The portrait of a lady –Henry James-Theme: tema internațională și cea a artei.

Isabel Archer is a woman in her early twenties who comes from a genteel family in Albany, New York,
in the late 1860s. Her mother died when she was a young girl, and her father raised her in a
haphazard manner, allowing her to educate herself and encouraging her independence. As a result,
the adult Isabel is widely read, imaginative, confident in her own mind, and slightly narcissistic; she
has the reputation in Albany for being a formidable intellect, and as a result she often seems
intimidating to men. She has had few suitors, but one of them is Caspar Goodwood, the powerful,
charismatic son of a wealthy Boston mill owner. Isabel is drawn to Caspar, but her commitment to
her independence makes her fear him as well, for she feels that to marry him would be to sacrifice
her freedom.

Shortly after Isabel's father dies, she receives a visit from her indomitable aunt, Mrs. Touchett, an
American who lives in Europe. Mrs. Touchett offers to take Isabel on a trip to Europe, and Isabel
eagerly agrees, telling Caspar that she cannot tell him whether she wishes to marry him until she has
had at least a year to travel in Europe with her aunt. Isabel and Mrs. Touchett leave for England,
where Mrs. Touchett's estranged husband is a powerful banker. Isabel makes a strong impression on
everyone at Mr. Touchett's county manor of Gardencourt: her cousin Ralph, slowly dying of a lung
disorder, becomes deeply devoted to her, and the Touchetts' aristocratic neighbor Lord Warburton
falls in love with her. Warburton proposes, but Isabel declines; though she fears that she is passing
up a great social opportunity by not marrying Warburton, she still believes that marriage would
damage her treasured independence. As a result, she pledges to accomplish something wonderful
with her life, something that will justify her decision to reject Warburton.

Isabel's friend Henrietta Stackpole, an American journalist, believes that Europe is changing Isabel,
slowly eroding her American values and replacing them with romantic idealism. Henrietta comes to
Gardencourt and secretly arranges for Caspar Goodwood to meet Isabel in London. Goodwood again
presses Isabel to marry him; this time, she tells him she needs at least two years before she can
answer him, and she promises him nothing. She is thrilled to have exercised her independence so
forcefully. Mr. Touchett's health declines, and Ralph convinces him that when he dies, he should
leave half his wealth to Isabel: this will protect her independence and ensure that she will never have
to marry for money. Mr. Touchett agrees shortly before he dies. Isabel is left with a large fortune for
the first time in her life. Her inheritance piques the interest of Madame Merle, Mrs. Touchett's
polished, elegant friend; Madame Merle begins to lavish attention on Isabel, and the two women
become close friends.

Isabel travels to Florence with Mrs. Touchett and Madame Merle; Merle introduces Isabel to a man
named Gilbert Osmond, a man of no social standing or wealth, but whom Merle describes as one of
the finest gentlemen in Europe, wholly devoted to art and aesthetics. Osmond's daughter Pansy is
being brought up in a convent; his wife is dead. In secret, Osmond and Merle have a mysterious
relationship; Merle is attempting to manipulate Isabel into marrying Osmond so that he will have
access to her fortune. Osmond is pleased to marry Isabel, not only for her money, but also because
she makes a fine addition to his collection of art objects.

Everyone in Isabel's world disapproves of Osmond, especially Ralph, but Isabel chooses to marry him
anyway. She has a child the year after they are married, but the boy dies six months after he is born.
Three years into their marriage, Isabel and Osmond have come to despise one another; they live with
Pansy in a palazzo in Rome, where Osmond treats Isabel as barely a member of the family: to him,
she is a social hostess and a source of wealth, and he is annoyed by her independence and her
insistence on having her own opinions. Isabel chafes against Osmond's arrogance, his selfishness, and

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his sinister desire to crush her individuality, but she does not consider leaving him. For all her
commitment to her independence, Isabel is also committed to her social duty, and when she married
Osmond, she did so with the intention of transforming herself into a good wife.

A young American art collector who lives in Paris, Edward Rosier, comes to Rome and falls in love
with Pansy; Pansy returns his feelings. But Osmond is insistent that Pansy should marry a nobleman,
and he says that Rosier is neither rich nor highborn enough. Matters grow complicated when Lord
Warburton arrives on the scene and begins to court Pansy. Warburton is still in love with Isabel and
wants to marry Pansy solely to get closer to her. But Osmond desperately wants to see Pansy
married to Warburton. Isabel is torn about whether to fulfill her duty to her husband and help him
arrange the match between Warburton and Pansy, or to fulfill the impulse of her conscience and
discourage Warburton, while helping Pansy find a way to marry Rosier.

At a ball one night, Isabel shows Warburton the dejected-looking Rosier and explains that this is the
man who is in love with Pansy. Guiltily, Warburton admits that he is not in love with Pansy; he quietly
arranges to leave Rome. Osmond is furious with Isabel, convinced that she is plotting intentionally to
humiliate him. Madame Merle is also furious with her, confronting her with shocking impropriety and
demanding brazenly to know what she did to Warburton. Isabel has realized that there is something
mysterious about Madame Merle's relationship with her husband; now, she suddenly realizes that
Merle is his lover.

At this time, Ralph is rapidly deteriorating, and Isabel receives word that he is dying. She longs to
travel to England to be with him, but Osmond forbids it. Now Isabel must struggle to decide whether
to obey his command and remain true to her marriage vows or to disregard him and hurry to her
cousin's bedside. Encouraging her to go, Osmond's sister, the Countess Gemini, tells her that there is
still more to Merle and Osmond's relationship. Merle is Pansy's mother; Pansy was born out of
wedlock. Osmond's wife died at about the same time, so Merle and Osmond spread the story that
she died in childbirth. Pansy was placed in a convent to be raised, and she does not know that Merle
is her real mother. Isabel is shocked and disgusted by her husband's atrocious behavior—she even
feels sorry for Merle for falling under his spell—so she decides to follow her heart and travel to
England.

After Ralph's death, Isabel struggles to decide whether to return to her husband or not. She
promised Pansy that she would return to Rome, and her commitment to social propriety impels her
to go back and honor her marriage. But her independent spirit urges her to flee from Osmond and
find happiness elsewhere. Caspar Goodwood appears at the funeral, and afterwards, he asks Isabel
to run away with him and forget about her husband. The next day, unable to find her, Goodwood
asks Henrietta where she has gone. Henrietta quietly tells him that Isabel has returned to Rome,
unable to break away from her marriage to Gilbert Osmond.

