Explanation: The narrative consistently portrays Becky Sharp as cunning and ambitious, lacking significant personal wealth, and driven by pragmatic self-interest rather than naive benevolence.

Explanation: John Sedley, Amelia's father, suffers a significant financial downfall attributed to ill-advised speculation, which profoundly impacts Amelia's circumstances.

Explanation: George Osborne tragically perishes during the Battle of Waterloo, succumbing to a fatal wound.

Explanation: While Amelia remains devoted to George's memory, her circumstances become one of genteel poverty, and her eventual acceptance of Captain Dobbin is delayed until she learns of George's infidelity.

Explanation: Becky Sharp's defining characteristic is her sharp intellect and ambition, which she employs strategically to navigate society and secure her social and financial standing, lacking other means.

Explanation: While adept at manipulating men, Becky Sharp often struggles to form genuine connections with women, frequently being perceived as untrustworthy or hostile, with Amelia Sedley representing a notable exception.

Explanation: George Osborne is depicted as handsome and vain, characterized by his entitled upbringing and a tendency towards selfishness, rather than humility or consistent moral uprightness.

Explanation: Captain William Dobbin is characterized as ungainly and not conventionally handsome, contrasting with the more dashing George Osborne.

Explanation: Amelia's acceptance of Dobbin occurs after she learns of George Osborne's *infidelity*, which prompts her to re-evaluate her idealized memory of her deceased husband.

Explanation: Rawdon Crawley is portrayed as an 'empty-headed cavalry officer' who relies on his aunt's wealth, not as a landowner inheriting from his father.

Explanation: Rawdon Crawley's secret marriage to Becky Sharp leads to estrangement from his wealthy aunt, Miss Matilda Crawley, resulting in his disinheritance.

Explanation: The Marquis of Steyne, among others, suspects that Rawdon Crawley is aware of Becky's affairs and may be complicit for financial gain, rather than being ignorant.

Explanation: Following his departure from Becky and subsequent assignment, Rawdon Crawley dies of yellow fever during his tenure as Governor of Coventry Island.

Explanation: Joseph Sedley is Amelia's *older* brother and is characterized more by his self-importance and susceptibility to manipulation than by sharp business acumen.

Explanation: Amelia's father, John Sedley, experiences financial ruin primarily due to his engagement in ill-advised speculation.

Explanation: George Osborne meets his demise at the Battle of Waterloo, struck by a bullet wound to the heart.

Explanation: Lacking inherent social standing or wealth, Becky Sharp strategically employs her considerable intelligence and manipulative abilities to navigate and ascend within society.

Explanation: Amelia's acceptance of Captain Dobbin's long-standing affections is contingent upon her discovery of George Osborne's infidelity, which compels her to re-evaluate her idealized perception of her deceased husband.

Explanation: Before his marriage to Becky Sharp, Rawdon Crawley served as a cavalry officer.

Explanation: George Osborne's upbringing was marked by indulgence, fostering a personality characterized by entitlement, vanity, and a propensity for selfishness.

Explanation: Rawdon Crawley's clandestine marriage to Becky Sharp resulted in his disinheritance by his aunt, Miss Matilda Crawley, due to her disapproval.

Explanation: Thackeray frames the narrative of 'Vanity Fair' as a puppet show, not a circus performance, utilizing this device to comment on the characters and events.

Explanation: The narrator in 'Vanity Fair' is characterized as somewhat unreliable and subjective, often interjecting commentary and employing the framing device of a puppet show.

Explanation: Thackeray's illustrations were integral to the novel, often providing symbolic commentary and even clarifying plot points, such as suggesting Becky's potential guilt in Jos Sedley's demise.

Explanation: The narrative perspective is frequently described as akin to a puppet show, featuring an authorial voice that is often detached, subjective, and unreliable.

Explanation: The narrative strongly hints at the possibility that Becky Sharp orchestrated Joseph Sedley's death, potentially for financial gain through his life insurance policy.

Explanation: Thackeray viewed the writer's profession seriously and intended 'Vanity Fair' to serve a dual purpose: providing entertainment while simultaneously offering social commentary and moral reflection.

Explanation: A central theme of 'Vanity Fair' is the pervasive nature of human flaws like hypocrisy, opportunism, and self-interest, suggesting these are fundamental aspects of the human condition.

Explanation: Lord David Cecil described Thackeray's view as recognizing that people are generally well-intentioned but also inherently weak, vain, self-absorbed, and prone to self-deception.

Explanation: Thackeray aimed for 'Vanity Fair' to be both engagingly entertaining and instructive, offering profound social commentary and moral reflection on the human condition.

Explanation: John Sutherland posits that Thackeray's known aversion to 'Newgate novels,' a genre of Victorian crime fiction, makes it unlikely he would have depicted a protagonist committing murder, thus arguing against the interpretation of Becky murdering Jos.

Explanation: The narrative strongly implies that Joseph Sedley's death was potentially suspicious, hinting at Becky Sharp's involvement, possibly for financial motives.

