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Chapter 19
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
George, who does not have any possessions to his name, is asked by the company to tell his story. Arriving in London, he took Dr. Primrose’s letter of recommendation to their cousin, who found George unfit to work at a school, describing the job as brutal and unrewarding. He suggested writing instead, pointing to the success of Grub-street hack writers. George’s writing found no readers, however, and the literary establishment completely ignored it. Another author attempted to recruit George into a subscription scheme for his own hack journal, which George declined. He continued to write but was too focused on quality over quantity and therefore failed to gain any recognize for his publications. In despair, George was surprised to encounter his friend from university, Squire Thornhill. This surprises both Dr. Primrose and Mr. Arnold. Mr. Arnold admits that Thornhill, a good friend of his family, should be visiting them shortly.
George’s story, which draws heavily on Goldsmith’s life experience, is both a miniature picaresque within the larger picaresque of the novel itself and an indictment of the injustice of 18th-century British society. George, an educated and honorable young man, is unable to find work at a school through no fault of his own but because the unfair, corrupted world of London is slanted in favor of haves and against have-nots. Despite the grandiose mythology of the free press and the arts, writing and publishing are no different, with the loudest voices crowding out those who actually have something to say. Hearing this shocks Dr. Primrose, revealing just how naïve he really is.
Themes
Literary Devices
George continues his story. Thornhill employed George as a retainer of sorts, dressing him up in fine clothes and bringing him to events, having him sing, and tasking him with various kinds of menial work around the house. George was not the only person employed in such a manner, and so he got caught up in an escalating contest of flattery, ending in George standing for Thornhill in a duel, which he won. To repay him, Thornhill recommended George to his uncle Sir William Thornhill. When George went to see Sir William, however, he firmly rejected the invitation and condemned George for enabling the Squire’s bad behavior.
In an ironic turn of events, it is George who becomes a servant to the nobility, working for the Squire as his sisters were once slated to work for the town ladies. Disgraced and disheartened, George can only hope to leverage this service in the future, having lost faith that he will find success on his own merits in London. The Squire, in having his dependent George duel on his behalf (a common practice at the time), further demonstrates the economic inequality of their social relations. The failure of George’s petitions, too, shows that while success without powerful friends is impossible, those friends seem to be far from dependable when one needs them most.
Themes
George began to lose hope and accepted an offer to go to America as an indentured servant. After signing but before departing, however, an acquaintance suggested he go to Holland instead and teach English, claiming that it was an easy and lucrative career. George left for Holland but found he could not teach English without learning Dutch himself; the Dutch also didn’t embrace his ability to teach ancient Greek, not seeing any value in the language. George then wandered around to Paris, securing his lodgings by singing for peasants.
George gambles on a desperate shot at redemption, planning to quite literally start all over in the colonies. He is aware, however, that the opportunity will cost him—he will likely be worked to death before he makes something of himself. George’s decision to go to Holland instead is a lucky break, but he finds that, tragicomically, his skills are just as unwanted there as they are at home.
Themes
Literary Devices
In Paris George again met his cousin, who then brought him into the business of buying paintings for wealthy English gentlemen who in fact have very poor taste. George then worked as a tutor for a young and extremely stingy English aristocrat traveling through Europe, until his employer abandoned him in Italy in order to not pay for another ticket on the boat back to London. Unable to sing his way through Italy due to the country’s own rich musical culture, George wandered his way back to England, surviving by debating at universities and thereby securing room and board. Back in England, he intended to go home to his family but met the theater company along the way and joined them on the road.
George’s wealthy British interlocutors in Europe offer a withering parody of their real equivalents; at the time, it was common practice for young gentleman to “tour” Europe as part of their education, a journey often carried out in a rote manner with little genuine learning. Though George has learned much, the greatest lesson of his travels is the value of home, and so he sets off for England with a determination lacking in his earlier efforts.
Themes
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