"I like Becky": Victorian values in W. M. Thackeray's Vanity Fair

Abstract

This bachelor work focuses on Victorian values that are typical for this age and especially on those that are reflected in W. M. Thackeray's novel, Vanity Fair. An introduction part explains the reader why some values characteristic for Victorian and Regency years are not included. Chapters in the first part of this work are engaged in detailed introduction of Victorian values and what impact it had on the society which was constantly criticized by Thackeray for its vanities and a bad moral. The second part is focused on the novel Vanity Fair itself and it pursues the reason for the author's critical attitude to the society of the middle class and how it influenced its characters. Revealing truth, irony or humor are also important issues of Thackeray's novel and thus it is included in this part as well. This bachelor paper should conclude whether the statement, that Vanity Fair is a reflection of its age, is valid or not. To support any idea within this work we use examples from the primary text and there are also comments of critics who are focused on the Victorian age or the work of W.M. Thackeray.