Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero

Explore the differences and similarities between Becky’s and Amelia’s backgrounds and how this contrast forms their characters. Further, how do they overlap, even indirectly? In what way does extreme behavior, whichever direction is leans in, create similarity between the two women?

George and Dobbin are friends from a young age, but they, like Becky and Amelia, appear as opposites. Compare and contrast George and Dobbin with Becky and Amelia. What similarities and differences do you find in these pairs of friends?

Several characters are involved in the British military, and they are involved in the Battle of Waterloo. What role does the military play in Vanity Fair from the viewpoint of society? What role does the military play from the viewpoint of Dobbin?

How does the novel portray the vapid decadence of Vanity Fair? Is there anything forgiving about such decadence? Which character best captures a balance within the decadence, and which character is most extreme? Explain your reasoning.

What role does debt play in Vanity Fair, both financial debt and the idea of moral debt as a sense of duty? Which characters face these two forms of debt and how?

George dies at the Battle of Waterloo. To what extent does his death change people’s perspective of his character, and what does this say about George’s role within the novel? Could it be said that he so embodied high society that he could no longer function as a productive character? Why or why not?

Compare and contrast the maternal relationships portrayed in the novel. Examine Becky, Amelia, and Lady Grey to determine varying approaches to motherhood. What do these maternal relationships say about the mothers themselves and the lives they have led?

What function does Lord Steyne play in the novel’s social satire beyond the villain? Is his character redeemable at all, and is he fully developed within the text, or does he serve as a necessary disrupter to Becky’s life? What characteristics of society does he represent?