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Chapter 48
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
Lord Steyne rarely sees Lady Steyne or the other ladies of his house on a typical day. Before Becky received her invitation at the end of the previous chapter, Lord Steyne asked his wife to write a card inviting Rawdon and Becky to dinner. Lady Steyne declined, saying that’s the responsibility of Lady Gaunt (the absent George Gaunt’s wife). When Lady Gaunt says she won’t be present at the dinner, implying that Becky is below her, Lord Steyne reminds Lady Gaunt that Lady Gaunt herself came from a humble background before her marriage to George Gaunt.
Lady Gaunt’s hypocrisy (about refusing to see Becky after Lady Gaunt herself comes from a humble background) shows how people who rise up through the social ranks can end up being the most snobbish about class distinctions (perhaps out of insecurity about their own humble beginnings). Although everyone seems to know that Lord Steyne is infatuated with Becky, he nevertheless continues to try to maintain plausible deniability by using the women in his family as cover for his desires by getting them to invite Becky instead.
Themes
Literary Devices
Reluctantly, Lady Steyne and Lady Gaunt agree to send Becky and Rawdon an invitation, and they also agree to attend the dinner. When the night of the dinner arrives, the ladies greet Becky politely but coldly. Becky takes no offense and acts very humbly, trying to win a place among all the high-class ladies invited to the event. Later in the evening, she shows off her piano skills, playing religious songs by Mozart that she knows Lady Steyne likes. While some ladies continue to gossip about Becky, Lady Steyne decides she likes her. By the end of the evening, Becky has won over all the men and even a few women.
Becky gladly plays into Lord Steyne’s plan to use the women in his family to justify his relationship with Becky by making it seem respectable. Becky knows that Lady Steyne is very religious, and so she adapts her musical knowledge—now instead of using it to win over men, she uses it to show her piety to Lady Steyne.
Themes
Literary Devices
