Leaving the hero thing aside, the aesthetic appeal of the novel is marvellous! I am saying aesthetic because at the end of the day, this is a fictional work and Thackeray just wanted to present something to the society to be read (and might be warned of). Except for William Dobbin, there is no one who shows any manly courage in the novel… everyone is indulged in things overhead – be it a sensual pursuit, lust for wealth or anything else which by all the means reflect illegitimacy! Most of the critics in the modern era as well as in those days claim that Becky Sharp might be the ‘hero’ of the novel as she takes the risks (often deemed as manly enough trait), she controls the novel and also shows a kind of dominance. Thackeray knew what he was going to do and that’s the only reason for the subtitle a novel without a hero. The rise of Becky, Amelia Sedley fading in the background, the absence of any man whom the fair ladies could rely on and the lack of conviction… everything was just perfectly set for a different kind of novel to proceed and it did! Becky, who is really sharp, dominates the novel from the beginning to the end and Thackeray seems to be in a romantic relationship with her rather than letting her grace fall a little for the unfortunate Emmy (poor Emmy). Vanity Fair is surely one of those beginner novels which set the trend for an anti-hero movement in fiction writing. A rewarding success for Thackeray, the novel still remains in the popular culture and therefore, it does demand an Indian Book Critics scrutiny. The intentions behind this clever subtitle might well have been to gain more readers. Vanity Fair was ironically subtitled (but with a vision) a novel without a hero.

Vanity Fair, when it came out in installments between January 1847 to July 1848, created a sensation among the readers and the only talk that went around was about Becky – the Becky Sharp who outshined all the ‘noble characters’ and so-called a goodman’s job in the novel writing was turned upside down with this new theory proposed by non-other than an almost cynic William Makepeace Thackeray.

Vanity fair thackeray