蓓基形象的正面剖析(英文)

1 Summary of the previous study on the characters of Becky
Becky is one of the great characters in all of fictions. She has vitality and is fascinating to the reader and one goes through Vanity Fair, meanwhile she is also the most controversial character in the novel. The author has read and summarized the previous study on her and got a conclusion that most of the previous critics hold a negative view on Becky. Vanity Fair is the one of the masterpieces of W.M.Thackeray, the outstanding British critical realism writer in the first half of the 19th century. Becky Sharp, heroine of this novel, is more eye catching than other figures in this novel and those in other novels, because she is a complicated image: smart, elegant, scheming, changeable character. In the eyes of Joseph she is gentle and sentimental. In the eyes of Dobbin she is learned in the ways of the world and sophisticated. In the eyes of Pit Crowley she is smart and capable in managing the family. In the eyes of Miss. Crowley, she is a treasure with very sympathetic nature and many outstanding gifts. In the eyes of Mrs. Bute, she is full of deceit. For Lord Steyne, she is charming and passionate. For Mrs. Jane, she is evil and an irresponsible mother, an unfaithful wife. She has cheated everyone who knows her even her husband. Her soul has been eaten off by fame and power. She satirizes the time and is satirized by the time. There are many studies on the theme in the past. Different people held different views: Becky is selfish, irresponsible, indifferent, smooth and slick, able to please everybody. In a word, most of the reviews are negative.
1. 1 Inclination to seek fame and fortune
Becky’s mother was an actress of theatre in spite of unrespectable but a milk ticket. Becky never mentioned the job of her mother and boosted that her mother was from a prominent family, the Entrechats which were a noble family of Gascomy. Becky took great pride in her descent from them. And curious it was that as she advanced in life her ancestors increased in rank and splendor. She pursuited fame and fortune. When she came back England from France, the couple had no money, but “when you came to 201, there was a hearty welcome, a kind smile, a good dinner, and a jolly shame of the hand from the host and hostess there, just for all the world as if they had been undisputed masters of three or four thousand a year.” [1]All the glory is based on cheating. They had ordered a carriage and bought diamond by not paying, won money from the unfamiliar people by making a trap, got money from the coxcombs. Becky is specialized in boasting, which makes the audience unconsciously take to her. She always lifts her social statues by over evaluating herself naturally. Such examples are abound in the book. She had talked with George when they went to Brussels at night. “‘Who’d think the moon was two hundred and thirty-six thousand eight hundred and forty-seven miles off?’ Becky added, gazing at that orb with a smile. ‘Isn’t it clever of me to remember that? Pooh! We learned it all at Miss Pinkerton’s! How calm the sea is, and how clear everything is. I declare I can almost see the coast of France!’ and her bright green eyes streamed out, and shot into the night as if they could see through it.” [1]