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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Vicar of Wakefield, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humility in the Face of Adversity
The Possibility of Redemption
Family and Society
Equality, Justice, and the Law
Travel, Home, and Belonging
Summary
Analysis
Dr. Primrose finds his family less and less receptive to his lectures on virtue, and Mrs. Primrose, Olivia, and Sophia begin to worry about their appearance again, making washes and taking care to protect their complexions. A fortune-teller comes to visit them, and in a moment of indulgence Dr. Primrose gives his daughters money to pay her. To their surprise, the fortune-teller predicts that Olivia will be married to the Squire in less than a year and that Sophia will marry a lord soon after. Dr. Primrose laughs it off, but soon notices the expectation of great things his family begin to hold. He reflects on the way that looking forward to something often gives greater pleasure than the thing itself, describing the happiness and sense of destiny his daughters feel.
Dr. Primrose’s struggles to rein in his family’s expectations reveal just how strong the pull of jealousy is. This leads the family to plan elaborate schemes that would never have crossed their minds in Wakefield, where they were both comfortable and not in direct proximity to the very wealthy. Addressing this problem is far from simple, however, not only because the family is tiring of his lectures: as much as Dr. Primrose opposes their grandiose dreaming, he understands the happiness that such a vision for the future gives them, and happiness is ultimately exactly what he wishes his family to have.
Themes
Literary Devices
The family receive a card from the town ladies, who hope to see them at church on Sunday. Dr. Primrose notices his wife and daughters planning something; Mrs. Primrose then suggests to him that the family ought to go to church in their Sunday best and that Olivia and Sophia should ride their two plow horses, Colt and Blackberry. Dr. Primrose does not see how this is more elegant, as Colt is wall-eyed and Blackberry has no tail, but Mrs. Primrose insists. On Sunday, Dr. Primrose goes ahead alone. His family fail to appear before or even during the service, and only walking back does he find them on the horses, which refused to move all morning. Despite his family’s embarrassment Dr. Primrose is pleased, seeing the incident as a useful lesson in humility.
Now goaded by the town ladies, Mrs. Primrose truly oversteps the bounds of her social position, not realizing how ridiculous this makes her look. The Primroses’ horses are farm animals, not fit to ride; one of them is even wall-eyed, meaning his eyes look in different directions. Despite her husband’s warnings, Mrs. Primrose’s desire to appear distinguished blinds her to the embarrassment she is causing herself and her family. Dr. Primrose, ever the benevolent father, realizes here that he cannot lecture his family into submission but must allow them to make mistakes for themselves; luckily for him, the failure of their plan humbles them without the public humiliation that it might have led to.
Themes
Literary Devices
