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 continues to take pleasure rides around Brussels in his carriage, sometimes with Amelia. George buys a horse so that he and Dobbin can ride next to Jos. It turns out that George’s prediction was right: Becky and Rawdon are indeed in town. They soon pull up in their own carriage. The friends talk while going on a drive, go to dinner, then go to the opera, feeling as if they’re back in England.
The English characters create their own England even when they’re abroad, showing once again how limited their horizons are. Their carriage rides takes place not far from a future battlefield, but yet they act the same as they would in Vauxhall or Brighton, showing how it’s possible to be in denial about war up until the very last second.
Themes
General Tufto is also at the opera, and he admires women from afar, including Amelia. After the end of the opera’s first act, George and Rawdon meet in the lobby. George asks if Rawdon got his recent check (to settle gambling debts), and Rawdon suggests that at some point they should gamble again so that George has a chance to win back his money. When George goes to visit Becky in her box, he finds General Tufto there talking to her.
In this passage, even the general is more interested in looking at women than he is in preparing for the upcoming battle. The only acknowledgment of the war is darkly humorous, with Rawdon and George making plans to settle their debts in the event that anything should happen, and even this exchange ends with hopeful conversation about future gambling.
Themes
General Tufto doesn’t know George and doesn’t seem happy to see him. When he learns about George and George’s regiment, he tries to embarrass George by suggesting that George hasn’t seen anything of the current war, having mostly been stationed in the West Indies. Eventually, Becky makes an excuse to go over to Amelia’s box, taking George with her. This causes General Tufto to curse under his breath.
General Tufto was ogling women earlier and obviously dislikes George because he is interrupting his alone time with Becky (who is much younger than the general and who doesn’t seem particularly interested in him, given how quickly she leaves). The mention of George being in the West Indies is yet another reference to colonialism, showing how despite the fact that these characters often ignore the outside world, their extravagant lifestyles were only possible due to Britain’s vast global empire.
Themes
When Becky comes over with George to the box where Amelia and Dobbin are, she talks in a very animated way, perhaps so that General Tufto can see her from across the way. After the opera, Dobbin quietly complains about Becky to George, but George says Becky is the nicest woman in England. Dobbin warns George not to keep gambling with Rawdon, particularly since George has pledged to give up gambling in the past. But George just tells Dobbin not to worry, then he ignores Dobbin’s advice and begins spending even more time with Rawdon.
Becky wants to make General Tufto jealous even though she doesn’t seem to particularly like him—perhaps the nearness of the war makes his high army rank appealing. Once again, Dobbin tries to act as George’s moral compass, but George fails to pay attention. The opera scene makes it increasingly clear that Becky is flirting with George, although it remains unclear whether she’s just trying to assist Rawdon in taking George’s money or if her interest in George potentially goes beyond that.
Themes
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Amelia and George almost have their first real fight over how much time George is spending with Rawdon and Becky. George complains to Becky about how all women are jealous, but Becky replies that men are jealous too—that George was jealous at the opera of how General Tufto was looking at Becky.
In this passage, George shows his own hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness. He is jealous of Becky, as if she’s being unfaithful to him, when in fact it’s George himself who’s being unfaithful to Amelia. Sometimes George’s selfishness is so strong that he seems to not even realize that he is acting immorally.
Themes
Even George realizes that he’s spending a lot of time with Becky. Nevertheless, he welcomes the idea that comrades like Stubble and Spooney see him as a bit of a “Don Juan.” Amelia doesn’t like his reputation, but she only suffers in silence about it. George also begins avoiding Dobbin because he doesn’t want to hear Dobbin criticize his lifestyle.
Like many characters in the novel, reputation is what matters most to George. He likes being a “Don Juan” (Don Juan was a legendary Spanish libertine, and the term refers to someone who pursues lots of women) because he takes it as a sign that the other soldiers look up to him. Dobbin often acts as George’s conscience, and so by avoiding Dobbin, George also ignores his own conscience.
Themes
An exclusive ball held by a local duchess becomes the talk of Brussels. Jos and Peggy don’t get invitations, but George, Amelia, Rawdon, Becky, and Dobbin do receive invitations. George buys Amelia fancy new clothes, takes her to the ball, then he leaves her alone, though she knows nobody. Becky is more successful at making a splash, showing up in an extravagant dress and using her knowledge of the French language to impress everyone. At one point she goes over to Amelia and starts finding fault with her clothes and hair, giving her advice about how to do better.
The ball demonstrates how Becky and Amelia have switched roles from school: whereas Amelia used to be the star pupil and Becky was the outcast, now Becky has found an environment where she can flourish but Amelia gets ignored. Although Becky gives advice to Amelia, it seems that what Becky is really doing is taking a moment to gloat about how Becky finally has the upper hand over her. In addition to showing Becky’s vanity, this passage also shows how the values of obedience taught at schools like Miss Pinkerton’s don’t always apply in the real world, whereas Becky’s French skills and social knowledge help her get ahead.
Themes
George finally returns to Amelia at the ball when Becky is talking to her. Becky is telling Amelia that she really must get George to stop playing cards with Rawdon because George keeps losing so much money. Soon after, George dances with Becky a couple times, leaving Amelia alone in the corner. Rawdon visits her once, and they have an awkward conversation; Dobbin eventually comes to bring her food. Dobbin comments on how gullible George must be to keep losing to Rawdon in cards (suggesting that Rawdon is cheating), but what really bothers Amelia isn’t the money.
Becky continues to gloat about her recent successes by blaming George for being a careless gambler (when in fact, she and Rawdon have been specifically scheming to take advantage of George’s gambling). While Becky’s taunts may seem cruel, they also reflect insecurity, with Becky feeling like she needs to justify her newly elevated position by putting Amelia down. At the ball, Becky and George get increasingly bold about spending time with each other, without even trying to hide it from their spouses. While they might seem reckless, arguably all of the characters share some of this recklessness by attending a ball on the eve of a battle.
Themes
Amelia is tired of all the attention George is giving Becky, so she tells Dobbin that she feels unwell and needs to go home. She calls Dobbin “William” (his first name), something that George often does but few others ever do. She goes to bed. Meanwhile, George remains at the party, feeling elated about winning a large amount of money at cards. Dobbin, however, ruins the mood by informing him that the enemy has crossed a strategic river, and now they will have to march in three hours.
“William” is a common first name, although it’s interesting that Thackeray gives his own first name to the character in the story who receives arguably the most positive depiction. Perhaps it’s just coincidence, although Dobbin does try to influence the lives of the people around him in a way that could be interpreted as similar to an author writing a story.
Themes
George is excited for the chance to prove himself in battle. He leaves the party and goes back to find Amelia with her eyes closed—he thinks she’s asleep, but she’s just pretending. George contemplates how pure Amelia looks, and he feels bad about not being good enough for her. As he gets into bed to go to sleep, she reveals she is awake by greeting him and hugging him, and he feels bad again. Suddenly there is a loud bugle, drums, and pipes, and it seems the whole city is awake.
Although he might be selfish, George isn’t heartless, and in spite of everything, he still has affection for Amelia. Even though he arguably has good reason to feel unworthy of Amelia (because of how often he ignores her), this passage nevertheless humanizes him by showing that he has more to him than just selfishness. The loud music in the distance is coming from the war, suggesting that the characters can’t ignore it any longer.
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