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
Pitt Crawley has put so much money into renovating Sir Pitt’s house because he believes his family’s reputation is at stake, particularly given the dilapidated state that the previous Sir Pitt left things in. Pitt Crawley doesn’t really like being sociable but feels he must entertain guests as part of his plan to restore the family name. Becky encourages Pitt to go through with his plan; she says she knows he’s ambitious, even if he sometimes tries to hide it from the rest of the world.
While Pitt Crawley has inherited his late father’s title—he’s the new Sir Pitt—the two of them have very different personalities, with the original Sir Pitt not even making an effort to change himself to live up to his title. Given Sir Pitt’s money problems, it seems unlikely that Pitt Crawley inherited much money from him—the money he’s using for the renovation likely comes from what he inherited from Miss Crawley. The fact that Pitt Crawley has apparently depleted Crawley’s fortune on the renovations suggests that either that Miss Crawley’s fortune wasn’t as big as everyone hoped or that Sir Pitt’s estate was in such a state of disrepair that it needed a large fortune to fix it.
Themes
The extended family gathers at Queen’s Crawley on Christmas Day. Becky pretends to put aside her grudge against Bute and Mrs. Bute. The Butes all compliment Rawdy, who would become heir if anything ever happened to the sickly Pitt Binkie. Meanwhile, Rawdy gets along well with Pitt Binkie and Matilda, and they all play games with Rawdy taking the lead.
The seemingly genuine friendship of the children provides an innocent contrast to the adults, who act nice to each other on the surface but are coming to this Christmas gathering with their own hidden schemes to manipulate and exploit one another.
Themes
Rawdon begins to appreciate how Lady Jane treats Rawdy much nicer than Becky usually does. Being about eight years old, Rawdy, however, has begun to like men more than women. He also particularly enjoys a day when a local huntsman brings all his hounds out. For the most part, the men don’t notice Rawdy much, but he manages to win his aunts’ affection.
Rawdy’s preference for men could reflect how children in this society were forced to start identifying with others of their gender at an early age, or it could also simply be because Rawdon treats him nicer than Becky does.
Themes
Before Rawdon and Becky leave, Pitt Crawley gives Rawdon a gift of 100 pounds, which Pitt feels is quite generous, but which leaves Rawdon feeling disappointed. Soon after, Pitt Crawley follows them to London to serve in Parliament, writing back to Lady Jane that he is spending long hours studying to advance his career. Lady Jane was so kind over Christmas, particularly to Rawdy, that Becky has started to hate her.
Pitt Crawley’s gift of 100 pounds is particularly meager, given that earlier Pitt actually asked Rawdon for a loan. The fact that Pitt Crawley is spending so much time away from his wife in London is suspicious, suggesting that perhaps home renovations aren’t the only place where he’s spending his money—it’s possible that he’s having an affair. Meanwhile, Becky’s dislike for Lady Jane mirrors earlier distrust of Lady Jane. That an honest character like Lady Jane raises alarm bells shows the extent to which greed and ambition have normalized scheming, manipulation, and dishonesty in the world of the novel.
Themes
Get the entire Vanity Fair LitChart as a printable PDF.
Becky compliments Pitt Crawley on the fancy clothes he has decided to wear to Parliament—then once he leaves, she makes fun of him to Lord Steyne. Rawdon begins to feel himself becoming isolated in his own house. He feels that Becky has taken away the strength of his youth and trapped him. Meanwhile, Lady Jane is well aware that Pitt Crawley is infatuated with Becky, but she continues to be polite anyway.
By seeing how much more functional Pitt Crawley’s family is (or at least appears to be on the surface), Rawdon has begun to realize the extent of his own family’s dysfunction. What Rawdon perhaps doesn’t see is that he and Lady Jane are in similar situations: they both have a neglectful spouse who seems to always be distracted by something else.
Themes
Literary Devices
