The Illusion of Honor

Barry frequently invokes duels and gentlemanly codes to assert his honor, yet these acts are shown to be hypocritical tools for eliminating rivals and covering up his unscrupulous behavior.

The editor suggests Barry invents duels to assert his honor whenever his actions appear disreputable, undermining the very concept of honor he claims.

The Illusion of Honor is one of the patterns The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray returns to. The chapter notes above are from this edition’s companions — open those chapters to see how the book stages the idea rather than treating the theme as a slogan.