At Russell Square, Miss Sharp is introduced to the dashing and self-obsessed Captain George Osborne (to whom Amelia has been betrothed from a very young age) and to Amelia's brother Joseph Sedley, a clumsy and vainglorious but rich civil-servant fresh from India. Becky entices him and hopes to marry him, though eventually fails as a result of warnings from Captain Osborne and his own native shyness and embarrassment that Becky had witnessed his foolish behaviour at Vauxhall.
With this Becky Sharp says farewell to Sedley's family and enters the service of the baronet Sir Pitt Crawley who has engaged her as a governess to his daughters. Her behaviour at Sir Pitt's house gains the favour of Sir Pitt, who after the premature death of his second wife, proposes to her. However, it soon transpires that she is already secretly married to his second son, Rawdon Crawley.
Sir Pitt's half sister, the spinster Miss Crawley, is very rich having inherited her mother's fortune of ?70,000. Where she will leave her great wealth is a source of constant conflict between the branches of the Crawley family who vie shamelessly for her affections; initially her favourite is Sir Pitt's younger son, Captain Rawdon Crawley. For some time, Becky acts as Miss Crawley's companion, supplanting the loyal Briggs in an attempt to find favour before breaking the news of her elopement with her nephew. The misalliance so enrages Miss Crawley, that she eventually disinherits her nephew in favour of his elder brother, who also bears the name Pitt Crawley. The couple constantly attempt to reconcile with Miss Crawley and she relents a little. However, she will only see her nephew and refuses to change her will.
While Becky Sharp is rising in the world, Amelia's father, John Sedley, is bankrupted. The relationship between the two families, the Sedleys and Osbornes, who were once close allies disintegrates and the marriage of Amelia and George is forbidden. George ultimately decides to marry Amelia against his father's will, primarily due to the pressure of his friend Dobbin, and George is consequently disinherited by his father.
When all these personal incidents are going on, the Napoleonic Wars have been ramping up, and George Osborne and William Dobbin are suddenly deployed to Brussels, but not before an encounter with Becky and Captain Crawley at Brighton. The holiday is interrupted with orders to march to Brussels. Already, the newly wedded Osborne is growing tired of Amelia, and he becomes increasingly attracted to Becky.
At a ball in Brussels(based on the Duchess of Richmond's famous ball on the eve of the battle of Waterloo) George gives Becky a note inviting her to run away with him. He regrets this shortly afterwards, and reconciles with Amelia, who has been deeply hurt by his attentions towards her former friend. The morning after, he is sent to Waterloo, with Captain Crawley and Dobbin, leaving Amelia distraught. Becky, on the other hand, is virtually indifferent about her husband's departure. She tries to console Amelia, but Amelia responds angrily, disgusted by Becky's flirtatious behavior with George and her lack of concern about Captain Crawley. Becky resents this snub and a rift develops between the two women that lasts for years.
Captain Crawley survives, but George dies in the battle. Amelia bears him a posthumous son, who is also named George. She returns to live in genteel poverty with her parents. Meanwhile since the death of George, Dobbin, who is his son's godfather, gradually begins to express his love for the widowed Amelia by small gestures directed towards her and her son. Most notably is the recovery of an old piano, which Dobbin picks up at an auction following the Sedley's ruin, which Amelia mistakes as a gesture from her late husband. She is too much in love with George's memory to return Dobbin's affections. Saddened, he goes to India for many years. Dobbin's infatuation with Amelia is a theme which unifies the novel and one which many have compared to Thackeray's unrequited love for a friend's wife.
Meanwhile, Becky also has a son, also named after his father, but unlike Amelia, who dotes on and even spoils her child, Becky is a cold, distant mother. She continues her ascent first in post-war Paris and then in London where she is patronised by the great Marquess of Steyne who covertly subsidises her and introduces her to London society. Her success is unstoppable despite her humble origins and she is eventually presented at court to the Prince Regent himself.
At the summit of her success, Becky's pecuniary relationship with the rich and omnipotent Marquess of Steyne is discovered by Rawdon, after he is arrested for debt. His brother's wife, Lady Jane, bails him out and he surprises the couple in a compromising position. Rawdon leaves his wife and through the offices of Lord Steyne is made Governor of Coventry Island to get him out of the way, after Rawdon challenges the elderly marquess to a duel. Mrs Crawley, having lost both husband and credibility, is warned by Steyne to quit England and wanders the continent. Rawdon and Rebecca's son is left in the care of Pitt Crawley and Lady Jane. However wherever Becky goes, she is stalked by the shadow of Lord Steyne. No sooner has she established herself in polite society, than someone turns up who knows her disreputable history and spreads rumours; Steyne himself hounds her out of Rome.
