Vanity Fair · Chapter
XI: Arcadian Simplicity explained
The chapter contrasts the 'simple' country life at Queen's Crawley with the more complex social dynamics at the Rectory, introducing the Reverend Bute Crawley and his shrewd wife, Mrs.
What happens
The chapter contrasts the 'simple' country life at Queen's Crawley with the more complex social dynamics at the Rectory, introducing the Reverend Bute Crawley and his shrewd wife, Mrs. Bute Crawley. It explores the financial rivalries between the Crawley brothers, Sir Pitt and Bute, over Miss Crawley's fortune, and details Rebecca Sharp's growing influence over both Miss Crawley and Captain Rawdon Crawley. Rebecca skillfully manages Rawdon's advances, burning his note in front of him, while Mrs. Bute secretly investigates Rebecca's background. The chapter ends with Miss Crawley ordering her carriage for 'that little governess,' signaling Rebecca's rising status.
Themes in this chapter
Vanity and Hypocrisy
The chapter exposes the hypocrisy of the Crawley family: Bute rails against Rawdon's vices while himself being a gambler and debtor, and Mrs. Bute pretends to welcome Rebecca while secretly investigating her.
Social Class and Ambition
Rebecca's rise from governess to favored companion of Miss Crawley illustrates social climbing, while the Crawley brothers' rivalry over inheritance shows ambition tied to class and money.
Family and Betrayal
The bitter competition between Sir Pitt and Bute Crawley over Miss Crawley's fortune, with Bute hoping for her death, highlights familial betrayal and greed.
Appearance vs. Reality
The 'Arcadian simplicity' of country life is undercut by the scheming, debt, and secret investigations at the Rectory and Hall, contrasting rural purity with underlying corruption.
Characters to notice
- Becky Sharp
The little governess who captivates Miss Crawley and Rawdon, burning Rawdon's note and managing his advances with skill.
- Rawdon Crawley
Captain Rawdon Crawley, a gambler and profligate, pursues Rebecca and is favored by Miss Crawley for his 'delightfully wicked' character.
- Miss Crawley
The wealthy old spinster who adores imprudent matches and shows partiality to Rebecca, drinking heavily and causing concern about her health.
- Bute Crawley
The Reverend Bute Crawley, a jolly, athletic man who resents Rawdon for inheriting Miss Crawley's fortune and is often in debt.
- Mrs. Bute Crawley
The shrewd and thrifty wife of the Rector, who secretly investigates Rebecca's history and manipulates her husband to avoid Rawdon.
- Sir Pitt Crawley
The Baronet, brother to Bute, who has bested Bute in financial transactions and is known for breaking promises.
- Pitt Crawley
Sir Pitt's eldest son, a Methodist milksop who sets up a meeting house and looks to Parliament.
Key passages
“The Captain had distinguished her a great number of times before. The Captain had met her in a half-score of walks. The Captain had lighted upon her in a half-hundred of corridors and passages.”
Rawdon had already sought out Rebecca many times, meeting her on walks and in hallways.
Highlights Rawdon's persistent pursuit of Rebecca before the ball.
“She took up the triangular missive daintily, and waved it about as if it were a cocked hat, and she, advancing to the enemy, popped the note into the fire, and made him a very low curtsey, and went back to her place, and began to sing away again more merrily than ever.”
Rebecca gracefully picked up Rawdon's note, waved it like a hat, then threw it into the fire, curtseyed, and resumed singing cheerfully.
Demonstrates Rebecca's clever rejection of Rawdon's advances, turning his gesture into a public humiliation.
“I say he has got every vice, Mrs. Crawley. Don't Ma'am, bully me. Didn't he shoot Captain Marker? Didn't he rob young Lord Dovedale at the Cocoa-Tree? Didn't he cross the fight between Bill Soames and the Cheshire Trump, by which I lost forty pound?”
Bute angrily lists Rawdon's vices: shooting a man in a duel, cheating at cards, and interfering in a boxing match that cost Bute money.
Reveals Bute's resentment of Rawdon and the financial losses he attributes to him.
