Critique of British Aristocratic Values in Waugh’s Vile Bodies

Abstract

This thesis entitled “Critique of British Aristocratic Values in Waugh’s Vile Bodies” satirizes the British aristocrats of the inter-war period for their hedonistic impulses and indifference towards the society. Waugh’s satirical novel of the emptiness of riches and fame has clear lessons for contemporary culture’s obsession with celebrity where the aristocrats involved in an endless and enervating round of parties, their every move and fashion innovation eagerly followed and swallowed by the public through gossip columns. Examining the so- called periphery of social stratum the thesis seeks every contemporary aristocratic issue via new historicism and finds the protagonist of the novel Adam a perfect representative of a contemporary British aristocratic society. Vile Bodies is an epic satire of English high society after the Great War written with the brittle wit, insinuating intimacy, and skittering attention span of a gossip column. In the very first chapter of the thesis, it is introduction of the topic and its justification. The second chapter is analysis of the text in relation to the context of inter-war period. The third chapter solely illustrates the new historicist reading of the text with sufficient examples and with contextual illustrations. Examining all the elements such as the position of the writer, his contemporary time, characterization, plot, setting and the historic periphery of the text itself, this thesis attempts to justify the topic as well as the thesis statement. The literary theory called new historicism is appropriate to analyze Waugh’s criticism of values of contemporary inter-war British society. Thus, analyzing the historical scenario of contemporary British society, its time and author, the thesis interprets the hedonistic impulses and aristocratic values of young British Aristocrats.