《名利场》的现实意义初探-《名利场》的艺术特色

关键词:《名利场》;现实主义;幽默;讽刺;旁白

Abstract :Vanity Fair written by William Makepeace Thackeray is generally recognized as his masterpiece,through which he established his important position in the history of English literature. Inthenovel , Thakeray profoundly exposes the social evils and reality of the times through realism and satire. This paper tries to make some explorations of the novelps elements of realism and satire that contribute much to its great success.

Key words :Vanity Fair ;realism;satire ;humor ;narration

Thackeray said :the aim of the tragedy and poetry is to invoke various feelingsmuch emphasis on“nature and truth”.Its writing style is so masculine , felicitous , humorous and pleasant that unless to very obtuse perceptions , one Fair is written down.sees not how it can fail of being attractive. Particularly its artistic features are more unique compared with those of other contemporary European writers.“the art of the novel is to express nature , to convey truth ———[1] Actions and languages of the characters are of heroic characteristic. Thusheputs Under the guide of this principle,hismasterpiece Vanity

Ⅰ

In my eyes , the first artistic feature of Vanity Fair is its realism. It is prominently manifested in terms of characterization.

The triumph of Thackeraypsartofcharacterizationishisrealism. Hispersonagesarerealistic.Manyofthemare drawn from persons actually known to him. Thus it is said that Amelia Sedley is drawn after his own wife ,and Sydney Morgan suggested as the origin for Rebecca (Becky) Sharp[2] . His characters are neither God nor Devil , but real human beings with common human joys and sorrows , virtues and weaknesses. This is the reason for their vitality , they are solid figures of flesh and blood and not merely lifeless abstractions. Realism is manifested by the effective use of physical details. They are never presented in isolation , but in their milieu , both social and physical.

Thackerayps morality is more realistic , nearer to nature than that of Dickens. There are no poetic justice , no sudden conversions and no artificial trying of the loose ends at the end. The wicked sufferers , and their suffering come quite naturally and convincingly. At the moment of their highest achievement , their success turns out to be dust and ash. Becky Sharp succeeds in marrying Rawdon , but her success becomes pointless in her mouth when Sir Pitt proposes to her and she realizes that she has committed an error of judgment. Dobbin is a gentleman , who succeeds in marrying Amelia , but realizes that the price is not worth having. Amelia wastes the best years of her life in nursing the memory of her husband , and then comes to know that he was not worthy of her devotion at all. In the end ,both the good and the wicked achieve only a limited success. Ameliaps success and happiness is not much greater than that of Becky. The morality inferred in this novel is more significant than that of Dickens. However , Thackerayps too frequent moral comments often strike a jarring note , and introduce an element of artificiality. The artistic and imaginative reality is to be frequently violated by the intrusion of a different order of reality.

Rawdon cheats at cards and they — Becky and Rawdon —pendants — Miss Briggs and Raggles , and thus are the masters of the art of living on nothing a year. The relation ship between Becky and Steyne is based on money. Sex has nothing to do with it as far as Rebecca is concerned.

Besides , Thackeray also excels as a painter of manners. We can say Vanity Fair is a novel of manners. It seeks to depict the social behavior of the Victorian upper middle2class. Money getting and losing , and social climbing is the very hub of life. So they are also the very core of Vanity Fair. These aspects of life have been crystallized in the novel , as what they were in Victorian life , through the description of social relationships , and these social relationships center around marriage and money[2] .A few examples will suffice to illustrate the point. Becky is asocialrebel and the achievements of wealth , rank and social status and the ambitions of her life. She seeks to achieve these aims through marriage. She marries Rawdon not out of love , but with this purpose in her mind. Had she not married him first , she would have married Old Sir Pitt , because he was in a better position to provide her with wealth and status. When he proposes to her , she sheds the only genuine tears of her life. She has narrowly missed her goal. ——fleece petty traders and merchants , even their deSocial climbing is the craze of the day , as it is with Becky Sharp. The rich have grown richer , and the newly rich , like Old Osborne , now seek social recognition , prestige and status through their wealth. Old Osborne is callous

and hard2hearted. And money is everything to him. He snobbishly severs the relations with the Sedleys as soon as Old Sedley loses his money , even though John Sedley has been his benefactor and has befriended him in times of need. He calls his former friends by harsh names. He forbids his son to marry Amelia and wants him to marry an illiterate mulatto2girl , who has a lot of money. He is prepared to give his son any amount of money only if he keeps to genteel society , for in his view ,“the genteel can never go wrong”[4] .

In brief ,Thackeray is a true representative of customs and concerns of Victorian Life. He has realistically represented the seamy side of his age. We can call him a great realistic writer.

Ⅱ

In my opinion satire is another artistic feature of Vanity Fair.

