 Re: Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray
Lycia89,
Amelia Sedley and Rebecca Sharp leave Miss Pinkerton’s
academy and are ready to face the world. Amelia is a well to do
businessman’s daughter, while Rebecca (Becky) is the daughter
of a poor artist and a disreputable opera dancer. Before Becky
can join her employers at Queen’s Crawley where she is going
as a governess for two girls, she stays with Amelia in her grand
home at Russel Square.
Amelia has an elder brother, Joseph (Jos), employed in India,
who returns home and Becky sees this as a great opportunity to
seize and marry him. This would be her short cut to
respectability, which she is out to achieve. But her hopes are
shattered. She flatters and entices Jos, just enough so that he
proposes to her. Jos he gets drunk out of nervousness and, to
everyone’s embarrassment, creates a scene. Later, realizing the
indiscretion with which he acted, Jos flees to Scotland. Becky is
a little disappointed but she is all set to start afresh.
Lt. George Osborne is the handsome Godson of Mr. John
Sedley, who wants him to marry Amelia. Amelia and George
have liked each other since childhood. George has a devoted
friend called Lt. William Dobbin, who too is in love with
Amelia, but sacrifices his wishes for his dear friend.
Rebecca makes herself endearing in Sir Pitt Crawley’s home
and wins over everybody. Even the old spinster sister of Sir Pitt,
Miss Crawley, who has a fortune of seventy thousand pounds, is
impressed with her. Sir Pitt’s elder son, Pitt Crawley, is a rather
insipid man, but his younger son, Capt. Rawdon Crawley is
handsome and extravagant, besides he is a favorite of his rich
aunt and is to inherit all her fortune. Becky secretly marries
Rawdon, thinking that the old aunt will first be hysterical but
later forgive her dear nephew and her favorite companion.
On the other side, Amelia’s father becomes bankrupt and their
house and possessions are auctioned. Becky buys a picture of
Jos and Dobbin purchases the old Piano on which Amelia used
to play and sends it to her modest home at Fulham Street. All
this while, George is busy gambling and flirting with the rich
ladies in London. George’s father, Mr. Osborne, is a
materialistic man who forbids him to marry Amelia for now she
cannot bring along any money. Dobbin cannot bear to see
Amelia suffering because she is separated from George and so
he compels George to accept her even in her poverty. George
too is fond of Amelia and they marry without Mr. Osborne’s
permission, who disowns his son for having married a ruined
man’s daughter.
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