Guliver Travels-Jhonatan Swift

Gulliver’s Travels recounts the story of Lemuel Gulliver, a practical-minded Englishman trained as a
surgeon who takes to the seas when his business fails. In a deadpan first-person narrative that rarely
shows any signs of self-reflection or deep emotional response, Gulliver narrates the adventures that
befall him on these travels.

Gulliver’s adventure in Lilliput begins when he wakes after his shipwreck to find himself bound by
innumerable tiny threads and addressed by tiny captors who are in awe of him but fiercely protective
of their kingdom. They are not afraid to use violence against Gulliver, though their arrows are little
more than pinpricks. But overall, they are hospitable, risking famine in their land by feeding Gulliver,

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who consumes more food than a thousand Lilliputians combined could. Gulliver is taken into the
capital city by a vast wagon the Lilliputians have specially built. He is presented to the emperor, who
is entertained by Gulliver, just as Gulliver is flattered by the attention of royalty. Eventually Gulliver
becomes a national resource, used by the army in its war against the people of Blefuscu, whom the
Lilliputians hate for doctrinal differences concerning the proper way to crack eggs. But things change
when Gulliver is convicted of treason for putting out a fire in the royal palace with his urine and is
condemned to be shot in the eyes and starved to death. Gulliver escapes to Blefuscu, where he is
able to repair a boat he finds and set sail for England.

After staying in England with his wife and family for two months, Gulliver undertakes his next sea
voyage, which takes him to a land of giants called Brobdingnag. Here, a field worker discovers him.
The farmer initially treats him as little more than an animal, keeping him for amusement. The farmer
eventually sells Gulliver to the queen, who makes him a courtly diversion and is entertained by his
musical talents. Social life is easy for Gulliver after his discovery by the court, but not particularly
enjoyable. Gulliver is often repulsed by the physicality of the Brobdingnagians, whose ordinary flaws
are many times magnified by their huge size. Thus, when a couple of courtly ladies let him play on
their naked bodies, he is not attracted to them but rather disgusted by their enormous skin pores
and the sound of their torrential urination. He is generally startled by the ignorance of the people
here—even the king knows nothing about politics. More unsettling findings in Brobdingnag come in
the form of various animals of the realm that endanger his life. Even Brobdingnagian insects leave
slimy trails on his food that make eating difficult. On a trip to the frontier, accompanying the royal
couple, Gulliver leaves Brobdingnag when his cage is plucked up by an eagle and dropped into the
sea.

Next, Gulliver sets sail again and, after an attack by pirates, ends up in Laputa, where a floating island
inhabited by theoreticians and academics oppresses the land below, called Balnibarbi. The scientific
research undertaken in Laputa and in Balnibarbi seems totally inane and impractical, and its residents
too appear wholly out of touch with reality. Taking a short side trip to Glubbdubdrib, Gulliver is able
to witness the conjuring up of figures from history, such as Julius Caesar and other military leaders,
whom he finds much less impressive than in books. After visiting the Luggnaggians and the
Struldbrugs, the latter of which are senile immortals who prove that age does not bring wisdom, he is
able to sail to Japan and from there back to England.

Finally, on his fourth journey, Gulliver sets out as captain of a ship, but after the mutiny of his crew
and a long confinement in his cabin, he arrives in an unknown land. This land is populated by
Houyhnhnms, rational-thinking horses who rule, and by Yahoos, brutish humanlike creatures who
serve the Houyhnhnms. Gulliver sets about learning their language, and when he can speak he
narrates his voyages to them and explains the constitution of England. He is treated with great
courtesy and kindness by the horses and is enlightened by his many conversations with them and by
his exposure to their noble culture. He wants to stay with the Houyhnhnms, but his bared body
reveals to the horses that he is very much like a Yahoo, and he is banished. Gulliver is grief-stricken
but agrees to leave. He fashions a canoe and makes his way to a nearby island, where he is picked up
by a Portuguese ship captain who treats him well, though Gulliver cannot help now seeing the
captain—and all humans—as shamefully Yahoolike. Gulliver then concludes his narrative with a claim
that the lands he has visited belong by rights to England, as her colonies, even though he questions
the whole idea of colonialism.

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 Robinson Crusoe-Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe is an Englishman from the town of York in the seventeenth century, the youngest
son of a merchant of German origin. Encouraged by his father to study law, Crusoe expresses his wish
to go to sea instead. His family is against Crusoe going out to sea, and his father explains that it is
better to seek a modest, secure life for oneself. Initially, Robinson is committed to obeying his father,
but he eventually succumbs to temptation and embarks on a ship bound for London with a friend.
When a storm causes the near deaths of Crusoe and his friend, the friend is dissuaded from sea
travel, but Crusoe still goes on to set himself up as merchant on a ship leaving London. This trip is
financially successful, and Crusoe plans another, leaving his early profits in the care of a friendly
widow. The second voyage does not prove as fortunate: the ship is seized by Moorish pirates, and
Crusoe is enslaved to a potentate in the North African town of Sallee. While on a fishing expedition,
he and a slave boy break free and sail down the African coast. A kindly Portuguese captain picks them
up, buys the slave boy from Crusoe, and takes Crusoe to Brazil. In Brazil, Crusoe establishes himself
as a plantation owner and soon becomes successful. Eager for slave labor and its economic
advantages, he embarks on a slave-gathering expedition to West Africa but ends up shipwrecked off
of the coast of Trinidad.

Crusoe soon learns he is the sole survivor of the expedition and seeks shelter and food for himself.
He returns to the wreck’s remains twelve times to salvage guns, powder, food, and other items.
Onshore, he finds goats he can graze for meat and builds himself a shelter. He erects a cross that he
inscribes with the date of his arrival, September 1, 1659, and makes a notch every day in order never
to lose track of time. He also keeps a journal of his household activities, noting his attempts to make
candles, his lucky discovery of sprouting grain, and his construction of a cellar, among other events.
In June 1660, he falls ill and hallucinates that an angel visits, warning him to repent. Drinking
tobacco-steeped rum, Crusoe experiences a religious illumination and realizes that God has delivered
him from his earlier sins. After recovering, Crusoe makes a survey of the area and discovers he is on
an island. He finds a pleasant valley abounding in grapes, where he builds a shady retreat. Crusoe
begins to feel more optimistic about being on the island, describing himself as its “king.” He trains a
pet parrot, takes a goat as a pet, and develops skills in basket weaving, bread making, and pottery.
He cuts down an enormous cedar tree and builds a huge canoe from its trunk, but he discovers that
he cannot move it to the sea. After building a smaller boat, he rows around the island but nearly
perishes when swept away by a powerful current. Reaching shore, he hears his parrot calling his
name and is thankful for being saved once again. He spends several years in peace.

