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
Lord Steyne’s house is in Gaunt Square, not far from the house of the late Sir Pitt (which now belongs to Pitt Crawley). The narrator has heard rumors from an “informant” named Tom Eaves that Lord Steyne offers his house as a place for other nobles to have discreet affairs (and perhaps Lord Steyne himself does the same). Meanwhile, Lord Steyne’s wife, Lady Steyne, is deeply religious, and the narrator has heard from Tom Eaves that she endures her husband’s behavior by pretending to ignore it.
Tom Eaves is a personification for eavesdropping, showing how the narrator sometimes brings abstract storytelling concepts to life. As is often the case, the narrator is hesitant to directly say anything too negative about a character, particularly a noble one, and so Tom Eaves becomes a convenient device that the narrator can use to convey unsavory information about Lord Steyne while still maintaining an air of plausible deniability.
Themes
Tom Eaves also told the narrator about George Gaunt, Lord Steyne’s son with Lady Steyne. Although George Gaunt was successful at first and married happily, one day at a diplomatic dinner, he started shouting that people were trying to poison him, then later at a ball, he shaved his head and dressed up as a friar. He soon leaves on a trip for “Brazil,” although some people know that he never went to Brazil and he’s really just being hidden in cottage somewhere in England.
This passage provides an interesting look at how poorly understood mental health was in the early- to mid-19th century. Thackeray himself had personal experience with mental illness—his wife was institutionalized a few years before the publication of Vanity Fair. This passage demonstrates society’s strong stigma against mental health problems, showing how wealthy families went to great lengths to cover up family members with severe mental illness.
Themes
People whisper that there’s some sort of “taint” in Lady Steyne’s bloodline. George Gaunt’s children grow up not knowing why their father disappeared or what hereditary fate possibly awaits them too. Still, Lord Steyne throws great parties, so even though people have heard the rumors about him, they continue to come visit.
The “taint” in Lady Steyne’s bloodline seems to relate to her name, which is similar to “stain” (suggesting an impurity). It’s also possible that “stain” refers to Lord Steyne’s own morally dubious behavior, which people ignore because they enjoy going to his many parties.
Themes
