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Chapter 17
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
The narrator describes how Napoleon’s arrival at Cannes sent a shock through the world, with one unexpected consequence being that it swept away Mr. Sedley’s fortune. When Mr. Sedley breaks the news to Mrs. Sedley, her main concern is how Amelia will feel. Meanwhile, Amelia lives a lonely life—she wants to believe George is still kind and faithful, but he never responds to her.
Napoleon waged war across Europe for many years, mostly successfully, but after he was defeated, he was forced to abdicate and go into exile on the island of Elba. Still, he escaped exile and began waging one last campaign in 1815—the novel’s present day. While these events may seem distant to some of the characters, they have an immediate impact on Mr. Sedley, wiping out his fortune.
Themes
Literary Devices
Most of the Sedley’s servants, including Sambo, leave after the bankruptcy. Some of Mr. Sedley’s old friends and his creditors all turn against him, believing they have to be harsh to get their money back. Mr. Osborne sends over a letter stating that, due to Mr. Sedley’s actions, all agreements between their families (i.e., George and Amelia’s engagement) are off. This makes Mr. Sedley so angry that he wouldn’t let Amelia marry George even if Mr. Osborne would have allowed it.
This section shows how much of a person’s status is connected to their wealth—and how losing that wealth can cause a person’s old friends to abandon them. Despite losing his money, Mr. Sedley still has some of his pride, and he takes Mr. Osborne’s rejection of Amelia as a personal insult. Mr. Sedley seems particularly protective of his reputation because it’s all that he has left of his old life.
Themes
Amelia promises Mr. Sedley she’ll try to forget about George. The narrator warns young ladies not to be too honest about loving someone. Although she doesn’t hear about it, Amelia gets a bad reputation, as people whisper that a bankrupt girl tried to trick George into marrying her. Dobbin overhears some of this talk and interrupts angrily, saying Amelia and George have been more or less engaged since childhood.
Overnight, people go from thinking that Amelia is a nice, innocent young woman to thinking that she must be trying to swindle money out of the Osbornes—all because her family no longer has money. Dobbin reveals himself as one of the few characters in the story who doesn’t care about material wealth by having the same opinion of Amelia both before and after her family’s change of fortune.
Themes
Literary Devices
George himself doesn’t seem too distraught by Mr. Sedley’s recent misfortune, and he’s busy himself with his regiment because of Napoleon’s recent movements. He drinks a lot, and Dobbin has to warn him not to have too much. A couple days later, Dobbin sees George in a state of despair because Amelia has sent him back some old presents. In the letter, Amelia says Mr. Sedley told her to return the gifts. She thanks George for buying her piano at the estate sale and sending it back to her (although in fact Dobbin did this).
Although George seems happy at first about getting out of his engagement with Amelia, he regrets it once he has to actually face the consequences of his actions. Like Becky, George always wants more, but he often finds that the things he desires aren’t what he expected them to be. And so, George becomes yet another character who uses alcohol as a way to avoid thinking about his responsibilities.
Themes
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Dobbin goes to see Amelia, who is so pale, she looks like she’s dying. He reports that to George. A maid comes to tell Amelia she has just received a letter. The letter calls her “dearest love—dearest wife,” asking her to come immediately, and when she looks outside, George is waiting for her.
Amelia’s deathly condition illustrates how fully she has dedicated her life to George—she seems to be literally dying of a broken heart. Although George’s decision to marry Amelia in spite of the obstacles may seem like a happy ending to the chapter, it’s unclear if George really wants to marry Amelia or if he just doesn’t want to have to deal with the guilt of rejecting her.
Themes