As Amelia's adored son George grows up, his grandfather relents and takes him from poor Amelia who knows the rich and bitter old man will give him a much better start in life materially than she or her family could ever manage. After twelve years abroad both Joseph Sedley and William Dobbin return to England. Dobbin professes his unchanged love to Amelia, but although Amelia is affectionate to Dobbin, she tells him she cannot forget the memory of her dead husband. Dobbin also becomes close to George, and his kind firm manner with him proves a good influence on the spoilt child.
While in England, Dobbin mediates a reconciliation between Amelia and her father-in-law. The death of Amelia's mother prevents their meeting but following Osborne's death soon after, it is revealed that he had amended his will and bequeathed young George half his large fortune and Amelia a generous annuity. The rest is divided between his daughters, Miss Osborne and Mrs Bullock who begrudges Amelia and her son for the decrease in her annuity.
After the death of old Mr Osborne, Amelia, Joseph, George and Dobbin go on a trip to Germany, where they encounter the destitute Becky. She meets the young George Osborne at a card table and then enchants Jos Sedley. Following Jos' entreaties, Amelia agrees to a reconciliation (when she hears that Becky has had her ties with her son severed), much to Dobbin's disapproval. Dobbin quarrels with Amelia, and finally realizes that he is wasting his love on a woman too shallow to return it.
However, Becky, in a moment of conscience, shows Amelia the note that George (Amelia's dead husband) had given her, asking her to run away with him. This breaks George's idealised image in Amelia's mind, but not before she has already sent a note to Dobbin professing her love.
Becky resumes her seduction of Joseph Sedley and gains control over him. He eventually dies of a suspicious ailment after signing a portion of his money to Becky as life insurance. In the original illustrations, which were done by Thackeray, Becky is shown behind a curtain with a phial (presumably of poison) in her hand; the picture is labelled 'Becky's second appearance in the character of Clytemnestra.' (She had played Clytemnestra during charades at a party earlier in the book.) His death appears to have made her fortune.
By a twist of fate Rawdon Crawley dies weeks before his elder brother whose son has already died. Thus the baronetcy descends to Rawdon's son. Had he outlived his brother by even a day he would have become Sir Rawdon Crawley and Becky would have become Lady Crawley - the title she uses regardless in later life.
《名利場》簡介
作者主要塑造了19世紀初英國資本主義社會壹個女冒險者的典型.這個人物並不邪惡,也不善良,但非常富有人情味,完全是時代的產物.小說中,作者頻頻與讀者交流,敘述中夾雜著議論,時而冷嘲熱諷,時而嚴肅說理,時而歪理歪推,喜劇效果強烈.讀者在參與思索的過程中,不但能理解作者的用心,也頗受教益.
《名利場》的故事以兩條線索展開,從同壹個起點出發,相互交織,最後到達同壹個終點.其中壹條線索講述善良,笨拙,生活在富有家庭中的女子阿米莉亞?塞德利;另壹條線索講述的是壹個機靈,自私,放蕩不羈恢窮的孤女麗貝卡?夏普.兩人於1813年乘坐同壹輛馬車離開平克頓女子學校.兩人都在遭到家庭反對的情況下,於1815年結婚,分別嫁給即將參加滑鐵盧戰役的兩名英國軍官.新婚不久,那場具有歷史意義的戰役打響了.阿米莉亞的丈夫戰死疆場;麗貝卡的丈夫戰後生還.接下來的十年中,而貝卡生活壹帆風順,在社會的階梯上不斷攀升,直至有幸覲見國王,而阿米莉亞卻因父親破產承受著極大的不幸.到了1827年,命運發生了逆轉,麗貝卡的生活落入毀滅的深淵,這其實是罪有應得;阿米莉亞卻轉而變得富裕幸福,可歸因於善有善報.但是,作者以靈活的諷刺手法,使兩位女主角最後的命運歸於平衡,仿佛在壹個大的輪回之後,回到故事開始時兩人命運的起點.
