Vanity Fair · Chapter
LI: In Which a Charade Is Acted Which May or May Not Puzzle the Reader explained
Becky Sharp rises in London society, hosting lavish parties on a shoestring budget and gaining entry into the highest aristocratic circles through Lord Steyne's patronage.
What happens
Becky Sharp rises in London society, hosting lavish parties on a shoestring budget and gaining entry into the highest aristocratic circles through Lord Steyne's patronage. She organizes a charade at Gaunt House, becomes a fixture at elite gatherings, and reflects on the emptiness of fashionable life, while her success breeds envy and boredom.
Themes in this chapter
Vanity and Hypocrisy
The chapter satirizes the superficiality of high society, where debts are overlooked for the sake of entertainment and mutual forbearance.
Social Class and Ambition
Becky's rise from governess to the inner circles of fashion illustrates the pursuit of status and the permeability of class boundaries.
Appearance vs. Reality
Becky's parties appear grand but are funded by others' resources, and her polite demeanor masks her boredom and strategic manipulation.
Characters to notice
- Becky Sharp
Hosts parties on a tight budget, orchestrates charades at Gaunt House, and navigates high society with charm and cunning.
- Rawdon Crawley
Becky's husband, present at social events, described as large and military in figure.
- Lord Steyne
Patron of Becky, provides resources for her parties, and incites the charade entertainment at Gaunt House.
- Wenham
Lord Steyne's right-hand man, goes about praising Becky to secure her social acceptance.
- George IV
Mentioned as the reigning monarch and as a figure Becky sees face to face at the height of her success.
- Bedwin Sands
Elegant dandy and Eastern traveller, manager of the charade revels at Gaunt House.
Key passages
“great show with very little means: and it is our belief that Becky’s much-talked-of parties, which were not, after all was said, very numerous, cost this lady very little more than the wax candles which lighted the walls.”
Becky's famous parties were few and cost her almost nothing beyond the candles.
Highlights Becky's resourcefulness and the illusion of wealth.
“If every person is to be banished from society who runs into debt and cannot pay—if we are to be peering into everybody’s private life, speculating upon their income, and cutting them if we don’t approve of their expenditure—why, what a howling wilderness and intolerable dwelling Vanity Fair would be!”
If we shunned everyone in debt, society would become a desolate and unbearable place.
The narrator defends social hypocrisy as necessary for civilization.
“I wish I were out of it. I would rather be a parson’s wife and teach a Sunday school than this; or a sergeant’s lady and ride in the regimental wagon; or, oh, how much gayer it would be to wear spangles and trousers and dance before a booth at a fair.”
Becky confesses she would prefer a simpler life to the boredom of high society.
Reveals Becky's inner ennui despite her outward success.