Vanity Fair · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.

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Chapter 1
Before the Curtain
The author, as the manager of a performance, introduces Vanity Fair as a bustling, noisy, and morally ambiguous place filled with eating, drinking, love, cheating, and entertainment. He reflects on the melancholy beneath the surface merriment and presents the story as a puppet show, acknowledging the favorable reception of his characters—Becky Sharp, Amelia Sedley, William Dobbin, and the Wicked Nobleman—before the curtain rises.
Chapter 2
I: Chiswick Mall
The chapter opens at Miss Pinkerton's academy for young ladies on Chiswick Mall, where Amelia Sedley is preparing to depart after six years. Her friend Becky Sharp, a poor articled pupil, is also leaving to become a governess. Miss Pinkerton writes a pompous letter to Mrs. Sedley praising Amelia, but refuses to give Becky a copy of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. Amelia is kind-hearted and beloved by all, while Becky is sharp and independent. The two girls leave together in the Sedley coach.
Chapter 3
In Which Miss Sharp and Miss Sedley Prepare to Open the Campaign
Rebecca Sharp celebrates her departure from Miss Pinkerton's Academy by throwing a dictionary into the garden, expressing her hatred for the school and its headmistress. She confides in Amelia Sedley about her harsh treatment and her father's abusive past. As they travel to the Sedley home, Rebecca learns that Amelia's brother Joseph is unmarried and wealthy, and she resolves to try to marry him within her fortnight's visit.
Chapter 4
Rebecca Is in Presence of the Enemy
Rebecca Sharp meets Joseph Sedley, Amelia's wealthy but shy brother, and immediately sets her sights on him as a potential husband. Despite Joseph's awkwardness and vanity, Rebecca skillfully flatters him and begins her campaign to secure his affections, driven by her lack of family support and her ambition for social advancement.
Chapter 5
The Green Silk Purse
Rebecca Sharp continues to charm the Sedley household, winning over Mrs. Sedley, the servants, and even Mr. Sedley with her gratitude and humility. Joseph Sedley, still recovering from his earlier panic, returns and is drawn into a flirtation with Rebecca. During a thunderstorm that cancels a planned Vauxhall outing, Rebecca engages Joseph in helping her wind a skein of green silk, a scene that suggests a growing romantic entanglement. Meanwhile, Mr. Sedley warns his wife of Rebecca's designs on Joseph, but Mrs. Sedley dismisses the idea. The chapter ends with Joseph resolving to propose at Vauxhall.

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Before the Curtain

I: Chiswick Mall

In Which Miss Sharp and Miss Sedley Prepare to Open the Campaign

Rebecca Is in Presence of the Enemy

The Green Silk Purse