Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

- What I admire most about Becky Sharp is her Determination. She is poor, but finds a way out of her predicament. Even when she is in debt and back at ground level Becky Does Not Give up!

-          Never!

This is an extraordinary woman, admirable also because of her shortcomings- in spite of the negative traits holding her back, she is Unstoppable! What she has in her mind- her Goals are always pursued with an amazing Tenacity an… Will to Power

 

How strange and unfair!

When you google for Vanity Fair, the first page, with the first ten or twelve results refer to the magazine- its main page, French and Spanish editions and twitter account.

One search result refers to the movie, but there is no reference to the novel of Makepeace (what a great name) Thackeray. Even the Wikipedia entry refers to the magazine in the first place, and only if you insist you probably get to find about the more important Vanity Fair, at least from the perspective of literature.

Tal Ben Shahar says that we need to be merit finders and not fault finders. From this perspective, we can admire Becky Sharp for her many merits.

I wonder why Vanity Fair was named A Novel without a Hero, since in my eyes Becky Sharp is the Ultimate Heroine. She is smart, resilient, witty, courageous, indefatigable, charming, attractive and successful. This is a series of skills and aptitudes, balanced by an equally impressive number of very negative traits.

She comes from a poor family and this used to be, unfortunately still is a serious handicap, which is used with false modesty, whenever Miss Sharp feels it would help her planned ascension in society.

At the beginning of the novel, we meet Becky Sharp in the company of Amelia Sedley, who will be the positive heroine of the novel, in an extreme opposition to Becky. While Miss Sharp is immoral, false, vain (hence the heroine of Vanity Fair) and determined to succeed, Amelia is sincere, kind, loyal and constant.

Personally, I have a weak spot for Becky, who is much more complex and interesting as a character, even if or because she is deceitful and unexpected.

Becky Sharp tries to entice Joseph Sedley, her friend’s brother, but somehow that marriage escapes from her clutches. So the heroine has to go in the service of Sir Pitt Crawley who is a distant relation of another fictional character- Harpagon.

Becky Sharp is full of positive as well as negative traits. She is so likeable that Sir Pitt Crawley, his son and his sister are thrilled by her. But she plays her hand in a less beneficial manner, by marrying in secret to the son, Captain Rawdon Crawley, attracting the wrath of the father and aunt, who disinherits the captain.

This excellent novel depicts very well and with sarcasm the vain insistence upon rank and fortune- if one is a member of the higher class, he or she is appreciated, even if talents are missing and the person is obnoxious. Snob as I am, I tend to feel that a someone born in a “good” family has better chances of using the pool of genes for a better life, career and family. In fact, statistics confirm that and the higher you are on the ladder, the better chances you have for a better education, job, wife and status. This is true even today, in spite of a greater mobility and chances for advancement.

Becky sharp makes her way to the top, even if there are ups and downs, she fails in some endeavors, while succeeding in others. There are plenty of compromises and embarrassing situations, but

-          “Where there is a will, there is a way”

What I admire most about Becky Sharp is her Determination. She is poor, but finds a way out of her predicament. Even when she is in debt and back at ground level Becky Does Not Give up!

-          Never!

This is an extraordinary woman, admirable also because of her shortcomings- in spite of the negative traits holding her back, she is Unstoppable! What she has in her mind- her Goals are always pursued with an amazing Tenacity.

Be a merit finder, not a fault finder!

This applies very well to her, as she tries to use those around, for all their weaknesses, there is a way that she has to use the others and get ahead y hook or by crook.

We have entered the dark side of this woman, who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals and that transforms her into a negative character for most readers. I must say that I liked her strength, stamina and …

Will to Power

Becky Sharp is one of the most amazing women I have ever read about!!