Ambivalence and ambiguity in Thackeray's attitude to his woman characters in Vanity Fair and Henry Esmond
Author(s)
Advisor
Date
1994Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
William Makepeace Thackeray is ambivalent in his
depiction of woman characters, which is primarily the
result of the discrepancy in the attitude to women of the
Victorian society· Like many of the contemporary
novelists, he at once supports and questions the position
of women and the double standards of his male-dominated
society. His attitude to the Victorian concept of ideal
womanhood is equally ambig^uous as that of the Victorian
concept of the "fallen" woman.
Thackeray portrays his female characters as
contrasted pairs, usin^ the "bad" woman as a foil to the
"g“ood" one. Such portrayal is in keeping' with the method
of Victorian fiction; however, he questions the values of
ideal woDianhood in the conventional novel. The
ambivalence of Thackeray's attitude to his female
characters makes it difficult for the reader to determine
whether he prefers the good, submissive, but the boring
parasite in the Amelia type or the bad, rebellious, yet
attractive Becky type. Contributing to this ambivalence is Thackeray's irony as well as humor. Such ambivalence
no doubt resulted from his contradictory attitude to his
mother, wife, and the woman he loved.
The ambivalence and ambiguity in his attitude is to
be found in all of his novels, but most obviously in
Vanity Fair and Henry Esmond. These are the two novels
most memorable for their contrasted female characters.
The pairs of women examined are Amelia Sedley and Becky
Sharp of Vanity Fair and Rachel Castlewood and Beatrix
Castlewood of Henry Esmond.
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