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Chapter 16
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 is pleased at the possibility of a marriage between Olivia and farmer Williams, whom he finds genuine and responsible, unlike the Squire. Nevertheless, the scheme continues without a clear answer from the Squire, leading Dr. Primrose to suspect he will not marry Olivia. Olivia holds out hope but agrees to her father’s plan to set a date to marry Williams. This clearly upsets the Squire but does not induce him to action, confirming Dr. Primrose’s suspicions. While his daughter’s emotional distress upsets him, he thinks that the planned marriage will be a happier outcome in the end.
The likelihood of a marriage between Olivia and farmer Williams gratifies Dr. Primrose’s morality, as such a match would be both a practical and responsible (if unambitious) decision, and it would also be a redeeming resolution to the disappointing courtship of the Squire. Though Olivia is not yet completely ready to accept this course of action, Dr. Primrose feels confident that she will not only keep her word but also come around to seeing the wisdom of it, finally proving right his lecture on the folly of attempting to rise above one’s rank in life.
Themes
Gathered round the fire, the family discusses the future. Moses sees practical advantages in the marriage, as Williams will loan them farming equipment for free. Williams has also taught Dick and Bill songs, and as Dick has gone out with Olivia, Bill sings “An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog” for the family as his parents drink more gooseberry wine. Dr. Primrose interprets the song as a great tragedy and compares such old ballads to new—and, to him—inauthentic compositions. The family discusses the superior quality of English wives, which are considered the best in Europe, and as they drink one last bottle of gooseberry wine, Dr. Primrose expresses his contentment with his family and their future.
The family, after what has seemed to them to be a harrowing cycle of raised expectations and crushing disappointments, finally seems to be settling in for a future filled calm, peaceful normality. Planning future agricultural endeavors and enjoying their gooseberry wine, the Primroses feel a kinship with their neighbors, sharing a common land, culture, and morality. Thus, in Dr. Primrose’s view, while they may not have reached the ambitious social position they hoped for, they have something better: a safe, stable kind of happiness.
Themes
Literary Devices
As Dr. Primrose asks where Olivia has gone, Dick returns in a panic, telling the family that she has left with two gentlemen in a post chaise and that she clearly had romantic relations with one of them. The Primroses despair, and Dr. Primrose demands his pistols to go pursue Olivia’s abductor, whom he curses. Mrs. Primrose dissuades him, however, and Moses encourages him to stay and support his family instead of selfishly pursuing revenge. Dr. Primrose calms down and realizes how rashly he was acting, recalling the importance of Christian forgiveness. Mrs. Primrose accuses Olivia of disgracing the family, claiming to disown her, though Dr. Primrose reminds her that they should always welcome back a repentant sinner. He then resolves to set out after Olivia, not with his pistols but with his Bible and staff, to bring her back to virtue.
The pastoral tranquility of both an evening by the fireplace and a long, steady future of more such evenings is shattered by the news of Olivia’s abduction—or elopement—by post chaise, a kind of carriage. Dr. Primrose, in perhaps his most extreme slip of character in the entire novel, demands revenge, asking to be brought pistols he has likely never even used. Luckily his family dissuades him, presenting him with his own arguments, stressing his responsibility to the rest his family over his sense of honor. Dr. Primrose quickly assents, thankful that his wife and son brought him back from the brink. He in turn must check the strength of their anger, however, reminding Mrs. Primrose that it is not their place as fellow sinners to judge Olivia. Instead, they must help her to find the way back to righteousness.
Themes
Literary Devices
