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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Vanity Fair, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Greed and Ambition
Vanity
Social Class and Character
Gender
Inheritance and Family Life
Summary
Analysis
The narrator muses about what a big effect kind words can have on a person, recommending both giving people compliments face-to-face, then repeating the compliments behind their back, where they are likely to hear them.
The narrator’s recommendations are both humorous and practical, acknowledging the reality that people tend to gossip, so a person should always praise others, even behind their backs.
Themes
With Becky gone, Mrs. Bute starts caring for Miss Crawley and slowly turning her against Rawdon. She also encourages Miss Crawley to see a doctor whenever she feels unwell. Mrs. Bute also tells her about how Becky seduced Rawdon, and how her mother worked in the opera. Mrs. Bute becomes a little too overbearing for Miss Crawley, who tries to get away when possible.
Mrs. Bute is trying to do exactly what Becky attempted earlier—win over Miss Crawley before she dies in order to secure a piece of her inheritance. The problem, however, is that Mrs. Bute is so eager to get that inheritance that her “help” becomes oppressive. This passage shows how when “help” comes from a selfish place, sometimes it does more harm than good.
Themes
Miss Crawley’s doctor discusses her situation with the apothecary, suggesting that Mrs. Bute is so stressful that she’ll kill Miss Crawley in two months. The apothecary tells Mrs. Bute what he thinks, and Mrs. Bute backs off (since Miss Crawley hasn’t adjusted her will yet). Still, later, when Miss Crawley rides in her carriage and passes Rawdon and Becky’s house, Miss Crawley doesn’t acknowledge them. Mrs. Bute decides to take Miss Crawley out of town for her health, recommending Brighton.
Although Miss Crawley is not the most sympathetic character, this passage humanizes her by showing how she can’t trust anyone around her because they all want her money. While at first the fortune seemed to bring Miss Crawley’s family closer to her, she slowly realizes that her fortune is actually isolating her, as it causes her to burn bridges, first with Rawdon and Becky, then with Mrs. Bute.
Themes
