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
Becky’s efforts to win over Pitt Crawley and other members of high society culminate with her winning a presentation to the king at court. Becky is thrilled because she’d prefer to look like a virtuous person than actually try to be a virtuous person, and this helps her achieve that.
Officially, Vanity Fair takes place during the reigns of George III and George IV (who ruled from 1820 until his death in 1830). In practice, however, George IV was in power for most of that time, since he started acting as prince regent (a prince who takes on the leadership responsibilities of a king) in 1811 due to George III’s mental illness. It’s perhaps no coincidence that Vanity Fair also deals with successive generations of Georges, suggesting that George’s extravagant spending (and later little Georgy’s own extravagance) symbolize the decadence that was happening in all of England during George IV’s rule.
Themes
Literary Devices
The day comes for Becky’s appearance in court. Pitt Crawley and Lady Jane ride up to her house in their carriage. Rawdon comes in his old military uniform, which has gotten shabby and too tight on him. Becky acts so self-serious and pleased with herself that even Lady Jane laughs at her as they all head to Court in the carriage.
Despite her increased skill in manipulating people around her, Becky still struggles to hide her feelings sometimes, particularly when she is excited about something. Rawdon’s shabby, too-tight military uniform demonstrates how he is no longer the rambunctious military man he used to be, as he becomes more and more docile as Becky’s husband, as well as perhaps putting on weight from his lavish lifestyle.
Themes
Becky put a lot of time into choosing an appropriately elegant outfit for the occasion, though the narrator notes that if people saw it “today” (about 20 years later, in the 1840s, when the novel was published), they might think it ridiculous. Lady Jane, who doesn’t keep up with the latest fashion trends as Becky does, marvels that the dress must have cost a fortune. Rawdon then asks where Becky got the fancy diamonds she’s wearing, and Pitt Crawley blushes because he helped provide them but didn’t mention this to Lady Jane.
This passage explores the folly of trying to keep up with trends, since what’s trendy one year will just end up being ridiculous not long afterward. While Lady Jane has tolerated Becky’s flirtations with Pitt Crawley up until this point, the diamonds show that the cracks in their relationship are beginning to grow, as Pitt struggles to be honest with his wife.
Themes
The narrator does not even attempt to write of what passed between Becky and the king at court, claiming it was probably too brilliant for him to understand. Afterward, Becky constantly brings up the king at every opportunity. Details of what she wore to the meeting make the local newspapers. A few days later, Becky receives the honor of a visit from Lord Steyne and Lady Steyne.
While the narrator claims that Becky had such a stimulating conversation with the king that he didn’t understand it, he seems to imply that the actual conversation is beside the point—what is even more important for Becky is that her visit gets written about in the local papers, including her trendy outfit, and also that Lord Steyne now shows his even greater approval of Becky.
Themes
Literary Devices
Get the entire Vanity Fair LitChart as a printable PDF.
Lord Steyne says Becky has a problem: she wants to compete against people with a lot of money, but she has no money of her own. He invites her to stop by for dinner at his house. Miss Briggs is nearby and reacts when she overhears this; Lord Steyne advises Becky to fire her, but Becky is reluctant to do so, since she owes money to Miss Briggs. She considers telling Lord Steyne how much money she owes Miss Briggs and decides to tell him double the amount. Lord Steyne gets angry and leaves.
Becky is maintaining a careful balance—she is willing to risk gossip in order to make money, but she also realizes that too much of a bad reputation could hinder her schemes. This passage depicts a crucial turning point where Becky attempts to really take advantage of the monetary value of her relationship with Lord Steyne. The crass manner in which Becky asks Lord Steyne for so much money seems to temporarily break Lord Steyne’s illusions about their relationship, which is what causes him to storm out angrily,
Themes
Literary Devices
Despite Lord Steyne’s anger earlier, that night Becky receives two letters: one inviting her to dinner with Lord and Lady Steyne, and one giving her the address of some lawyers. She goes to the lawyers to pick up the money Lord Steyne has left her. Becky gives a new dress to Miss Briggs but doesn’t give her the money she owes and doesn’t fire her. Becky also pays a little money that she owes to her landlord, then she puts the remaining money in a drawer in her desk.
Even when she has the money to pay off her debts, Becky refuses to do so, choosing instead to make a small gift to Miss Briggs and pay the bare minimum to her landlord in order to temporarily satisfy them both without having to pay off her debts in full. Becky understands that once she pays back the money, it’s gone for good—but as long as she has debts, there is the chance that she can keep postponing payment, or perhaps get the debt reduced or canceled (as she did earlier when negotiating with Rawdon’s creditors to allow their return to London).
Themes
