Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero

Vanity Fair is a term borrowed from Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. In Bunyan’s work, the Fair is visited by the narrator on a pilgrimage. A town named Vanity (hinting at the deadly sin of pride) hosts a fair that never ends, in which the attendees are devoted to their luxurious possessions and lavish lifestyles rather than anything substantive or moral. As such, the Fair functions as a symbol of the decadence of high society. The Fair is not a fixed place or an event. Instead, Vanity Fair is a metaphorical device used by the narrator to refer to the extravagant, wasteful lifestyles of the undeserving and idle wealthy people of Britain. The Fair is an idea, present in the courts, ballrooms, and sitting rooms of the elite. The Fair is governed by a system of social etiquette and expectation, a system which is taught to the children of the elite from a young age at institutions such as Miss Pinkerton’s academy. In this way, the metaphorical Vanity Fair becomes internalized in the minds of the rich and powerful from a young age. They are captured by the decadence and permitted to revel in their own indulgences, all while presenting themselves as the mannered, deserving products of a thriving society.