Explanation: The title 'Vanity Fair' is derived from John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress,' not Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales'.

Explanation: Within John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress,' 'Vanity Fair' symbolizes a marketplace of worldly temptations and sin, serving as a spiritual obstacle, rather than a place of enlightenment.

Explanation: The novel employs allusions to classical figures, including Arachne, to illuminate aspects of Becky Sharp's character and her intricate machinations.

Explanation: The primary literary influence cited for 'Vanity Fair's' style and narrative voice is Henry Fielding, rather than the Romantic poets.

Explanation: On the contrary, early reviewers readily recognized and often commented upon the allegorical parallels between Thackeray's novel and John Bunyan's 'The Pilgrim's Progress'.

Explanation: This quote explaining the symbolic meaning of 'Vanity Fair' originates from John Bunyan's 'The Pilgrim's Progress,' not from Thackeray's novel itself.

Explanation: The subtitle 'A Novel without a Hero' is understood as a commentary, potentially a critique, on Thomas Carlyle's 'Lectures on Hero and Hero-Worship,' challenging conventional notions of literary heroism.

Explanation: The title 'Vanity Fair' is directly derived from John Bunyan's allegorical masterpiece, 'Pilgrim's Progress,' where it represents a place of worldly temptation.

Explanation: The style and narrative approach of 'Vanity Fair' are widely recognized as being heavily influenced by the works of Henry Fielding, particularly his satirical novels.

Explanation: Within Bunyan's allegory, 'Vanity Fair' represents a corrupt marketplace embodying the allure of worldly possessions, pleasures, and sins, serving as a spiritual trial for the pilgrim.

Explanation: While Clytemnestra, Eriphyle, and Arachne are cited as allusions for Becky Sharp, Medusa is not mentioned in this context within the provided source material.

Explanation: The source material indicates that the Wikipedia article focuses on Thackeray's novel 'Vanity Fair,' detailing the lives of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley during the Napoleonic Wars.

Explanation: The subtitle 'A Novel without a Hero' was assigned to 'Vanity Fair' upon its publication as a complete single volume, not during its initial serial publication, which used a different subtitle.

Explanation: The novel 'Vanity Fair' is indeed considered a principal founder of the Victorian domestic novel, significantly influencing the genre's trajectory.

Explanation: Thackeray likely began writing 'Vanity Fair' earlier, possibly in late 1844, with its serial publication commencing in 1847 and concluding in 1848.

Explanation: The novel was initially published in 20 monthly installments between 1847 and 1848, with its complete volume publication occurring in 1848.

Explanation: Critics often found the novel's portrayal of human nature to be excessively pessimistic and dark, rather than overly optimistic.

Explanation: While Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' centers on the historical impact of the Napoleonic Wars, Thackeray employs them primarily as a backdrop in 'Vanity Fair,' with characters' inherent flaws having greater influence.

Explanation: While digital versions exist, the source specifically mentions English Wikisource as a platform for accessing the original text, not the Internet Archive.

Explanation: Wikimedia Commons serves as a repository for various media files, including illustrations and images, pertaining to the novel 'Vanity Fair'.

Explanation: During its original serial publication in monthly installments, 'Vanity Fair' was subtitled 'Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society'.

Explanation: When 'Vanity Fair' was published as a complete volume in 1848, it was given the subtitle 'A Novel without a Hero'.

Explanation: Many early reviewers expressed concern that 'Vanity Fair' presented an excessively dark and pessimistic view of human nature, lacking sufficient uplifting elements.

Explanation: 'Vanity Fair' utilizes the Napoleonic Wars primarily as a contextual backdrop, whereas Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' places greater emphasis on the wars' direct impact on the narrative and characters.

Explanation: Wikimedia Commons is specified as the platform that hosts media files, including illustrations and images, pertaining to the novel 'Vanity Fair'.

Explanation: The earliest adaptations mentioned are silent films from 1911 and 1915. A radio drama from 1940 is also noted before the 1935 film.

Explanation: Susan Hampshire was indeed awarded an Emmy in 1973 for her performance as Becky Sharp in the 1967 BBC television adaptation of 'Vanity Fair'.

Explanation: Reese Witherspoon took on the role of Becky Sharp in the 2004 film adaptation directed by Mira Nair.

Explanation: In the 2019 BBC Radio 4 adaptation, Al Murray, a descendant of Thackeray, not only performed as Thackeray but also contributed additional material.

Explanation: The 1911 and 1915 film adaptations were silent films, predating the advent of synchronized sound in motion pictures.

Explanation: The 1935 film adaptation, titled 'Becky Sharp,' holds historical significance as the first feature-length motion picture to be filmed entirely using the full-spectrum Technicolor process.

Explanation: The role of Becky Sharp in Mira Nair's 2004 film adaptation was undertaken by actress Reese Witherspoon.

Explanation: Al Murray, a descendant of Thackeray, not only performed the role of Thackeray in the 2019 radio adaptation but also contributed supplementary material to the production.