Money/Thackeray & Carlyle

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An 8 page research paper. Nineteenth century British writers William Thackeray and Thomas Carlyle each address the topic of money and the role that financial status played in English society in their tests, respectively, Vanity Fair and Past and Present. The stances that these authors take are similar in that both of them picture the extreme emphasis that Victorian society placed on the accumulation of wealth as detrimental to the good of society, as well as to the human soul. Where Thackeray and Carlyle differ is that Carlyle pictures an alternative path for human relations that is founded on his socially progressive ideas. Thackeray, in contrast, does not picture an alternative, as he leaves his characters still trapped within their negative values and concepts. No additional sources cited.