One day Crusoe is shocked to discover a man’s footprint on the beach. He first assumes the footprint
is the devil’s, then decides it must belong to one of the cannibals said to live in the region. Terrified,
he arms himself and remains on the lookout for cannibals. He also builds an underground cellar in
which to herd his goats at night and devises a way to cook underground. One evening he hears
gunshots, and the next day he is able to see a ship wrecked on his coast. It is empty when he arrives
on the scene to investigate. Crusoe once again thanks Providence for having been saved. Soon
afterward, Crusoe discovers that the shore has been strewn with human carnage, apparently the
remains of a cannibal feast. He is alarmed and continues to be vigilant. Later Crusoe catches sight of
thirty cannibals heading for shore with their victims. One of the victims is killed. Another one, waiting
to be slaughtered, suddenly breaks free and runs toward Crusoe’s dwelling. Crusoe protects him,
killing one of the pursuers and injuring the other, whom the victim finally kills. Well-armed, Crusoe
defeats most of the cannibals onshore. The victim vows total submission to Crusoe in gratitude for
his liberation. Crusoe names him Friday, to commemorate the day on which his life was saved, and
takes him as his servant.Finding Friday cheerful and intelligent, Crusoe teaches him some English

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words and some elementary Christian concepts. Friday, in turn, explains that the cannibals are
divided into distinct nations and that they only eat their enemies. Friday also informs Crusoe that the
cannibals saved the men from the shipwreck Crusoe witnessed earlier, and that those men,
Spaniards, are living nearby. Friday expresses a longing to return to his people, and Crusoe is upset at
the prospect of losing Friday. Crusoe then entertains the idea of making contact with the Spaniards,
and Friday admits that he would rather die than lose Crusoe. The two build a boat to visit the
cannibals’ land together. Before they have a chance to leave, they are surprised by the arrival of
twenty-one cannibals in canoes. The cannibals are holding three victims, one of whom is in European
dress. Friday and Crusoe kill most of the cannibals and release the European, a Spaniard. Friday is
overjoyed to discover that another of the rescued victims is his father. The four men return to
Crusoe’s dwelling for food and rest. Crusoe prepares to welcome them into his community
permanently. He sends Friday’s father and the Spaniard out in a canoe to explore the nearby land.

Eight days later, the sight of an approaching English ship alarms Friday. Crusoe is suspicious. Friday
and Crusoe watch as eleven men take three captives onshore in a boat. Nine of the men explore the
land, leaving two to guard the captives. Friday and Crusoe overpower these men and release the
captives, one of whom is the captain of the ship, which has been taken in a mutiny. Shouting to the
remaining mutineers from different points, Friday and Crusoe confuse and tire the men by making
them run from place to place. Eventually they confront the mutineers, telling them that all may
escape with their lives except the ringleader. The men surrender. Crusoe and the captain pretend
that the island is an imperial territory and that the governor has spared their lives in order to send
them all to England to face justice. Keeping five men as hostages, Crusoe sends the other men out to
seize the ship. When the ship is brought in, Crusoe nearly faints.

On December 19, 1686, Crusoe boards the ship to return to England. There, he finds his family is
deceased except for two sisters. His widow friend has kept Crusoe’s money safe, and after traveling
to Lisbon, Crusoe learns from the Portuguese captain that his plantations in Brazil have been highly
profitable. He arranges to sell his Brazilian lands. Wary of sea travel, Crusoe attempts to return to
England by land but is threatened by bad weather and wild animals in northern Spain. Finally arriving
back in England, Crusoe receives word that the sale of his plantations has been completed and that
he has made a considerable fortune. After donating a portion to the widow and his sisters, Crusoe is
restless and considers returning to Brazil, but he is dissuaded by the thought that he would have to
become Catholic. He marries, and his wife dies. Crusoe finally departs for the East Indies as a trader
in 1694. He revisits his island, finding that the Spaniards are governing it well and that it has become
a prosperous colony.

Pamela –Samuel Richardson

Pamela is a fifteen-year-old maidservant in Bedfordshire. She is innocent and virtuous. She serves
Lady B, who is kind to her. Unfortunately, Lady B has just passed away. Pamela is nervous about her
work situation, as she does not come from money. Lady B’s son, Mr. B, promises to keep her and all
the other servants employed.

Mr. B begins making advances towards Pamela. At first, they are just verbal, as she reports to her
parents. She promises she will do everything to preserve her virtue. Her parents agree with her, but
advise her if Mr. B ever makes physical advances towards her she should return home, despite their
impoverishment. Soon thereafter, Mr. B makes a physical advancement towards Pamela, which she
rebufs. He attempts to pay her to keep her quiet, but she refuses and tells her friend the
housekeeper, Mrs. Jervis.

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Mr. B continues to make advances towards Pamela, including trying to kiss her while she undresses
for the evening after hiding in her closet. She faints, which dissuades Mr. B from continuing. Pamela
threatens to return home to her parents. Mr. B is against this and thwarts her return.

He offers Pamela more money, then marriage to a Lincolnshire clergyman named Mr. Williams. She
refuses and packs her bags to return home. Mr. B tricks Pamela and sends her to his estate in
Lincolnshire. He also writes her parents telling them he has sent her away to preserve her virtue, as
she has had an affair with a penurious clergyman. Pamela’s father does not believe him and attempts
to retrieve her at the Bedfordshire estate, but she is not there.

Pamela begins a journal in Lincolnshire, hoping one day her parents will read it and understand. She
is virtually a captive there, under the watch of Mrs. Jewkes, the spiteful housekeeper. Mr. B writes to
Pamela and invites her to be his mistress. She refuses. Pamela begins to plan her escape and enlists
the help of Mr. Williams. They exchange letters leaving them next to the sunflower in the garden. Mr.
Williams tries his best to help her, even asking the local gentry for assistance. They refuse due to Mr.
B’s social standing, advising Mr. Williams to marry Pamela.