故事中,滑鐵盧戰役是兩人命運的重要分水嶺.戰役之前,故事的焦點是兩位女主角的婚事.兩人的婚事分別受到男方家庭的反對,也都因此得不到家庭的支持,兩位丈夫的遺產繼承權均被取消.滑鐵盧戰役之後,故事的焦點是兩個女主角的貞節問題.兩個三角關系分別展開.麗貝卡對丈夫不忠,與放蕩好色的貴族富豪斯泰思侯爵勾搭;阿米莉亞對自己去世的丈夫信守貞節,拒絕與十幾年如壹日忠實愛慕她的多賓結婚.
2．在她還很小的時候，貝基就失去了自己窮困潦倒的父親和法國舞蹈演員的母親。當她還在平克頓學院的時候，她就十分渴望能夠得到想像中的那寫奢華的生活。但是對於19世紀初英國壁壘森嚴的等級制度來說，出身貧寒的她要獲得這些幾乎是不可能的，然後年幼的貝基卻下定決心，要用自己的所有聰明才智，堅忍不拔，青春性感和那些不太光明的小手段征服整個英國上流社會。
同貝基從小壹起長大的艾米莉婭?塞德利是壹個心地善良的富家女，她的父母也是貝基的法定監護人。從小在呵護中長大的她對世事的險惡也渾然不知；和她不同，出身貧寒的貝基卻意誌堅強，她下定決心要用自己的方式晉升上流社會。
貝基的上升始於漢普郡鄉村貴族彼特?克勞利壹家家庭女教師的聘書，年輕開朗貝基很快獲得孩子們的喜愛也贏得了長輩的信任，彼特對貝基漸生愛慕，但當他決定開口的時候才發現貝基已經和自己的兒子，沾染著紈絝子弟惡習的勞頓混在壹起。此時孩子們單身富有的老姑媽瑪蒂爾達也喜歡上了明朗快樂的貝基，並且邀請她到倫敦和自己同住，貝基深知如果不進入城市，進入上流社會根本就是妄想，於是她熱切地答應了她的請求。
在倫敦，貝基與自己曾經最好的朋友艾米莉婭再度重逢，完全長大的艾米莉婭發現了從前密友內心膨脹的欲望和兩面派的作風，她壹面私下與克勞利家族繼承人勞頓達成了婚約，壹面卻有在瑪蒂爾達面前隱瞞兩們之間的親密關系。
正在此時，拿破倫開始了對整個歐羅巴大陸的戰爭，壹腔熱血的勞頓開赴前線加入戰鬥，而艾米莉婭新婚的丈夫，喬治?奧斯伯恩奔赴沙場，相近的生活境遇促使身懷六甲的貝基再度開始與艾米莉婭走近。貝基生下壹名男嬰，勞頓也從戰場上歸來，盡管如此壹家人贏來了團聚，但沈悶安閑的家庭生活是貝基無法忍受的，難以遏制的欲望再壹次激蕩著貝基的心靈，她決定重新進入返回社交圈，這個充滿迷幻的名利場……
《名利場》是英國十九世紀小說家薩克雷的成名作品，也是他生平著作裏最經得起時間考驗的傑作。故事取材於很熱鬧的英國十九世紀中上層社會。當時國家強盛，工商業發達，由榨壓殖民地或剝削勞工而發財的富商大賈正主宰著這個社會，英法兩國爭權的戰爭也在這時響起了炮聲。中上層社會各式各等人物，都忙著爭權奪位，爭名求利，所謂“天下攘攘，皆為利往，天下熙熙，皆為利來”，名位、權勢、利祿，原是相連相通的。
故事主角是壹個機靈乖巧的漂亮姑娘。她嘗過貧窮的滋味，壹心要掌握自己的命運，擺脫困境。她不擇手段，憑諂媚奉承、走小道兒鉆後門，飛上高枝。作為陪襯的人物是她同窗女友、壹個富商的女兒。她懦弱溫柔，馴順地隨命運播弄。從貧賤進入富裕的道路很不平穩！富家女的運途亦多坎坷，兩人此起彼落的遭遇，構成壹個引人關懷又動人情感的故事。穿插的人物形形色色，都神情畢肖。薩克雷富譏智，善諷刺，《名利場》是逗趣而又啟人深思的小說。