Amelia: Yardstick of Woman Beauty in a Patriarchal Society

【Abstract】Vanity Fair is the enduring masterpiece of William Thackeray， with its enigmatic and fascinating subtitle： a novel without a hero. It might as well be interpreted as thus： a novel without a hero， yet with all heroines. Thackeray， from his man’s perspective， presents a full-scale picture of the female sex then. This thesis is mainly focused on the analysis of Amelia， who towers in the middle of the picture， and is established as the yardstick of woman beauty in a patriarchal society， against which other female characters are roughly measured.

【Key words】Amelia; yardstick; woman beauty; patriarchal society

【作者簡介】王囡囡，山東外貿職業學院。

1. Introduction

In 1848， Thackeray brought out his masterpiece Vanity Fair. As a great social realist， Thackeray showed in Vanity Fair a real picture of Victorian middle-class world， in which women were expected to be shy， gentle， sweet， submissive， and were worshipped by men the very way men did to appreciate a delicate vase.

Thackeray， with the moral principle topmost in his mind， was urged by his time to stand by the side of Amelia， who was the norm， the yardstick of woman beauty placed in the middle to measure the throngs of women passing by her. Besides， as a man， Thackeray had his gender flaws which would unconsciously drew him near the Victorian “angel in the house”.

2. Analysis of Amelia

2.1 Femininity： Weakness and Obedience

Femininity has always been associated with weakness and obedience in a patriarchal society. Such femininity like the “the magic mirror” spoken of by Virginia Woolf， magnifies the image of man by which man’s ridiculous vanity is satisfied. Amelia is endowed with the fascinating feminine as mentioned above， so

For almost all men who came near her loved her; though no doubt they would be at a loss to tell you why. She was not brilliant， nor witty， nor wise ever much， nor extraordinary handsome. But wherever she went， she touched and charmed every one of the male sex…I think it was her weakness which was her principle （Thackeray 489）.

Then let’s see how she conquers George Osborne with this quality：

The prostration and sweet obedience exquisitely touched and flattered George Osborne， he saw a slave before him in that simple yielding faithful creature， and his soul thrilled secretly somehow at the knowledge of his power. He would be generous-minded， sultan as he was， he raised up this kneeling Esther and make a queen of her （Thackeray 236）.

Words as “prostration”， “obedience”， “yielding”， and “faithful” cut a feminine Amelia before the readers.

2. 2 Role as a Wife

Amelia is a born wife who is sure to marry a man to protect her and to be all her life. As Becky cautions her after she rejects Major Dobbin， “you are no more fit to live in the world than a baby in arms. You must marry… you must have a husband” （Thackeray 866）.

Her idealized and sentimental love toward her husband is far above the average as “he was her Europe; her emperor; her allied monarchs and august prince regent; he was her son and moon…” （Thackeray 137）. Even long after George died， when the devoted Major Dobbin unconsciously mentioned the scandal between George and Becky， Amelia is greatly at rage for it insults her perfect illusion. This minor and unknowingly “insulation” has undone the work of many a year’s love and constancy by Major Dobbin. Although in the end Amelia has to face the cruel collapse of her perfect idol， it is really torn down forcibly under mighty evidence.

2.3 Role as a Mother

If a Victorian woman is sometimes bothered about how to divide her love between husband and son―two most important persons in her life， or is puzzled with whom she loves more， Amelia doesn’t have such bother or puzzle. Since she loves both with her whole heart and the first George’s death has pooled all her love around the little one. Little George is “her heart and her treasure―her joy， hope， love， worship―her god almost”. “This child was her being！ Her existence was a maternal caress”.

3. Conclusion

The Bible says God creates man in the world， and makes the first woman with one of the man’s fibs. So the patriarchal sound can be traced far back to the appearance of human beings. It may be since then that women have been regarded as the dependencies of men. As for the modern concerns of the yardstick， we have to admit that it still works there. Much more popular as today’s feminist movements have become， it may not be a short road for females to be totally freed from the sphere of man’s influence.

References：

[1]Chang， Yaoxin，常耀信.英國文學史[M].天津：南開大學出版社， 2006.