Mr. Williams asks Pamela to marry him to help her escape, but she refuses. Pamela is concerned
when Mr. Williams is robbed, wondering if Mr. B set the robbery up to steal her letters. She is
determined to escape but gives up on this idea when she is hurt during her attempt.

Mr. B soon arrives at Lincolnshire. He again asks Pamela to be his mistress and she refuses. Mr. B and
Mr. Jewkes come up with a plan for Mr. B to finally seduce Pamela. He dresses up as a female servant
named Nan and pretends to be drunk. As Nan, he sneaks into Pamela’s bed. When Pamela realizes
what is happening, she has a violent fit, similar to a seizure.

After Pamela’s fit, Mr. B’s demeanor changes. He seems regretful in his actions, but continues to
pursue her, albeit without force. Pamela begs him to stop his advances. He admits that he loves
Pamela, but feels he is unable to marry her due to the social gap. Pamela is shocked, but somewhat
stirred by his confession. She hopes he means what he says. Mr. B leaves his estate for a few days.
While he is gone, Pamela is stopped by a fortuneteller who says Mr. B is trying to force her into a
sham marriage. She rethinks her burgeoning affection for Mr. B.

When Mr. B returns, Mrs. Jewkes gives him some of Pamela’s recent writings. After reading them, his
affection for Pamela only grows. He feels guilty for the way he has treated her and promises to make
things right by marrying her. Pamela is still suspicious of him and denies him, asking to return home.
Mr. B is upset and angry, but allows Pamela to go home. Pamela feels strangely sad.

On her way home, she receives a letter from Mr. B, imploring her to return and marry him. He speaks
of reform and changing his ways, and Pamela, believing him, decides to return. On her return, they
wonder how the gentry will react to their marriage, and Pamela tells Mr. B why she was wary of his
proposal. He admits he thought of luring her into a sham marriage, but changed his mind.

The gentry accept Pamela easily, due to her charm. Her father comes looking for her, worried that
she is now a mistress, but is happy and excited to see her engaged and content. Mr. B and Pamela
are soon married. Pamela then has a hostile interaction with Mr. B’s sister, Lady Davers where she
effectively holds Pamela hostage, disparaging her social status. Lady Davers forces Mr. B to confess
to a dalliance he had as a young man. Pamela learns there was a child produced from this dalliance
named Miss Goodwin. He introduces Pamela to Miss Goodwin, who believes Mr. B is her uncle. Miss
Goodwin’s mother is happily married in Jamaica.

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Mr. B sets up Pamela’s parents to look after Mr. B’s estate in Kent. Lady Davers ultimately accepts
Pamela. Pamela has many children with Mr. B and visits with her family often. She is happy and takes
Miss Goodwin under her wing, ensuring that she becomes as pious as Pamela.

Great expectations-Charles Dickens

Pip (Philip Pirrip) narrates the tale from an unspecified time in the future. He grows up in the
marshlands of Kent, where he lives with his disagreeable sister and her sweet-natured husband, the
blacksmith Joe Gargery. While visiting his family members’ graves in the churchyard, the young Pip
encounters Abel Magwitch, an escaped convict. Pip brings him food and a file, but the fugitive and
Compeyson—his former partner in crime and a supposed gentleman who is now his enemy—are
soon caught. Later Pip is requested to pay visits to Miss Havisham, a woman driven half-mad years
earlier by her lover’s departure on their wedding day. Living with Miss Havisham at Satis House is her
adopted daughter, Estella, whom she is teaching to torment men with her beauty. Pip, at first
cautious, later falls in love with Estella, who does not return his affection. He grows increasing
ashamed of his humble background and hopes to become a gentleman, in part to win over Estella.
However, he is disappointed when he instead becomes Joe’s apprentice

Several years later a lawyer named Mr. Jaggers appears and informs Pip that an anonymous
benefactor has made it possible for him to go to London for an education; Pip believes that the
money is from Miss Havisham, who does not dissuade him of the notion. Once in London, Pip is
taught to be a gentleman by Matthew Pocket and his son Herbert, the latter of whom Pip met years
earlier at Satis House. Also receiving instruction is the slow-witted and unlikable Bentley Drummle

The increasingly snobbish Pip is later horrified to discover that his mysterious benefactor is
Magwitch. Not only is Magwitch in danger of being arrested, Pip’s social standing is threatened. Pip
reveals the situation to Herbert, and it is decided that Magwitch and Pip should leave England.
Before departing, Pip visits Satis House, where he confronts Miss Havisham for letting him believe
she was his patron. He also professes his love to Estella, who rejects him. Knowing that Drummle is
pursuing her, Pip warns her about him, but she announces that she plans to marry him. Pip
subsequently makes several startling discoveries, notably that Magwitch is Estella’s father and that
Compeyson was Miss Havisham’s lover. He also grows close to Magwitch, whom he comes to
respect. As Pip and Magwitch attempt to leave London via a boat, the police and Compeyson arrive.
The two convicts end up fighting in the Thames, and only Magwitch surfaces; Compeyson’s body is
later recovered. The injured Magwitch is arrested, convicted, and dies awaiting execution. A
despondent Pip is arrested because of his debts, but his failing health prevents him from being jailed.
Joe subsequently arrives and nurses Pip back to health. Joe also informs him that Miss Havisham has
died. After Joe leaves, Pip discovers that his brother-in-law has paid all of his bills. Pip later accepts a
job offer at the Cairo branch of Herbert’s firm, and he enjoys a simple but content life. After more
than 10 years away, he returns to England and visits the place where Satis House once stood. There
he encounters Estella, who is now a widow. As they leave, Pip takes her hand, believing that they will
not part again.

Oliver Twist-Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse in 1830s England. His mother, whose name no one knows, is
found on the street and dies just after Oliver’s birth. Oliver spends the first nine years of his life in a
badly run home for young orphans and then is transferred to a workhouse for adults. After the other
boys bully Oliver into asking for more gruel at the end of a meal, Mr. Bumble, the parish beadle,
offers five pounds to anyone who will take the boy away from the workhouse. Oliver narrowly
escapes being apprenticed to a brutish chimney sweep and is eventually apprenticed to a local

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undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry. When the undertaker’s other apprentice, Noah Claypole, makes
disparaging comments about Oliver’s mother, Oliver attacks him and incurs the Sowerberrys’ wrath.
Desperate, Oliver runs away at dawn and travels toward London.Outside London, Oliver, starved and
exhausted, meets Jack Dawkins, a boy his own age. Jack offers him shelter in the London house of his
benefactor, Fagin. It turns out that Fagin is a career criminal who trains orphan boys to pick pockets
for him. After a few days of training, Oliver is sent on a pickpocketing mission with two other boys.
When he sees them swipe a handkerchief from an elderly gentleman, Oliver is horrified and runs off.
He is caught but narrowly escapes being convicted of the theft. Mr. Brownlow, the man whose
handkerchief was stolen, takes the feverish Oliver to his home and nurses him back to health. Mr.
Brownlow is struck by Oliver’s resemblance to a portrait of a young woman that hangs in his house.
Oliver thrives in Mr. Brownlow’s home, but two young adults in Fagin’s gang, Bill Sikes and his lover
Nancy, capture Oliver and return him to Fagin.

