As I have said many times before; if you don't learn something every day, you have wasted that day.
I've recently been listening to a serialisation of Vanity Fair on the BBC's Radio 4 Extra, and, in my ignorance, I kept wondering where the title originated, and what it meant. So I finally consulted Prof Wiki.... viz
In John Bunyan's original 1678 book 'The Pilgrim's Progress', the pilgrims stop en route between The City of Destruction, and The Celestial City, at a city called Vanity, where there is a never ending Fair (in the centre of the illustration above). Bunyan sees it as an attachment to all things sinful. An example of living without god. A place to be avoided.
Bunyan claims it's the playground of the idle and undeserving rich. Thackeray's 1848 novel is filled with all sorts of intrigue, but not to the level that Bunyan himself had previously suggested.
So, there you have it.
Well, fancy that, I've learnt/learned something new today, thank you Cro! I always thought that title had something to do with people dressing up in posh clothes and being vain!
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a clue where it came from. I'm pleased that now I do.
DeleteIt's many years since I read Pilgrim's Progress so can remember very little of the story. I have read Vanity Fair more recently, but again, it hasn't remained in any detail in my memory. The map is interesting and I enlarged it to get a better view.
ReplyDeleteI found the serialisation of Thackery's novel rather boring. I listened to it because I couldn't really avoid it.
DeleteInteresting to know something about the origin. Your writing suggests it has departed from the original intent greatly.
ReplyDeleteBetween Bunyan and Thackery the meaning has changed considerably. Bunyan saw it as SIN, and Thackery as intrigue.
DeleteThank you so much for my new knowledge for today. Interesting. The things one learns on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to learn something every day. We usually do without thinking about it.
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