The film follows the parallel lives of two women at opposite ends of the social and moral spectrum: Becky Sharp:
A sharp critique of the rigid British class system and the lengths people go to for status. "A Novel Without a Hero": vanity fair -2004 film-
The film consistently employs theatrical motifs to underscore Thackeray’s metaphor of life as a puppet show. Characters are introduced behind proscenium arches; mirrors fragment identities. Becky is explicitly linked to actresses and performance. In one key addition, after her ruin by Lord Steyne, Becky actually performs onstage in a minor theater—a fall from society literally becoming a stage appearance. Where Thackeray’s narrator is a cruel puppeteer, Nair’s mise-en-scène suggests that all identity in Vanity Fair is performed. The film follows the parallel lives of two