Fagin sends Oliver to assist Sikes in a burglary. Oliver is shot by a servant of the house and, after Sikes
escapes, is taken in by the women who live there, Mrs. Maylie and her beautiful adopted niece Rose.
They grow fond of Oliver, and he spends an idyllic summer with them in the countryside. But Fagin
and a mysterious man named Monks are set on recapturing Oliver. Meanwhile, it is revealed that
Oliver’s mother left behind a gold locket when she died. Monks obtains and destroys that locket.
When the Maylies come to London, Nancy meets secretly with Rose and informs her of Fagin’s
designs, but a member of Fagin’s gang overhears the conversation. When word of Nancy’s disclosure
reaches Sikes, he brutally murders Nancy and flees London. Pursued by his guilty conscience and an
angry mob, he inadvertently hangs himself while trying to escape.

Mr. Brownlow, with whom the Maylies have reunited Oliver, confronts Monks and wrings the truth
about Oliver’s parentage from him. It is revealed that Monks is Oliver’s half brother. Their father, Mr.
Leeford, was unhappily married to a wealthy woman and had an affair with Oliver’s mother, Agnes
Fleming. Monks has been pursuing Oliver all along in the hopes of ensuring that his half-brother is
deprived of his share of the family inheritance. Mr. Brownlow forces Monks to sign over Oliver’s
share to Oliver. Moreover, it is discovered that Rose is Agnes’s younger sister, hence Oliver’s aunt.
Fagin is hung for his crimes. Finally, Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver, and they and the Maylies retire to a
blissful existence in the countryside

Jane Eyre-Charlote Bronte

Jane Eyre is a young orphan being raised by Mrs. Reed, her cruel, wealthy aunt. A servant named
Bessie provides Jane with some of the few kindnesses she receives, telling her stories and singing
songs to her. One day, as punishment for fighting with her bullying cousin John Reed, Jane’s aunt
imprisons Jane in the red-room, the room in which Jane’s Uncle Reed died. While locked in, Jane,
believing that she sees her uncle’s ghost, screams and faints. She wakes to find herself in the care of
Bessie and the kindly apothecary Mr. Lloyd, who suggests to Mrs. Reed that Jane be sent away to
school. To Jane’s delight, Mrs. Reed concurs.

Once at the Lowood School, Jane finds that her life is far from idyllic. The school’s headmaster is Mr.
Brocklehurst, a cruel, hypocritical, and abusive man. Brocklehurst preaches a doctrine of poverty and
privation to his students while using the school’s funds to provide a wealthy and opulent lifestyle for
his own family. At Lowood, Jane befriends a young girl named Helen Burns, whose strong, martyrlike
attitude toward the school’s miseries is both helpful and displeasing to Jane. A massive typhus
epidemic sweeps Lowood, and Helen dies of consumption. The epidemic also results in the departure
of Mr. Brocklehurst by attracting attention to the insalubrious conditions at Lowood. After a group of

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more sympathetic gentlemen takes Brocklehurst’s place, Jane’s life improves dramatically. She
spends eight more years at Lowood, six as a student and two as a teacher.

After teaching for two years, Jane yearns for new experiences. She accepts a governess position at a
manor called Thornfield, where she teaches a lively French girl named Adèle. The distinguished
housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax presides over the estate. Jane’s employer at Thornfield is a dark,
impassioned man named Rochester, with whom Jane finds herself falling secretly in love. She saves
Rochester from a fire one night, which he claims was started by a drunken servant named Grace
Poole. But because Grace Poole continues to work at Thornfield, Jane concludes that she has not
been told the entire story. Jane sinks into despondency when Rochester brings home a beautiful but
vicious woman named Blanche Ingram. Jane expects Rochester to propose to Blanche. But Rochester
instead proposes to Jane, who accepts almost disbelievingly.

The wedding day arrives, and as Jane and Mr. Rochester prepare to exchange their vows, the voice of
Mr. Mason cries out that Rochester already has a wife. Mason introduces himself as the brother of
that wife—a woman named Bertha. Mr. Mason testifies that Bertha, whom Rochester married when
he was a young man in Jamaica, is still alive. Rochester does not deny Mason’s claims, but he explains
that Bertha has gone mad. He takes the wedding party back to Thornfield, where they witness the
insane Bertha Mason scurrying around on all fours and growling like an animal. Rochester keeps
Bertha hidden on the third story of Thornfield and pays Grace Poole to keep his wife under control.
Bertha was the real cause of the mysterious fire earlier in the story. Knowing that it is impossible for
her to be with Rochester, Jane flees Thornfield.

Penniless and hungry, Jane is forced to sleep outdoors and beg for food. At last, three siblings who
live in a manor alternatively called Marsh End and Moor House take her in. Their names are Mary,
Diana, and St. John (pronounced “Sinjin”) Rivers, and Jane quickly becomes friends with them. St.
John is a clergyman, and he finds Jane a job teaching at a charity school in Morton. He surprises her
one day by declaring that her uncle, John Eyre, has died and left her a large fortune: 20,000 pounds.
When Jane asks how he received this news, he shocks her further by declaring that her uncle was
also his uncle: Jane and the Riverses are cousins. Jane immediately decides to share her inheritance
equally with her three newfound relatives.

St. John decides to travel to India as a missionary, and he urges Jane to accompany him—as his wife.
Jane agrees to go to India but refuses to marry her cousin because she does not love him. St. John
pressures her to reconsider, and she nearly gives in. However, she realizes that she cannot abandon
forever the man she truly loves when one night she hears Rochester’s voice calling her name over
the moors. Jane immediately hurries back to Thornfield and finds that it has been burned to the
ground by Bertha Mason, who lost her life in the fire. Rochester saved the servants but lost his
eyesight and one of his hands. Jane travels on to Rochester’s new residence, Ferndean, where he
lives with two servants named John and Mary.

