Why was Vanity Fair a novel without heroes?
Vanity Fair was a novel by Jean-Paul Ruffeni about the French capitalist society in the 1920s. Although there were many characters in the novel with distinct personalities and unique fates, there was no true hero character. This was because during that era, the French capitalist society had fallen into a deep economic crisis and social unrest. People were faced with great challenges and difficulties in politics, economy, culture and so on. Therefore, many people chose to escape from reality or compromise in such an environment. In this case, many people were given the image of heroes while others were described as evil or weak existences. In contrast, many of the characters in Vanity Fair had their own contradictions and predicaments. They didn't exist to be heroes. The main characters in the novel included dignitaries, businessmen, prostitutes, lawyers, and so on. They all had their own pursuits and goals, but they also had their own weaknesses and shortcomings. Therefore, there was no single image in Vanity Fair, but a complex, contradictory and conflicted society with characters from all walks of life. Therefore, Vanity Fair could be said to be a novel without heroes because it described a society full of contradictions and variety rather than a society full of heroes.
