Editing Vanity Fair (novel) (section)

=== Becky Sharp (Rebecca) ===
{{main article|Becky Sharp}}
[[Becky Sharp (character)|Rebecca Sharp]], called Becky, is Amelia's opposite: an intelligent, conniving young woman with a gift for satire. She is described as a short, sandy-haired girl who has green eyes and a great deal of wit. Becky is born to a French opera dancer mother and an art teacher and artist father Francis. Fluent in both French and English, Becky has a beautiful singing voice, plays the piano, and shows great talent as an actress. Without a mother to guide her into marriage, Becky resolves that "I must be my own Mamma".{{sfnp|York|1997|p=22}}

She thereafter appears to be completely amoral and without conscience and has been called the work's "[[anti-heroine]]".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/17/readers-anti-hero-anti-heroines-fiction "Readers love a good anti-hero – so why do they shun anti-heroines?"] by [[Emma Jane Unsworth]], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 18 November 2014</ref> She does not seem to have the ability to get attached to other people, and lies easily and intelligently to get her way. She is extremely manipulative and, after the first few chapters and her failure to attract Jos Sedley, is not shown as being particularly sincere.

Never having known financial or social security even as a child, Becky desires it above all things. Nearly everything she does is with the intention of securing a stable position for herself, or herself and her husband after she and Rawdon are married. She advances Rawdon's interests tirelessly, flirting with men such as General Tufto and the Marquis of Steyne to get him promoted. She also uses her feminine wiles to distract men at card parties while Rawdon cheats them blind.

Marrying Rawdon Crawley in secret was a mistake, as was running off instead of begging Miss Crawley's forgiveness. She also fails to manipulate Miss Crawley through Rawdon so as to obtain an inheritance. Although Becky manipulates men very easily, she is less successful with women. She is utterly hostile to Lady Bareacres,<ref>{{harvp|Milne|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8lEQCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110–111]}}.</ref> dismissive of Mrs. O'Dowd, and Lady Jane, although initially friendly, eventually distrusts and dislikes her.

The exceptions to this trend are (at least initially) Miss Crawley, her [[lady's companion|companion]] Miss Briggs, and her school friend Amelia; the latter is the recipient of more-or-less the only kindnesses Becky expresses in the work, persuading her to marry Dobbin in light of what Becky comes to appreciate to be his good qualities and protecting Amelia from two ruffians vying for her attentions. This comparative loyalty to Amelia stems from Becky having no other friends at school, and Amelia having "by a thousand kind words and offices, overcome... (Becky's) hostility"; 'The gentle tender-hearted Amelia Sedley was the only person to whom she could attach herself in the least; and who could help attaching herself to Amelia?'

Beginning with her determination to be her "own Mamma", Becky begins to assume the role of [[Clytemnestra]].{{sfnp|York|1997|pp=22 ff}} Becky and her necklace from Steyne also allude to the fallen [[Eriphyle]] in [[Jean Racine|Racine]]'s [[Iphigénie|retelling]] of ''[[Iphigenia at Aulis]]'', where she [[Foil (literature)|doubles]] and rescues Iphigenia.{{sfnp|York|1997|pp=30 ff}} In lesser contexts, Becky also appears as [[Arachne]] to Miss Pinkerton's [[Minerva]]{{sfnp|York|1997|pp=24 ff}} and as a variety of classical figures in the works' illustrations.