At Ferndean, Rochester and Jane rebuild their relationship and soon marry. At the end of her story,
Jane writes that she has been married for ten blissful years and that she and Rochester enjoy perfect
equality in their life together. She says that after two years of blindness, Rochester regained sight in
one eye and was able to behold their first son at his birth.

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 Pride and Prejudice-Jane Austin

The news that a wealthy young gentleman named Charles Bingley has rented the manor of
Netherfield Park causes a great stir in the nearby village of Longbourn, especially in the Bennet
household. The Bennets have five unmarried daughters—from oldest to youngest, Jane, Elizabeth,
Mary, Kitty, and Lydia—and Mrs. Bennet is desperate to see them all married. After Mr. Bennet pays
a social visit to Mr. Bingley, the Bennets attend a ball at which Mr. Bingley is present. He is taken with
Jane and spends much of the evening dancing with her. His close friend, Mr. Darcy, is less pleased
with the evening and haughtily refuses to dance with Elizabeth, which makes everyone view him as
arrogant and obnoxious.

At social functions over subsequent weeks, however, Mr. Darcy finds himself increasingly attracted
to Elizabeth’s charm and intelligence. Jane’s friendship with Mr. Bingley also continues to burgeon,
and Jane pays a visit to the Bingley mansion. On her journey to the house she is caught in a
downpour and catches ill, forcing her to stay at Netherfield for several days. In order to tend to Jane,
Elizabeth hikes through muddy fields and arrives with a spattered dress, much to the disdain of the
snobbish Miss Bingley, Charles Bingley’s sister. Miss Bingley’s spite only increases when she notices
that Darcy, whom she is pursuing, pays quite a bit of attention to Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth and Jane return home, they find Mr. Collins visiting their household. Mr. Collins is a
young clergyman who stands to inherit Mr. Bennet’s property, which has been “entailed,” meaning
that it can only be passed down to male heirs. Mr. Collins is a pompous fool, though he is quite
enthralled by the Bennet girls. Shortly after his arrival, he makes a proposal of marriage to Elizabeth.
She turns him down, wounding his pride. Meanwhile, the Bennet girls have become friendly with
militia officers stationed in a nearby town. Among them is Wickham, a handsome young soldier who
is friendly toward Elizabeth and tells her how Darcy cruelly cheated him out of an inheritance.

At the beginning of winter, the Bingleys and Darcy leave Netherfield and return to London, much to
Jane’s dismay. A further shock arrives with the news that Mr. Collins has become engaged to
Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend and the poor daughter of a local knight. Charlotte explains to
Elizabeth that she is getting older and needs the match for financial reasons. Charlotte and Mr.
Collins get married and Elizabeth promises to visit them at their new home. As winter progresses,
Jane visits the city to see friends (hoping also that she might see Mr. Bingley). However, Miss Bingley
visits her and behaves rudely, while Mr. Bingley fails to visit her at all. The marriage prospects for the
Bennet girls appear bleak.

That spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte, who now lives near the home of Mr. Collins’s patron, Lady
Catherine de Bourgh, who is also Darcy’s aunt. Darcy calls on Lady Catherine and encounters
Elizabeth, whose presence leads him to make a number of visits to the Collins’s home, where she is
staying. One day, he makes a shocking proposal of marriage, which Elizabeth quickly refuses. She tells
Darcy that she considers him arrogant and unpleasant, then scolds him for steering Bingley away
from Jane and disinheriting Wickham. Darcy leaves her but shortly thereafter delivers a letter to her.
In this letter, he admits that he urged Bingley to distance himself from Jane, but claims he did so only
because he thought their romance was not serious. As for Wickham, he informs Elizabeth that the
young officer is a liar and that the real cause of their disagreement was Wickham’s attempt to elope
with his young sister, Georgiana Darcy.

This letter causes Elizabeth to reevaluate her feelings about Darcy. She returns home and acts coldly
toward Wickham. The militia is leaving town, which makes the younger, rather man-crazy Bennet
girls distraught. Lydia manages to obtain permission from her father to spend the summer with an
old colonel in Brighton, where Wickham’s regiment will be stationed. With the arrival of June,

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Elizabeth goes on another journey, this time with the Gardiners, who are relatives of the Bennets.
The trip takes her to the North and eventually to the neighborhood of Pemberley, Darcy’s estate. She
visits Pemberley, after making sure that Darcy is away, and delights in the building and grounds,
while hearing from Darcy’s servants that he is a wonderful, generous master. Suddenly, Darcy arrives
and behaves cordially toward her. Making no mention of his proposal, he entertains the Gardiners
and invites Elizabeth to meet his sister.Shortly thereafter, however, a letter arrives from home,
telling Elizabeth that Lydia has eloped with Wickham and that the couple is nowhere to be found,
which suggests that they may be living together out of wedlock. Fearful of the disgrace such a
situation would bring on her entire family, Elizabeth hastens home. Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bennet go
off to search for Lydia, but Mr. Bennet eventually returns home empty-handed. Just when all hope
seems lost, a letter comes from Mr. Gardiner saying that the couple has been found and that
Wickham has agreed to marry Lydia in exchange for an annual income. The Bennets are convinced
that Mr. Gardiner has paid off Wickham, but Elizabeth learns that the source of the money, and of
her family’s salvation, was none other than Darcy.

Now married, Wickham and Lydia return to Longbourn briefly, where Mr. Bennet treats them coldly.
They then depart for Wickham’s new assignment in the North of England. Shortly thereafter, Bingley
returns to Netherfield and resumes his courtship of Jane. Darcy goes to stay with him and pays visits
to the Bennets but makes no mention of his desire to marry Elizabeth. Bingley, on the other hand,
presses his suit and proposes to Jane, to the delight of everyone but Bingley’s haughty sister. While
the family celebrates, Lady Catherine de Bourgh pays a visit to Longbourn. She corners Elizabeth and
says that she has heard that Darcy, her nephew, is planning to marry her. Since she considers a
Bennet an unsuitable match for a Darcy, Lady Catherine demands that Elizabeth promise to refuse
him. Elizabeth spiritedly refuses, saying she is not engaged to Darcy, but she will not promise
anything against her own happiness. A little later, Elizabeth and Darcy go out walking together and
he tells her that his feelings have not altered since the spring. She tenderly accepts his proposal, and
both Jane and Elizabeth are married.

