia wants to see the best in people, and she still thinks of Becky as her friend. But Becky takes advantage of her, particularly by having Rawdon swindle George out of all his money. Amelia doesn’t know how to process this cognitive dissonance, so it just leaves her feeling vaguely sad without understanding why.
Themes
Get the entire Vanity Fair LitChart as a printable PDF.
