Abstract: Since Thackeray published Vanity Fair in 1847, this novel has been attracting the attention of numerous readers and scholars, and a great deal of research has been done concerning Thackeray and the novel. This dissertation aims to interpret the shaping of the character, the development of plot and the usage of the language in this novel to analyze the embodiment of Thackeray’s male chauvinism in the novel by using dialectics. Meanwhile, it will analyze the origin of his male chauvinism by introducing Thackeray’s personal experience, character and social background. And it also unscrambles the life condition of the middle-class women and the social values of the whole patriarchal society in the early 19th century from the perspective of Critical Realism to deepen the readers’ understanding of this novel.

Key words: Thackeray; Vanity Fair; male chauvinism

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction1

1.1Introduction to Thackeray

1.2Introduction to Vanity Fair

1.3Introduction to Male Chauvinism

2. The Embodiment of Thackeray’s Male Chauvinism in Vanity Fair .3

2.1The Shaping of the Characters

   2.1.1 The Shaping of Becky Sharp

   2.1.2 The Shaping of Amelia Sedley

   2.1.3 The Shaping of Dobbin

   2.1.4 The Shaping of George Osborne

  2.2 The Development of the Plot

  2.3 The Usage of Language

3. The Origins of Thackeray’s Male Chauvinism.9

3.1 Social Background  

3.2 Experience of Thackeray

4. Conclusion11

Bibliography.13

Acknowledgements..14