Wuthering Heights-Emily Bronte

In the late winter months of 1801, a man named Lockwood rents a manor house called Thrushcross
Grange in the isolated moor country of England. Here, he meets his dour landlord, Heathcliff, a
wealthy man who lives in the ancient manor of Wuthering Heights, four miles away from the Grange.
In this wild, stormy countryside, Lockwood asks his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, to tell him the story of
Heathcliff and the strange denizens of Wuthering Heights. Nelly consents, and Lockwood writes
down his recollections of her tale in his diary; these written recollections form the main part of
Wuthering Heights.

Nelly remembers her childhood. As a young girl, she works as a servant at Wuthering Heights for the
owner of the manor, Mr. Earnshaw, and his family. One day, Mr. Earnshaw goes to Liverpool and
returns home with an orphan boy whom he will raise with his own children. At first, the Earnshaw
children—a boy named Hindley and his younger sister Catherine—detest the dark-skinned Heathcliff.
But Catherine quickly comes to love him, and the two soon grow inseparable, spending their days
playing on the moors. After his wife’s death, Mr. Earnshaw grows to prefer Heathcliff to his own son,
and when Hindley continues his cruelty to Heathcliff, Mr. Earnshaw sends Hindley away to college,
keeping Heathcliff nearby.

Three years later, Mr. Earnshaw dies, and Hindley inherits Wuthering Heights. He returns with a wife,
Frances, and immediately seeks revenge on Heathcliff. Once an orphan, later a pampered and
favored son, Heathcliff now finds himself treated as a common laborer, forced to work in the fields.

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Heathcliff continues his close relationship with Catherine, however. One night they wander to
Thrushcross Grange, hoping to tease Edgar and Isabella Linton, the cowardly, snobbish children who
live there. Catherine is bitten by a dog and is forced to stay at the Grange to recuperate for five
weeks, during which time Mrs. Linton works to make her a proper young lady. By the time Catherine
returns, she has become infatuated with Edgar, and her relationship with Heathcliff grows more
complicated.

When Frances dies after giving birth to a baby boy named Hareton, Hindley descends into the depths
of alcoholism, and behaves even more cruelly and abusively toward Heathcliff. Eventually,
Catherine’s desire for social advancement prompts her to become engaged to Edgar Linton, despite
her overpowering love for Heathcliff. Heathcliff runs away from Wuthering Heights, staying away for
three years, and returning shortly after Catherine and Edgar’s marriage.

When Heathcliff returns, he immediately sets about seeking revenge on all who have wronged him.
Having come into a vast and mysterious wealth, he deviously lends money to the drunken Hindley,
knowing that Hindley will increase his debts and fall into deeper despondency. When Hindley dies,
Heathcliff inherits the manor. He also places himself in line to inherit Thrushcross Grange by
marrying Isabella Linton, whom he treats very cruelly. Catherine becomes ill, gives birth to a
daughter, and dies. Heathcliff begs her spirit to remain on Earth—she may take whatever form she
will, she may haunt him, drive him mad—just as long as she does not leave him alone. Shortly
thereafter, Isabella flees to London and gives birth to Heathcliff’s son, named Linton after her family.
She keeps the boy with her there.

Thirteen years pass, during which Nelly Dean serves as Catherine’s daughter’s nursemaid at
Thrushcross Grange. Young Catherine is beautiful and headstrong like her mother, but her
temperament is modified by her father’s gentler influence. Young Catherine grows up at the Grange
with no knowledge of Wuthering Heights; one day, however, wandering through the moors, she
discovers the manor, meets Hareton, and plays together with him. Soon afterwards, Isabella dies,
and Linton comes to live with Heathcliff. Heathcliff treats his sickly, whining son even more cruelly
than he treated the boy’s mother.

Three years later, Catherine meets Heathcliff on the moors, and makes a visit to Wuthering Heights
to meet Linton. She and Linton begin a secret romance conducted entirely through letters. When
Nelly destroys Catherine’s collection of letters, the girl begins sneaking out at night to spend time
with her frail young lover, who asks her to come back and nurse him back to health. However, it
quickly becomes apparent that Linton is pursuing Catherine only because Heathcliff is forcing him to;
Heathcliff hopes that if Catherine marries Linton, his legal claim upon Thrushcross Grange—and his
revenge upon Edgar Linton—will be complete. One day, as Edgar Linton grows ill and nears death,
Heathcliff lures Nelly and Catherine back to Wuthering Heights, and holds them prisoner until
Catherine marries Linton. Soon after the marriage, Edgar dies, and his death is quickly followed by
the death of the sickly Linton. Heathcliff now controls both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross
Grange. He forces Catherine to live at Wuthering Heights and act as a common servant, while he
rents Thrushcross Grange to Lockwood.

Nelly’s story ends as she reaches the present. Lockwood, appalled, ends his tenancy at Thrushcross
Grange and returns to London. However, six months later, he pays a visit to Nelly, and learns of
further developments in the story. Although Catherine originally mocked Hareton’s ignorance and
illiteracy (in an act of retribution, Heathcliff ended Hareton’s education after Hindley died), Catherine
grows to love Hareton as they live together at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff becomes more and
more obsessed with the memory of the elder Catherine, to the extent that he begins speaking to her

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ghost. Everything he sees reminds him of her. Shortly after a night spent walking on the moors,
Heathcliff dies. Hareton and young Catherine inherit Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, and
they plan to be married on the next New Year’s Day. After hearing the end of the story, Lockwood
goes to visit the graves of Catherine and Heathcliff.

Agnes Gray-Anne Bronte

The novel begins with the Grey family, a modest but impoverished family. Mr. Grey is a minister and
Mrs. Grey a woman who left considerable family wealth for love. Mr. Grey tries to help his family get
out of debt by investing in a merchant, but the merchant dies in a ship wreck, and the remainder of
the Grey money is lost.

Agnes, her sister, Mary, and their mother try to keep expenses low. They try to bring in extra money,
but everyone treats Agnes like a child who cannot help, and it frustrates her. She decides to prove
herself and aims to get a job as a governess. With a well-placed recommendation from a family
friend, she gets a job, and her parents eventually approve. Negative omens litter her departure as
she heads to Wellwood house and the Bloomfield family she will be working for.