As a satirist , he has ruthlessly exposed various follies and frivolities , weaknesses and vices of the upper middleclass of his time. But Thackerayps satire is kindly and genial , only occasionally a little bitter. The three weapons by which he achieves his exposure of human vanity and affectation are (a) irony , (b) use of satirical names and (c) humorous situations.

(a) Irony

Unique in many ways ,irony is the keynote of Thakeray’sattitade.Itistheironyof anexperienced,elderly man of the world ,who is surveying the panorama of Vanity Fair with the same ironical smile ,just as he is watching the activitiesofchildrenatplay. Ironyisimplicitinstyle. Verbalirony,ironyoflife,ironyofcharacterandcircumstancesare all there , coloring the narrative and imparting to it a rare charm and freshness. In Vanity Fair , we find irony of every kind. It covers a wide range. It is sometimes biting , sometimes playful , but always pertinent and to the point.

A few instances would serve to bring out the salient features of Thackerayps irony. Here are a few of Thackerayps ironic comments on the false money2values in Vanity Fair.“I , for my part , have known a five2pound note to interpose and knock up a half2centuryps attachment between two brethren ; and canpt but admire , as I think what a fine and”[4]durable thing love is among worldly people. On another occasion he comments:“What a charming reconciler and [4]peacemaker money is !”Commenting on Miss Grawley , he says ,“The good quality of this lady has been mentioned. She has a balance at her bankerps which would have made her beloved anywhere. ”[4] Women come in for a good share of Thackerayps sarcasm. He has his tongue2in2cheek as he describes Beckyps need of money :“All she wanted was the proposal , and ah ! How Rebecca now felt the want of a mother ! —A dear , [4]tender mother , who would have managed the business in ten minutes ..”Beckypsfriendship withLadyJane is such that ,“.these two ladies did not see much of each except upon those occasions , when the younger brotherps end of Sir Pitt. Lord Steyne dies in the clutches of a second2rate courtesan. Jos Sedley , having spent his great lusts on curries and waistcoats and having escaped his valetps razor. George dies in the bloodbath of patriotism , the scene more ‘black humor’stark for being underplayed , and the remarks with which Thackeray prefaces the account of his death picture as a pretamazingly remains a comic novel , rarely approaching even what we now call ,But despite the harshness of this picture , tified tribal version of the immoral brutality congenital to man. ”[2] Vanity Fair .“Those who read it as a Dostoevskyan rendering of hell(b) Satirical Names on earth distort it even more than those who make it a proto2Marxist tract. ”[1] The tone in which Thackeray tells the story , though occasionally bitter , is more often genial.

Thackeray is adept in giving tell2tale names to his characters which are often humorous and ironic. For certain occupations the author chooses“killing names”. Lance —the surgeon ; Mrs. Briefless —the barristerps wife ; Sir Thomas Coffin —the celebrated hanging judge. To portray personal characteristics there are names such as Mr. Smirk , Miss Today , the Reverend Mr. Crisp , and the Reverend Mr. Flowerew. Mrs. Flamingo dresses in a crimson silk gown. Lord Methuselah is an old man , and Mrs. Highflyer is a social climber.

The situation of the story , at the time the names are mentioned , frequently augments the satire. Here is an exampin.Becky is riding with Sir Pitt to Queenps Crawley. The rain is pouring down. The towns along the way are Leakington Mudbury and Squashmore.

(c) Humor

At other times Thackeray makes use of humorous situations to affect his satiric purpose. There are funny and amusing situations ,which serve to expose some pretension of affections , some hypocrisy or social vanity. For example , Joseph Sedley boasts that he is a lady2killer and tells endless tales of how ladies love him and follow him. But when his pretensions are exposed he appears in a ridiculous light. Sir Pitt is a stingy , dirty , disreputable boor who canpt spell , doesnpt read , eats boiled mutton ,and has nothing but one candle in the house. But it stands in an ornate silver candlestick , and three footmen serve the boiled2mutton. The situation is funny when Old Sir Pitt proposes marriage to Becky :“I am an old man , but a good man. Ipm good for twenty years. Ipll make you happy , see if I donpt. You shall do what you like , spend what you like , and everything in your own way. Ipll make your settlement. Ipll do everything regular. Look dear !”[4] ,and the old man fell down on his knees and peered at her like a satyr. Rebecca stared back at a picture of consternation. She wept some of the most genuine tears that ever fell from her eyes :“Oh,Sir Pitt!”she [4]said ,“Oh, Sir,I2Ipm married already. ”Beckyps worship of money is thus exposed , and we are much amused at the discomposure of Old Sir Pitt , old enough to be Beckyps grandfather.

