Cultural Anxieties Of The British Empire In The Works Of W. M. Thackeray

In Culture and Imperialism,Said points out that "allusion to empire" recurs frequently in Thackeray’s works.So far,most of the researches on the empire in Thackeray’s works have been conducted on its oversea images,while neglecting the portrayal of anxiety there.In view of this,the present dissertation,based on previous Thackeray criticism,and from the perspective of post-colonialism,seeks to explore anxiety of the empire in his works that were created in the mid-nineteenth century,including the novels Catherine,Barry Lyndon,Vanity Fair,Pendennis,Henry Esmond,and The Virginians as the Thackeray canon;and The Paris Sketch Book and The Irish Sketch Book as his travelogues.With references to the related definitions of "culture" and the analysis of"anxiety," the dissertation is conducted by applying the related post-colonial theories of "the Other" as well as the subject and the subordinate being.The dissertation argues that Thackeray endorses the empire and the imperialist ideology,hence portraying in his works anxiety of the empire because of the threats from the non-English,women and the lower class as the subordinate beings.The first chapter focuses on the evoking of anxiety in the process of the building of the empire under the threat from the racial Others.As Thackeray was familiar with the history of the empire,against which he arranged the settings for his historical novels,the chapter seeks to explore it first.In the midst of the history,the binary opposition,English superiority versus Celtic inferiority,was created.In Pendennis,the vagabond Irish immigrants in London are delineated as the Others who exploit the English resources,posing a threat to English superiority.In The Irish Sketch Book,delineations of the dirty and filthy Irish environment,and the ignorance and indolence of the Irish people,pose a threat to Englishness.In Barry Lyndon,the Anglo-Irish character Barry is delineated as the predatory Other,whose wickedness is pernicious to both Englishness and law and order of English society.The second chapter explores the generation of anxiety with the emerging of the New Woman and the subsequent changes of gender roles.As the emerging of the New Woman in Henry Esmond is long prior to that in English society,the chapter needs to demonstrate that Thackeray’s historical novel reflects his "present" social reality first.The research shows that,as the New Women,both Rebecca in Vanity Fair and Beatrix in Henry Esmond are full of ambition,posing a threat to the patriarchal society,thus evoking anxiety of the empire.Beatrix as a New Woman,while manipulating men,misses her own marriage and childbirth as well,thus putting the sustainable demographical structure in jeopardy.The third chapter explores the generation of anxiety because of the violent class mobility and social unrest.The chapter first researches on the cross-class love and marriage,which is regarded as mismatched by the upper class,hence provoking their alertness and opposition.As low-born characters,both Rebecca and Barry are subjected to Otherization in the works.Meanwhile,Barry in Barry Lyndon is portrayed as a menace to social security.Moreover,according to Thackeray’s credo of crime,the crimes in Catherine and Vanity Fair are interconvertible,which forecasts Rebecca’s"potential" to degenerate into the mob,detrimental to social stability.In conclusion,Thackeray favors the traditional ideology of the graded and hierarchical social order of the British Empire,with the containment of the non-English,women,and the lower class as the subordinate beings,so as to ensure the security of the empire.Naturally,as the functions of culture show,cultural anxieties in his works also reflect Thackeray’s ideal social vision for the future.