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Similes
Chapter 44
Explanation and Analysis—The Gossip Court:
In Chapter 44, the Becky and Rawdon Crawley struggle to maintain their lavish lifestyle with what little wealth they have left. As tensions mount, Becky's treatment of her son, Rawdy, worsens, and the Crawleys' servants begin to mutter amongst themselves about Becky's erratic behavior—and her possible affair with Lord Steyne, who shows up frequently at the Crawley residence. Thackeray emphasizes the subversive power of gossiping servants in a series of metaphorical allusions:
If you are guilty, tremble. That fellow behind your chair may be a Janissary with a bow-string in his plush breeches pocket. If you are not guilty, have a care of appearances: which are as ruinous as guilt.
‘Was Rebecca guilty or not?’ The Vehmgericht of the servants’ hall had pronounced against her.
This double allusion affirms the considerable power that servants hold over their masters: a Janissary was a legendary soldier in the Ottoman sultan's infantry, said to carry strings to strangle enemies of the sultan, while the Vehmgericht was a semi-secret court in medieval Germany that dealt out death sentences to convicted criminals. By comparing a butler waiting "behind your chair" to a Janissary and the institution of the servants' hall to the Vehmgericht, Thackeray emphasizes the devastating role that servants can play in destroying the reputation of even the most prominent families. There is considerable situational irony in Becky's predicament: her household staff is at once a sign of the social class she has worked so hard to attain and a possible source of her downfall.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Home Improvement:
In Chapter 44, Becky takes charge of Sir Pitt's house after the aging knight finally dies. In a moment of situational irony, Thackeray uses imagery to convey how the house improves under Becky's control:
The black outer-coating of the bricks was removed, and they appeared with a cheerful, blushing face streaked with white: the old bronze lions of the knocker were gilt handsomely, the railings painted, and the dismallest house in Great Gaunt Street became the smartest in the whole quarter, before the green leaves in Hampshire had replaced those yellowing ones which were on the trees in Queen’s Crawley avenue when old Sir Pitt Crawley passed under them for the last time.
Despite the fact that Sir Pitt was the only legitimate aristocrat in his family, it is only after his death that his residence gains the proper grandeur of a noble's residence: this is the source of the situation's irony. Thackeray emphasizes the drama of this transformation by invoking the vivid color imagery of gilt lions, red-and-white brick, and fresh green leaves.
In elevating the house to its proper glory, Becky cannot help but play the part of the aristocrat's wife—despite the fact that she has yet to convince the new Sir Pitt, Pitt Crawley, to share his inheritance.
Related Themes:
