Literary significance and criticism

Literary significance and criticism Edit

Contemporary critics Edit
Even before the last part of the serial was published, critics hailed the work as a literary treasure. Although the critics were superlative in their praise,[5] some expressed disappointment at the unremittingly dark portrayal of human nature, fearing Thackeray had taken his dismal metaphor too far. In response to these critics, Thackeray explained that he saw people for the most part "abominably foolish and selfish".[6] The unhappy ending was intended to inspire readers to look inward at their own shortcomings.

Theorists Edit
The subtitle, A Novel without a Hero, is apt because the characters are all flawed to a greater or lesser degree; even the most sympathetic have weaknesses, for example Captain Dobbin, who is prone to vanity and melancholy. The human weaknesses Thackeray illustrates are mostly to do with greed, idleness, and snobbery, and the scheming, deceit and hypocrisy which mask them. None of the characters are wholly evil, although Becky's psychopathic tendencies make her come pretty close. However, even Becky, who is amoral and cunning, is thrown on her own resources by poverty and its stigma. (She is the orphaned daughter of a poor artist and an opera dancer.) Thackeray's tendency to highlight faults in all of his characters displays his desire for a greater level of realism in his fiction compared to the rather unlikely or idealised people in many contemporary novels.

The novel is a satire of society as a whole, characterised by hypocrisy and opportunism, but it is not a reforming novel; there is no suggestion that social or political changes, or greater piety and moral reformism could improve the nature of society. It thus paints a fairly bleak view of the human condition. This bleak portrait is continued with Thackeray's own role as an omniscient narrator, one of the writers best known for using the technique. He continually offers asides about his characters and compares them to actors and puppets, but his scorn goes even as far as his readers; accusing all who may be interested in such "Vanity Fairs" as being either "of a lazy, or a benevolent, or a sarcastic mood".[7] As Lord David Cecil remarked, "Thackeray liked people, and for the most part he thought them well-intentioned. But he also saw very clearly that they were all in some degree weak and vain, self-absorbed and self-deceived."[8]

The work is often compared — for instance by John Carey[9] — to the other great historical novel of the Napoleonic wars, Tolstoy's War and Peace. While Tolstoy's work has a greater emphasis on the historical detail and the effect the war has upon his protagonists, Thackeray instead uses the conflict as a backdrop to the lives of his characters. The momentous events on the continent do not always have an equally important influence on the behaviors of Thackeray's characters. Rather their faults tend to compound over time. This is in contrast to the redemptive power conflict has on the characters in War and Peace. For Thackeray, the Napoleonic wars as a whole can be thought of as one more of the vanities expressed in the title.

In the original illustrations, which were done by Thackeray, Becky is shown behind a curtain when Jos dies, with a vial in her hand; the picture is labelled "Becky's second appearance in the character of Clytemnestra" (she had played Clytemnestra during charades at a party earlier in the book). Joseph's death appears to have made her fortune.[10] The suggestion near the end of the work that Becky may have killed Jos is argued against by John Sutherland.[11] Although Becky is portrayed as having a highly dubious moral sense, the idea that she would commit premeditated murder is quite a step forward for the character. Thackeray was a fierce critic of the crime fiction popular at the time, particularly that of Edward Bulwer-Lytton. These lurid and sensationalist accounts—known as "Newgate novels"—took their inspiration, and sometimes entire stories, from the pages of The Newgate Calendar. What Thackeray principally objected to was the glorification of a criminal's deeds; it therefore seems strange that he would have depicted Becky as such a villainess. His intent may have been to entrap the Victorian reader with their own prejudices and make them think the worst of Becky Sharp even when they have no proof of her actions. The trio of lawyers she gets to defend her from the claims, Burke, Thurtell, and Hayes, are named after prominent murderers of the time, although this may have been a tease or further commentary aimed at the legal profession.

Though Thackeray does not settle definitively whether Becky murders Jos, such a development could be seen as in keeping with the overall trend of character development in the novel. The tone of Vanity Fair seems to darken as the book goes on. At the novel's beginning, Becky Sharp is a bright girl with an eye to improving her lot through marrying up the social scale; though

