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Chapter 1
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 smiles as she sees Jemima’s shock after she throws the dictionary away, but Amelia also looks dismayed. Amelia asks how Becky could do such a thing to the dictionary, but Becky laughs and asks if Miss Pinkerton is going to order them back and punish them. Becky says she hopes to never see the school again. She enjoyed flustering Miss Pinkerton by speaking French and praising Napoleon, but Amelia feels Napoleon is like the devil.
This conversation shows how Amelia believes in following the rules even when there’s no immediate threat of punishment. By contrast, Becky only cares about getting caught if there are consequences. This passage introduces the French military and political leader Napoleon Bonaparte, whom most British people hate because England has been at war with France. Becky’s praise of Napoleon shows her contrarian attitude.
Themes
Becky has had a reputation for being disagreeable since a young age. Her father was an artist who once gave lessons at Miss Pinkerton’s school. He was clever but careless and used to get drunk and beat Becky and her mother. Becky’s mother was an opera singer from France, and Becky often tells exaggerated stories of her mother’s illustrious ancestors.
Becky’s difficult childhood helps to create sympathy for her and explain why her actions are sometimes very calculating. Becky’s mother’s past in France also helps to explain why Becky is more willing to praise Napoleon than most other people in England—and Becky’s French ancestry perhaps explains why some people are skeptical about her.
Themes
Literary Devices
After the death of Becky’s mother, her father was too deep in alcoholism to take care of her, so he wrote a letter asking Miss Pinkerton to take her in right before he too died. Becky was allowed to stay at the school so long as she taught French. Becky is short, pale, and blonde. Miss Pinkerton originally accepted Becky because she believed Becky was meek (due to her small size). But Becky struggled to endure the school’s rigid formality, leading her to cry with rage when she was alone in her room in the garret (attic).
Miss Pinkerton likes Becky when she first meets her but soon changes her mind. This foreshadows how throughout the novel Becky always excels at making first impressions, but she struggles to form deeper relationships.
Themes
After her parents’ deaths when she was still new at the school, Becky resented how the girls around her seemed to be happy because of their wealthy families. She decided to study music and languages with the ultimate goal of preparing herself to leave the school. One day, Miss Pinkerton noticed Becky’s music talent and asked if Becky would like to teach the children, but Becky refused to do it until she got paid extra for music lessons. While Miss Pinkerton obliged, she hated Becky from that day on. Becky recommended that Miss Pinkerton could get rid of her by finding a job for her as governess to a rich family.
While the novel often leaves open the question of whether or not Becky’s actions are justified, this particular passage is sympathetic to Becky, showing how Miss Pinkerton wants to exploit her with unpaid work but Becky stands up for herself. Becky’s interest in music and languages shows that in spite of being a bad student in Miss Pinkerton’s eyes, she’s very interested in learning, raising the question of whether Miss Pinkerton’s whole framework for judging good and bad students is wrong.
Themes
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Miss Pinkerton tried many methods to control Becky, including scolding her in public, but they didn’t work. At last, she grudgingly recommended Becky to a family as a governess. Miss Pinkerton considered Amelia’s friendship with Becky to be Amelia’s one flaw.
Being a governess seems like a good fit for Becky, since she already has practice teaching. Still, it is a relatively low-status job, and with Becky’s ambition, it is clear that her ultimate goal is to become more than just a governess.
Themes
Now, Amelia and Becky return to Amelia’s home, and Amelia gives her friend a tour of the house. Amelia gives expensive gifts to Becky, like rings and muslin clothing. Amelia has an older brother named Joseph (Jos) who was off in India making a lot of money but is currently back home. Becky is jealous, but Amelia says that despite being nice, Jos rarely even speaks to Amelia. Becky says she’s disappointed to hear that Jos isn’t married because she likes little children. In fact, Becky already knew Jos was unmarried and just figured that since Jos is single and rich, and since Becky is spending two weeks with the Sedleys, she might as well try to marry him.
Having grown up with poor parents, then as an orphan, Becky hasn’t experienced wealth like what Amelia’s family has before. This passage provides an early example of Becky’s attempts to manipulate people—she already knows that Jos is single, but she gets Amelia to tell her that anyway, perhaps hoping Amelia will herself suggest that Becky marry Jos. As later chapters reveal, Becky’s claim about liking children is a blatant lie, meant simply to convey her domestic side and show that she might be a suitable wife for Jos.
Themes
