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Chapter 23
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
The next day the Primroses have breakfast outdoors, though the surroundings only serve to remind Olivia of her misery. They spot Squire Thornhill’s party in the distance, and the Primrose daughters return home. The Squire greets Dr. Primrose casually and familiarly when he arrives. This enrages Dr. Primrose, who then finally confronts him for his treachery. The Squire further upsets Dr. Primrose with his dismissive response, suggesting he can find another husband for Olivia and remain her lover regardless, prompting Dr. Primrose to call him a “reptile” and insist he leave. The Squire then threatens to press charges as Dr. Primrose has failed to pay back his debt to the Squire for George’s commission, or his rent to the Squire’s steward. He also invites the Primroses to his wedding, as Miss Wilmot has requested their attendance.
Squire Thornhill, unaware that Olivia has been found, attempts to keep up his ruse with the Primroses. Looking for a motive for him to take such a risk, the reader may recall not only the Squire’s arrogance, but also the aim of his original plot with the town ladies: he still hopes to seduce Sophia, too. The Squire is not a moral man and struggles to understand how Dr. Primrose can be upset on principle, leading to his ill-advised suggestion that he can procure another husband for Olivia, which only adds insult to injury. The Squire’s new threat to call in Dr. Primrose’s debt offers two interpretations: it could suggest more of the same opportunism he’s demonstrated thus far, or it could suggest that the commission for George was a ploy all along for leverage over the Primroses. Nevertheless, the Squire cannot afford for his fiancée, Miss Wilmot, to discover his treachery, and so he attempts to placate the Primroses for her sake.
Themes
Dr. Primrose tells the Squire that he will never consent to the Squire marrying anyone but Olivia and that the Squire can never again expect his friendship. The Squire tells Dr. Primrose he will face consequences for such insolence and leaves. While his family is worried, Dr. Primrose is unmoved. The next morning, however, the steward comes to demand the rent, seizing the Primroses’ cattle as collateral. Though his family begs him to bow to the Squire’s will to avoid prison, Dr. Primrose refuses. The next day, after a heavy snowfall, officers of justice come to take Dr. Primrose to the gaol on foot, despite his age and injuries. Nevertheless, he goes willingly, though his family, Olivia in particular, is in despair.
Dr. Primrose, despite his humility, now finally stands up to the Squire, not for his own sake but for Olivia’s. Of course, the reader will note that in defending his daughter’s honor, Dr. Primrose is also by proxy defending his own. The Squire, unwilling or unable to face them directly, sends his steward and the officers of justice in his place, further evidence that the structures of society are biased against the poor in favor of the rich. Though Dr. Primrose is aware of this, he does not see it as his place to challenge the justice system, and he goes willing to the gaol.
Themes