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Literary significance and criticism EditContemporary critics EditEven before the last part of the serial was published, critics hailed the work as a literary treasure. Although the critics were superlative in their praise,[5] some expressed disappointment at the unremittingly dark portrayal of human nature, fearing Thackeray had taken his dismal metaphor too far. In response to these critics, Thackeray explained that he saw people for the most part "abominably foolish and selfish".[6] The unhappy ending was intended to inspire readers to look inward at their own shortcomings.Theorists EditThe subtitle, A Novel without a Hero, is apt because the characters are all flawed to a greater or lesser degree; even the most sympathetic have weaknesses, for example Captain Dobbin, who is prone to vanity and melancholy. The human weaknesses Thackeray illustrates are mostly to do with greed, idleness, and snobbery, and the scheming, deceit and hypocrisy which mask them. None of the characters are wholly evil, although Becky's psychopathic tendencies make her come pretty close. However, even Becky, who is amoral and cunning, is thrown on her own resources by poverty and its stigma. (She is the orphaned daughter of a poor artist and an opera dancer.) Thackeray's tendency to highlight faults in all of his characters displays his desire for a greater level of realism in his fiction compared to the rather unlikely or idealised people in many contemporary novels.Tiểu thuyết là một lời châm biếm xã hội như một toàn thể, đặc trưng bởi đạo đức giả và opportunism, nhưng nó không phải là một cuốn tiểu thuyết cải cách; không có gợi ý rằng thay đổi xã hội hay chính trị, hoặc lớn hơn lòng mộ đạo và đạo Đức reformism có thể cải thiện bản chất của xã hội. Nó do đó sơn một cái nhìn khá ảm đạm của con người. Đây chân dung ảm đạm tiếp tục với vai trò của Thackeray như là một người kể chuyện omniscient, một trong những nhà văn nổi tiếng với việc sử dụng các kỹ thuật. Ông liên tục cung cấp asides về nhân vật của mình và so sánh chúng với các diễn viên và những con rối, nhưng khinh miệt của ông đi thậm chí xa như độc giả của mình; buộc tội tất cả những người có thể quan tâm như vậy "Hội chợ phù hoa" là một trong hai "của lười biếng, hay một tốt bụng, hay một tâm trạng châm biếm". [7] khi Chúa David Cecil nhận xét, "Thackeray thích mọi người, và hầu hết các phần ông nghĩ họ Well-intentioned. Nhưng ông cũng đã nhìn thấy rất rõ ràng rằng họ đã tất cả ở một số mức độ yếu và vô ích, hấp thu tự và tự lừa dối." [8]Các công việc thường được so sánh — ví dụ bởi John Carey [9] — để người khác tuyệt vời tiểu thuyết lịch sử của chiến tranh Napoléon, chiến tranh và hòa bình của Tolstoy. Trong khi làm việc Tolstoy đã chú trọng hơn vào các chi tiết lịch sử và hiệu quả trong chiến tranh có khi nhân vật chính của mình, Thackeray thay vì sử dụng các cuộc xung đột như là một bối cảnh cho cuộc sống của nhân vật của mình. Các sự kiện quan trọng trên lục địa không luôn luôn có một ảnh hưởng quan trọng không kém những hành vi của các nhân vật của Thackeray. Thay vì lỗi lầm của họ có xu hướng để hợp chất theo thời gian. Điều này trái ngược với các redemptive mâu thuẫn quyền lực đã về các nhân vật trong chiến tranh và hòa bình. Cho Thackeray, chiến tranh Napoléon như một toàn thể có thể được coi là một trong những chi tiết của vanities thể hiện trong tiêu đề.In the original illustrations, which were done by Thackeray, Becky is shown behind a curtain when Jos dies, with a vial in her hand; the picture is labelled "Becky's second appearance in the character of Clytemnestra" (she had played Clytemnestra during charades at a party earlier in the book). Joseph's death appears to have made her fortune.[10] The suggestion near the end of the work that Becky may have killed Jos is argued against by John Sutherland.[11] Although Becky is portrayed as having a highly dubious moral sense, the idea that she would commit premeditated murder is quite a step forward for the character. Thackeray was a fierce critic of the crime fiction popular at the time, particularly that of Edward Bulwer-Lytton. These lurid and sensationalist accounts—known as "Newgate novels"—took their inspiration, and sometimes entire stories, from the pages of The Newgate Calendar. What Thackeray principally objected to was the glorification of a criminal's deeds; it therefore seems strange that he would have depicted Becky as such a villainess. His intent may have been to entrap the Victorian reader with their own prejudices and make them think the worst of Becky Sharp even when they have no proof of her actions. The trio of lawyers she gets to defend her from the claims, Burke, Thurtell, and Hayes, are named after prominent murderers of the time, although this may have been a tease or further commentary aimed at the legal profession.Though Thackeray does not settle definitively whether Becky murders Jos, such a development could be seen as in keeping with the overall trend of character development in the novel. The tone of Vanity Fair seems to darken as the book goes on. At the novel's beginning, Becky Sharp is a bright girl with an eye to improving her lot through marrying up the social scale; though