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Chapter 5
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
Debating how to prepare the venison, the Primroses are pleasantly surprised by the arrival of Mr. Burchell. Burchell has a reputation in the neighbor as a poor gentleman who was known for doing ill in his youth but has since reformed. Burchell joins them for dinner—and, of course, gooseberry wine—and stays until very late. The youngest children, Dick and Bill, generously offer him their bed, greatly pleasing Dr. Primrose with their generosity. The next morning Burchell repays the favor, helping the Primroses with farm work, and they notice the attention—and affection—he shows Sophia as they work.
The novel further develops the sharp contrast between Mr. Burchell and the Squire, both through Burchell’s reputation in the community and the different behavior he and the Squire display with the Primrose family. While the Squire patronizes the Primroses, pretending to appreciate the entirety of their simple moral lifestyle in order to be around Olivia and Sophia, Burchell genuinely enjoys the entire family’s company. Moreover, Burchell grants the Primroses an important opportunity to do good, showing how different the moral economy of charity and sharing is from the social world of flattery that the Squire inhabits.
Themes
Dr. Primrose speculates on Burchell’s irresponsible past, and Sophia rebukes him for his judgment. Moses agrees, and though Dr. Primrose observes Sophia’s feelings for Burchell with disapproval, he decides to remain silent. As Mrs. Primrose prepares more venison for Squire Thornhill’s visit the next day, Dick reveals to Dr. Primrose that his daughters are also busy preparing a face wash for the same visit. Opposed on principle to washes, which he considers vain, Dr. Primrose “accidentally” tips it over into the fire and ruins it.
Though he is his family’s moral teacher, Dr. Primrose is not infallible, and he’s grateful for their willingness to hold him to his own standards when he cannot help himself from judging others unfairly. His criticisms of Mr. Burchell reveal a constant tension in his worldview between the positive moral value of unworldly goodness and the importance of a practical, responsible approach to life. Luckily for Dr. Primrose, he does not have to grapple with the contradiction for long, as he is able to focus on the obvious moral failing of his daughters’ vanity. Despite the importance he places on honesty, his destruction of the face wash show that he too is capable of treacherous acts of subterfuge.
Themes
Literary Devices
