In Chapter 53 of ThackerayÆs Vanity Fair we see that Becky and Rawdon are reduced to a low point in their lives. Rawdon languishes in a debtorÆs prison, making appeals to Becky to pawn her trinkets to free him. Meanwhile, Becky entertains, carries on a dalliance with Lord Steyne, and maintains to Rawdon that she is very ill and must take a day to come up with the hundred pounds needed to free Rawdon. RawdonÆs sister Jane frees her brother, unbeknownst to Becky. When Rawdon arrives home, he sees Becky in ôbrilliant full toiletteö entertaining Lord Steyne, (Thackeray, p. 622). Outraged, he beats Lord Steyne and rips the jewels from BeckyÆs dress. He eventually forces her to reveal where she has hidden money from Lord Steyne, then Rawdon leaves her alone and bereft never again to return. In this chapter, Thackeray uses a number of devices to portray the characters, setting, and themes in ways that make them richer and more emotionally appealing to readers. This analysis will discuss a number of elements used by Thackeray to achieve this goal.
The use of setting is relied upon by Thackeray to show how Rawdon becomes so upset that he beats Steyne and abandons Becky. We see this in his depiction of the debtorÆs prison where Steyne is forced to stay due to owing money to Lord Southdown, from lavishing upon Becky anything she desires. His circumstances in the debtorÆs lodge could not be further from luxury or privilege. In one scene, Thackeray (p. 616) maintains Mr. MossÆs house is ôsplendid throughout,ö but everything in the place is ôdirty.ö Thackeray (p. 616) uses repetition in this scene to show us why Rawdon might be motivated to throttle Steyne and abandon Becky once he discovers her lies; using the word ôdirtyö to describe the trays, the gilt cornices, the yellow satin hangings, and the gilt picture frames. The use of repetition brings the setting more to life by making us know this is not some pl...