A Feminist Interpretation Of Becky Sharp In Vanity Fair

William Makepeace Thackeray is one of the representatives of the English critical realistic writers. And Vanity Fair has been generally regarded as his masterpiece. It follows the fortunes of two contrasting but inter-linked women characters—Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley. The novel accompanies the lives of Becky and Amelia through happy times and sorrowful days. In the novel Thackeray examines the position and role of women in a money-oriented and status-conscious male world, and attacks a corrupted and hypocritical society which advocates the Victorian virtues of marriage and family.This thesis is devoted to a reinterpretation of Becky in Vanity Fair from a feminist critical perspective. Based on Beauvoir's feminist critical theory, the author of the thesis tries to analyze Becky's challenge to patriarchy and the dilemma and frustrations she meets.This thesis develops its arguments as follows:Firstly the thesis gives a general introduction including Thackeray's art, literary reviews on Vanity Fair, a brief review of Beauvoir's feminist literary theories and the purpose of the thesis.The first chapter mainly analyzes how Becky subverts women's weak image. As a daughter Becky can face the reality with courage in predicament, and shoulder the family burden instead of her father, thus developing into a strong-willed woman. She is not the representative of the weak. In husband hunting game she is even more active and shrewd than men. Therefore, we can say Becky is not a traditional woman, and she subverts the weak image of women.The second chapter discusses how Becky challenges the patriarchy. Firstly she challenges the traditional family pattern with husband as the ruler and wife in a submissive position. She is the economic head and makes all big decisions. Becky also gradually tames her husband into obedient servant with wife as the master. Moreover Becky is not a traditional qualified mother, and her husband shoulders the responsibility of taking care of their son. Therefore Becky challenges the traditional patriarchal family pattern. Secondly, Becky challenges the patriarchal society. She fights against the defender of thepatriarchy------Miss Pinkerton. Becky refuses the schoolmistress's unfair requirements.When Becky leaves Miss Pinkerton's, she throws away Samuel Johnson's Dictionary, the symbol of oppressive authority. Moreover, Becky manages to do the work far beyond the responsibility of a governess. She interferes in Sir Pitt's economic affairs, and behaves shrewder than Sir Pitt.The third chapter discusses the dilemma and frustrations that Becky meets in the process of dream-fulfillment and fight against patriarchy. On the one hand, she challenges the patriarchy, and would not like to be a traditional woman. On the other hand, if she refuses to be an "Angel in the House", she will to be treated as the mentally unsound and even considered a monster in patriarchal society. Besides, Becky has met economic difficulties because she and her husband have no income resource. Therefore it is easy for her to become men's vassal in her way to search for money and position. However, Becky's victory in society does not bring her real feeling of happiness but emotional emptiness and loneliness, because of the indecent way of climbing. Furthermore, in patriarchal society once a wife is found unfaithful to her husband, it will be difficult for her to be forgiven, and she is more easily deserted by her husband. Then she is not accepted by the society and her final fate is psychological frustration and defeat.Finally the author draws a conclusion that Becky is really a warrior against the patriarchy. Furthermore, there is a feminist voice in bud embodied through Becky in this novel.In the process of self fulfillment, Becky meets difficulties and dilemma. However Becky at least makes her first step to challenge the patriarchy, and she has developed self-consciousness, which is also a significant progress.