# A Family in a Very Small Way explained — Vanity Fair

> Chapter companion for Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.

## What happens

This chapter details the reduced circumstances of the Sedley family after Waterloo. Joseph Sedley returns to India, embellishing his role in the battle, while old Mr. Sedley fails at various business ventures. A bitter quarrel erupts between Amelia and her mother over the administration of medicine to little Georgy, creating a lasting rift. Major Dobbin, from Madras, secretly supports Amelia and her son with gifts and money, while Georgy grows up as a proud, sensitive boy who strongly resembles his father.

## Themes in this chapter

### Wealth and Poverty

The Sedley family's fall from prosperity is starkly shown through Mr. Sedley's failed businesses and the couple's reliance on Joseph's annuity, contrasting with their former carriage-owning status.

### Family and Betrayal

The bitter quarrel between Amelia and Mrs. Sedley over Georgy's care reveals deep familial tensions and a lasting breach, highlighting themes of loyalty and perceived betrayal.

### Appearance vs. Reality

Joseph Sedley fabricates a heroic role at Waterloo, while Dobbin secretly pays George's debts and supports Amelia, presenting a false front of the Major's accounts.

## Character check-ins

### Joseph Sedley

Returns to India after Brussels, boasts about his supposed role at Waterloo, and is called 'Waterloo Sedley' in Calcutta.

### John Sedley

Fails at various business ventures after bankruptcy, frequents a club where he boasts about his son's position and his former wealth.

### Mrs. Sedley

Quarrels bitterly with Amelia over administering Daffy's Elixir to Georgy, leading to a permanent coolness between them.

### Amelia Sedley

Fiercely protective of Georgy, clashes with her mother over the child's care, and corresponds with Dobbin while remaining unaware of his financial sacrifices.

### George Osborne

Deceased; his memory is kept alive through his son Georgy, who strongly resembles him in pride and manner.

### William Dobbin

From Madras, secretly pays off George's debts and supports Amelia and Georgy with gifts and money, while hiding his own generosity.

### Georgy Osborne

Grows up delicate, sensitive, and imperious, ruling his small world and showing a strong likeness to his father.

### Mr. Osborne

Mentioned as having never concerned himself with the expenses of George's burial or Amelia's situation.

## Key lines

> Our worthy fat friend Joseph Sedley returned to India not long after his escape from Brussels. Either his furlough was up, or he dreaded to meet any witnesses of his Waterloo flight.

Joseph Sedley went back to India soon after fleeing Brussels, possibly because his leave ended or he wanted to avoid people who saw his cowardice at Waterloo.

_Explains Joseph's motivation for returning to India and his avoidance of shame._

> He had a thousand anecdotes about the famous battles; he knew the position of every regiment and the loss which each had incurred. He did not deny that he had been concerned in those victories—that he had been with the army and carried despatches for the Duke of Wellington.

Joseph told many stories about Waterloo, claiming detailed knowledge of troop positions and casualties, and implied he had been present with Wellington's army.

_Highlights Joseph's self-aggrandizing fabrications about his role in the battle._

> Amelia, the gentlest and sweetest of everyday mortals, when she found this meddling with her maternal authority, thrilled and trembled all over with anger. Her cheeks, ordinarily pale, now flushed up, until they were as red as they used to be when she was a child of twelve years old.

Normally gentle Amelia became furious when she caught her mother interfering with her care of Georgy, her face flushing red with anger.

_Shows Amelia's fierce maternal protectiveness and the intensity of the quarrel._

> He sent over a pair of shawls, a white one for her and a black one with palm-leaves for her mother, and a pair of red scarfs, as winter wrappers, for old Mr. Sedley and George. The shawls were worth fifty guineas apiece at the very least, as Mrs. Sedley knew.

Dobbin sent expensive gifts from India, including shawls worth at least fifty guineas each, which Mrs. Sedley proudly wore to church.

_Illustrates Dobbin's generosity and the family's reliance on his support._

## Links

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