Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero

Vanity Fair

 

            Vanity Fair by W.M. Thackeray is a classic novel from the Nineteenth century. It follows the lives of two young girls as they “graduate” from boarding school. The girls have very different backgrounds and end up leading very different lives. This book begins with a lengthy introduction to the vast amount of ‘main’ characters and their relationships to each other. Vanity Fair is unique in it has no central protagonist, which as a result can make the story line difficult to follow.

The story line bounces back and forth from Rebecca and Amelia, the more central characters in a sea of other characters. As I read this book I tried to understand why it was considered a classic, the writing is descriptive, sarcastic and sincere all at once which is definitely an accomplishment in itself but not enough for the classification. I thought perhaps the book touched on a persons beginning’s not defining who a person became as Rebecca started life poor and weaseled her way into the rich crowds, while Amelia started out life secure and well off ended up poor and disowned from her in-laws. Could the underlying meaning behind this classic book be that good will always win out over evil? Rebecca and Amelia clearly portrayed one or the other. Yet in the end the both characters seemed to fair just fine and carried on with their lives despite the hardships they endured or caused.

Perhaps the genius to this story is the characters themselves, the sarcastic nature of the novel from beginning to end, even in the title. Rebecca is vain in her attempts to climb the social ladder and in her pursuit disregards anyone around her including her neglected offspring, which results in an unfair life for little Rawdon. Amelia, the heroine of the novel, who would never hurt a fly, is put through many hardships in life which is quit unfair in comparison to her dear friend Rebecca who is cruel and uncaring yet is seemingly rewarded for this behaviour.

Vanity Fair is considered a classic, and perhaps I just missed a significant aspect of this book, I will revisit it again and hopefully I will be able to gain a better understanding; as it stands though I found it confusing and difficult to follow. The characters intermingled and there seemed to be no climax to the story but rather a steady plot with insignificant dips and climbs.