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Vanity Fair

Questions About Vanity Fair

by William Makepeace Thackeray

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Answered Questions (9)

What makes this book racist? I think I missed something...?
Antonia Nothing. I wish people would quit applying modern political morality to previous centuries where life was quite different. It is so annoyingly "PC". E…moreNothing. I wish people would quit applying modern political morality to previous centuries where life was quite different. It is so annoyingly "PC". Enough already.(less)
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Is the book sexist?
Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins By today's standards, probably. There's a lot of Madonna-whore stuff going on that is hopelessly reductive. *But* for its time, I wouldn't say so - in…moreBy today's standards, probably. There's a lot of Madonna-whore stuff going on that is hopelessly reductive. *But* for its time, I wouldn't say so - in fact, it was probably pretty progressive compared to a lot of other stuff written during the same period. Becky Sharp in particular became a vehicle through which Thackeray explored an early version of the Woman Question, examining the gender role constraints placed upon women and the limited means and resources they had to overcome them. "Sexist" is kind of in the eye of the beholder.(less)
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Will watching the film or TV series first spoil the book for me?
Heather I think watching the film or TV series makes it easier to enjoy the book - first you watch a colorful, boiled-down version that covers the plot and vi…moreI think watching the film or TV series makes it easier to enjoy the book - first you watch a colorful, boiled-down version that covers the plot and visualizes the characters, and then you read the book to enjoy the droll narrative voice and social satire. I was inspired to read the book after watching the new amazon series, which is fantastic(less)
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what are the other books with the main theme as this one?
Anna I think considering the main theme is 'vanity', with a heavy social satire, you could look a lot of 19th century authors - pretty much anything writte…moreI think considering the main theme is 'vanity', with a heavy social satire, you could look a lot of 19th century authors - pretty much anything written by Jane Austen or Oscar Wilde comes to mind for me.(less)
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Unanswered Questions (2)

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