The Bloomfields are extremely rich and extremely mean. Agnes had not expected anything like this,
and her naïve optimism is shaken. Mrs. Bloomsfield spoils her children beyond reason, and Mr.
Bloomsfield constantly criticises Agnes for things beyond her control. The children are undisciplined
and rude, and Agnes gets into constant trouble for not being able to control them. She is not given
any means to punish them when they act out, so they continue to do so. Tom, the oldest boy, is quite
evil, and tortures small animals for fun. In less than a year, Agnes is fired and must return home.

Agnes begs her mother to help her find another job. The family she finds— the Murrays—is even
richer than the Bloomsfields. There are two boys, John and Charles, who go away to school soon
after Agnes arrives, but two girls, Rosalie and Matilda, remain. Matilda is a rambunctious tomboy,
and Rosalie is a flirty, manipulative child, but they are not as bad as the Bloomsfield children. Agnes’
position is difficult but sustainable.

Agnes visits Nancy Brown, and old and nearly blind woman, occasionally to read the Bible to her. On
her trips there, she meets Mr. Edward Weston, and the two begin a friendship. He surprises Agnes on
a walk. He picks wild primroses for her, and Agnes saves one of them in her Bible. Weston shares that
his mother has recently passed away. Rosalie Murray, recently introduced in society, notices this new
relationship with curiosity.

Rosalie becomes engaged to Sir Thomas Ashby. He is a wealthy baronet from Ashby Park, and
Rosalie, brags constantly to Agnes, asks her to keep the secret, as she still plans to flirt with other
men before she gets married. The two young women go for a walk, and run into Weston. Rosalie
flirts with him as well, and Agnes is irritated.

Mary has been married to Mr. Richardson, a parson nearby. Mary sends a note, telling Agnes their
father is dying, and that she must return. Agnes gets there too late, her father has died. She and her
mother decide to open a small school, and Agnes does not return to the Murrays or Mr. Weston.

Sometime after, Agnes is surprised to receive a letter from Rosalie. The previously competitive, bitter
girl has been married, very unhappily, and asks Agnes to come visit her. Agnes is shocked at the
change between the girl she knew and the young women before her. Rosalie despises Ashby and her
mother-in-law, and explains that he is very jealous and angry. Rosalie also tells her that Mr. Weston
has left the area, and Agnes is deeply upset, thinking she will never see him again.

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Agnes eventually leaves Ashby Park and Rosalie, and returns home to her mother and the school
they are working on. Time passes, and several months after her return, Agnes is out for walk. She
strolls along the seashore and runs into Mr. Weston. Agnes is shocked, and Mr. Weston explains that
he had been looking for her since she left. Weston is introduced to Agnes’ mother, and they get
along well. Agnes happily accepts when Mr. Weston proposes to her. At the end of the book, Agnes
has been married to Edward and is very happy. The two have three children together, and the
outlook is optimistic.

Vanity fair –W.M. Tharckeray

As the novel opens, Becky and Emmy are at Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for young women. They are
friends but have more differences than similarities. Becky is smart and conniving and from a poor
background. Emmy comes from wealth and has an aura of innocence. Miss Pinkerton cannot tolerate
Becky’s conduct and arranges for her to serve as a governess on the estate of the Crawley family.
Before beginning her position as a governess, Becky spends a week at Emmy’s home where she finds
acceptance with Emmy’s family and seduces her brother Jos, who is home visiting from his job as a
tax collector in India. Becky almost has him ready to marry her but Emmy’s romantic interest,
George, convinces Jos he is acting foolishly. Jos quickly leaves and an angry Becky proceeds to her
job.

The main goal of the Crawley family is to position themselves to be in line for the inheritance of ailing
Aunt Matilda. Becky, as she was able to do with Emmy’s family, gets herself in the Crawleys’ good
graces and in particular becomes the object of desire for Sir Pitt and Rawdon, both of whom want to
marry her. She secretly agrees to marry Rawdon, raising the ire of the family and Sir Pitt. Emmy
meanwhile is feeling rejected by George, who is in the military and seems to have forgotten about
her. George’s friend Dobbin is in love with Emmy. In time, George wants to marry Emmy, while at the
same time the Sedley family loses its fortune as a result of bad business decisions, and George is
disowned by his father.

Soon, the Duke of Wellington declares war on the Napoleonic army and, with most men in the
military, characters move to Belgium in preparation for the battle. Emmy is worried about George,
and Rawdon regrets having to leave Becky, who seemingly unconcerned with Rawdon, appears to be
developing feelings for George. George is killed in the Battle of Waterloo. Sir Pitt, whose second wife
has died, begins an affair with the daughter of a butler and scandalizes the household. Aunt Matilda
takes a liking to Sir Pitt’s oldest son although she never liked any of his other boys. Sons are born to
Emmy and Becky. Becky and Rawdon survive without much money while the financial situation of
Emmy’s family continues to deteriorate.

As the plot unfolds, Sir Pitt dies, his son inherits Aunt Matilda’s money, and asks Becky, Rawdon, and
their son to live at the estate with him. When Becky takes up with Lord Steyne and becomes part of
society, he sends her son away to school and keeps her from her husband. Rawdon is in prison for
not paying gambling debts. Later, when he returns home, he discovers her relationship with Steyne
and challenges him to a duel. The duel does not take place and Rawdon leaves. Dobbin reappears in
England where Emmy continues to mourn the death of George. Dobbin helps her take care of her
son. In time, Emmy’s son is taken in by Mr. Osborne, George’s father, who will be able to give him a
better life than Emmy could. He does not change his negative view of Emmy, however. After twelve
years go by, Dobbin remains loyal to Emmy. Osborne dies shortly after reconciling with his daughter-
in-law and leaves both Emmy and his grandson well provided for.

Emmy and Dobbin travel to Germany where they find Becky penniless and living among the dregs of
society. Old feelings and jealousies emerge, complicating things among Becky, Dobbin, and Emmy.

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Emmy and Dobbin eventually move on from the past and return to England together. Becky
ultimately, under potentially suspicious circumstances, receives a benefit from Jos when he dies and
is able to start a new life in England.

Vanity Fair, in spite of containing elements some consider to be flaws, is a classic of English literature.
Minor plot inconsistencies are cited as well as an overabundance of allusions. The subtitle, A Novel
without a Hero, is considered most appropriate in that all of the characters are flawed and are slaves
to greed, vanity, and hypocrisy. Thackeray’s use of character flaws as a focus rather than idealizing
the characters is seen as a strength that attempts to build a sense of realism more than the typical
fiction of his time.

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