Abstract:  The setting of Vanity Fair is in the early 19th century in Britain, when the upper-middle class was morally bankrupt and predatory. Rebecca Sharp, the heroine in Vanity Fair, who lost her parents when she was a child, succeeds in conquering the whole upper class of the British society by making full use of her intelligence and wisdom and adopting some typical or atypical methods. She experiences ups and downs in vanity fair. This paper aims to probe into Rebecca’s dual personality and the causes that lead to her personality. The first part mainly discusses the positive side in Rebecca's personality, especially her wisdom, independence, strong will and loyalty. The second part mainly describes the negative side in Rebecca's personality, especially her selfishness, vanity, snobbishness and degeneration. The third part analyzes the causes of the duality in her personality from the perspectives of her family and the social background. 

Keywords: Vanity Fair; Rebecca; personality; duality

CONTENTS 

摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction-1

2. The Positive Side in Rebecca’s Personality-2

2.1 Her Wisdom-2

2.2 Her Independence-2

2.3 Her Strong Will-3

2.4 Her Loyalty-4

3. The Negative Side in Rebecca’s Personality-4

3.1 Her Selfishness-4

3.2 Her Vanity-4

3.3 Her Snobbishness-5

3.4 Her Degeneration-6

4. The Causes of the Duality in Her Personality-6

4.1 Her Family-6

4.2 The Society-7

5. Conclusion-7

Bibliography-8

Acknowledgment-9