# Eothen explained — Vanity Fair

> Chapter companion for Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.

## What happens

Amelia Sedley endures a life of poverty and servitude caring for her aging father, John Sedley, while accepting financial help from her father-in-law, Mr. Osborne. Meanwhile, Major William Dobbin, recovering from illness aboard a ship, learns that Amelia is not married and his hopes revive. He returns to England with Joseph Sedley, determined to help Amelia and her son Georgy.

## Themes in this chapter

### Wealth and Poverty

Explores the stark contrast between the wealthy Osborne and the impoverished Sedley, and the humiliation of accepting charity.

### Gender and Power

Highlights the suffering and sacrifice of women like Amelia, who endure 'long slavery' and are tyrannized by men.

### Appearance vs. Reality

Dobbin's cheerful demeanor on the ship hides his deep anxiety about Amelia, and Amelia's smiles mask her inner misery.

## Character check-ins

### Amelia Sedley

Living in poverty, caring for her father, and accepting charity from Mr. Osborne; described as a 'poor-spirited, despicable little creature' who sacrifices herself for her family.

### John Sedley

Now a bankrupt old widower, dependent on his daughter and the charity of his former rival, Mr. Osborne.

### Mr. Osborne

Takes pride in humiliating his old rival Sedley by offering financial aid, and provides money for Georgy's upbringing.

### Georgy Osborne

Visits his mother occasionally, patronizes his grandfather Sedley, and is being sent to school.

### William Dobbin

Recovers from illness on the ship Ramchunder, learns Amelia is not married, and returns to England with Joseph Sedley, determined to help her.

### Joseph Sedley

Returns to England on the same ship as Dobbin, carrying letters from Amelia that reveal she is not marrying.

## Key lines

> The successful man of the world cursed the old pauper and relieved him from time to time.

Mr. Osborne, a prosperous man, both insulted and occasionally helped the impoverished Sedley.

_Illustrates the theme of wealth and poverty and the power dynamics between the two men._

> O you poor women! O you poor secret martyrs and victims, whose life is a torture, who are stretched on racks in your bedrooms, and who lay your heads down on the block daily at the drawing-room table; every man who watches your pains, or peers into those dark places where the torture is administered to you, must pity you—and—and thank God that he has a beard.

The narrator laments the hidden suffering of women, who endure daily torment in domestic life, and suggests men should be grateful they are not subject to such treatment.

_Highlights the theme of gender and power, critiquing the oppression of women in society._

> Some such boons as these were the best which Fortune allotted to poor little Amelia. Her life, begun not unprosperously, had come down to this—to a mean prison and a long, ignoble bondage.

Amelia's life, once promising, has been reduced to a miserable existence of servitude and confinement.

_Emphasizes Amelia's fall from prosperity to poverty and her role as a caretaker._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/vanity_fair_se/chapters/lvii-eothen
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/vanity_fair_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/vanity_fair_se/chapters