It should be noticed that the author’s exposure of contemporary vanities and affectations is generally mild and gentle and good2natured , but occasionally he can also be bitter and savage. For example , there is savagery and bitterness in the way in which he shows us how the people in Vanity Fair fawn upon the rich and kick the poor. Thus Mrs.Sedley objects to the marriage of Becky with her son , for she is a mere governess , and George Osborne also works against her , for he would not like to have a mere governess as his sister2in2law. All of the characters of the novel , either themselves moved by vanity or destroyed by the vanity of others form a brutal , sterile , and fragmented world. In the background of this world , there are insanity and violence. There are violent old men furious at their sons , and forlorn spinsters clutching at husbands and lusting for other womenps children. The satire is often harsh and brutal , but despite the occasional savagery of the picture , Vanity Fair ,surprisingly enough , remains a great comic novel. It abounds in characters and situations that are incomparable art , making us accept even the worst in the world as inevitable, sad , funny , and valuable , because it is human.

As one critic observes ,“Thackeray is good at satire and realistic description so we can call his narrative method in Vanity Fair unique. Vanity Fair is presented by summarized narrative without much recourse to the minds of the characters. If there is any doubt as to how the reader should judge an individual , the author steps in and makes appropriate comments. ”[2] For example , the Sedleys lose their money , the chief critic and enemy is Old Oborne , with whom Sedley has started in business. Thackeray comments on the psychology of Old Osborneps attitude :“When one man has been under very remarkable obligations to another , with whom he subsequently quarrels , as common sense of decency , as it were , makes of the former a much severer enemy than a mere stranger would be .a persecutor is bound to show that the fallen man is a villain .Otherwise he , the persecutor , is a wretch himself. ”[1]

Thackerayps technique of storytelling is often picturesque and dramatic. The sustained narrative flow is broken continually by individual comic or serious scenes ,full of drama and movement. For example , there is Old Sir Pittps proposal to Becky ; the contrasts of partings between husbands and wives before the Battle of Waterloo ; Jos Sedleyps flight from Brussels ; the midnight“hurry and bustle”at Queenps Crawley when Old Sir Pitt has a stroke , and Mrs Bute Crawley finds Miss Horrocks , the butlerps daughter , decked in her“guilty ribbons”; the whole series of pictures at the end of party at GauntHouse,culminating in the confrontation of Becky and Lord Steyne by Rawdon Crawley[5] .

Apart from these long descriptions of dramatic interludes ,the emotional mood is everywhere sharpened and focused by physical details. Thackeray does not linger over deathbeds , like Dickens , but his pathetic touches are all the more effective for being glimpses only. For example , Amelia , futile and useless , watching George Packing , leaning against the wall , holding his crimson sash to her breast like a stain of blood ; Georgeps unused bedroom in Russell Square , with its whips and caps , a Bible and a pair of spurs on the mantelpiece ,“a dried inkstand covered with the dust of ten years”;Lady Steyne , back in happy memories of her convent childhood , weeping silently as she listens to Becky singing.

In all these ways , Thackeray varies and enlivens his narration , and avoids monotony. Variety is further imparted by his sentence structure that ranges from a few words to a whole paragraph. Sometimes , the novelist addresses the readers directly , and at other times his address takes the form of a question. Sometimes the narration is slow and leisurely , and at other times it is swift and rapid. Essay or narration alternates with scintillating , witty dialogue , and dramatic scenes and situations. Immense variety , in short , characterizes Thackerayps narrative technique.

In addition , vividness and allusion are imparted to the narration by the use of symbol and imagery. His symbols are drawn from daily life , from the classics , and from the Bible. For example , Rebecca Sharp is likened to Deligh and Clytemnstra , and Jane Osborne is likened to Iphigenia. Best of his imagery is drawn from the common , everyday objects, scenes and sights of nature. Sometimes Thackerayps comparisons are humorous. For example , he compares Rebecca being tried at court to the cleaning of dirty linen by putting it through the laundry.

As a narrator and storyteller ,however Thackeray has his faults. His too frequent intrusions make the narration loose and discursive. The story rambles and the essays containing generalized reflections are introduced too frequently. But despite such faults , it still makes interesting reading. And whatps more , Thackeray has succeeded in his mission of exposing the futile , the snobbish , and false money2values of Vanity Fair.

In conclusion , Thackeray is not only a great realist , but also an eminent satirist. His narrative is quite unusual. It is no doubt that Thackeray can be put on a par with Dickens , a great English writer of critical realism in 19th century.

References :

[1] Lames Vinson. Novelists [M]. The Macmillian Press Ltd. , 1997.

[2] HarrisFitzgerald. NineteenthCenturyLiteratureCriticism[M].England:OxfordUniversityPress,1977.

[3] Liu Bingshan. Brief History of English Literature [M]. Shanghai :Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press ,1985.

[4] William Makepeace Thackery. Vanity Fair [M]. The Continental Book Company ,1995. htt

[5] Chen Jia. A History of English Literature [M]. Commercial Press ,1981.