The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-05-07
THE
OF
How VANITY Fair Exemplihes the
Great NOyeIist's Thorough Mast
cry of His Art.
Ry Fl. H. PECkHAM. North Carolina
a At College.

cry O1 his Ar
By II. II. PECkHAM. North Carolina
A. & At. College
Is T~hackeray a great tecnn1ciah
That depends entirely upon what W.
mean bv novel technique. II we mean
the rigid observance OF many anons
Of construction. scrupulous
in regard to the matters OF tfhe'
place. and details generally; assldu-
Gus care to preserve the theoretically
ideal objective Viewpoint; consistent
avoidance of the introduction or any
matter which might possibly be term
ed irreleyant-then We must accoun
Thackeray as worse than mediocre
from a technical standpoint. II, on
the other hand, we mean by teen
| niuue, the presentation Of characters
with a consistency and analytic IL
| sight which gives them genuine n
dividuality: an expository style which
is natural. spontaneous. satisfying; an
emphasis upon the ruly salient points
of character. scene and happening
then ma we rate Thackeray as sec
ond to none among the great writer's
Of English fiction.
The Melancholy Dane declared the
play to be the thing; but with Thack-
! cray it is the character that is the
thing: scene and plot being impor-
tant. only in SO far as they serve to
develop or illustrate character. Al
the outset of Vanity Fair We are in
PRODUCED to Becky Sharpe and Amelia
Sedley in such a way that our inter
est is aroused not in what may hap
pen to these young women. so much
as in what they will DO under the
circumstances which they may en-
counter. Thackeray practically winds
up his mechanical doll, holds it be-
fore our eyes. and says: You per-
ceive that my puppet has such-and-
sue characteristics. Well, now that
L set it upon the floor, just watch it
and see if it does not do precisely as
[ have led you to expect it would do"
And the toy invariably Toes as guar
anteed. Green-eyed. s~erpent-like
Becky losses the precious dictionary
from her carriage-window; tender,
gentle Amelia, the dear little crea-
ture." is Mortified at this act Of in
gratitude and characterization: n
mushy. 1abby Jos Sedley falls in a
faint at the accidental discharge Of
his duty. In other words. Thackeray
makes a character proposition and
then goes to work to demonstrate it.
He gives the reader not a detailed de-
scription. but a few salient points,
and then he proceeds to meet the re-
quirementS of these points. Granting
that Thackeray's characters are con
sistent. the question arises: are they
dynamic. do they grow? I should say
that there are in Vanity Fair three
dynamic characters: Becky. Amelia,
and Rawdon. Becky's heartlessness
is Of long Duration; but in the last
chapter we see in her something al
mo- akin to altruism. When she
demonstrates to Amelia the infideiity
of George Osborne. tor what other
reason does she do this thar to bring
about between Dobbin and Amelia the
union SO essential to the happiness Of
both? And how different is this new
Becky from the wantOnly cruel Becky
Of the Brussels ballroom. Then is
not the Amelia who old
Osborne's epistle to her "a cowardly
! letter. and will have none of his
proposition. a different Amelia from
the timid. unsophisticated. peace-at-
! any-Drice Amelia Of the earlier chap
ters? Had Osborne's proposition
n come to her at any earlier period
would she not have accepted it with
out a word of protest. merely shed
S ding a few of her characteristic tears
at the thought Of giving up hel
e child? And finally, where in tn
earlier part of Vanity Fair do we ger
any Indication that careless. dissolutt
KawdOn Crawley. the Rawdon Wht
believes that Becky can do no wrone
Twill one day arise in righteous in
dignation, and r~enounce his wife
merely because she has had imprope,
relations with her Lord Steyne an<
: other scions Of the smart set? Is no
Y this a positive growth. rather thar
If the mere awakening Of a latent DUAL
= ity?
l. l have expressed the opinion tina
is the character element is the domi
J. nant element in Vanity Fair; but thi
Il does not by any means settle tn
~ question Of the essentially or ines
10 sentiality Of the scene in which tn
:, story is laid. Fol- of course we al
&c recognize that Just as there are Ger
tain forms Of animal and vegetabl
te 80 AZ certain unit
=, are specific kinds Of environment na
~ culiaxlx cand1ciuo Il