there as decently as possible, for who knows what may happen?’‘Your precautions,’ replied I, ‘are highly commendable. A Allusion: Allusions to literary works such as Shakespeare’s plays and Milton’s poetry add depth and meaning to the novel, providing a broader context for the themes and ideas explored.

Further, the vicar realizes that the truly virtuous characters are those he had begun to judge as inferior. The family’s grief is somewhat assuaged by the kindness of neighbours to whom they have thus far been rather cruel towards. They used Farmer Williams as a tool to ensnare the squire and consciously looked down upon the Flamborough girls. And yet these are the people whom truly help the family here. Thornhill is broken and begs his uncle for pardon, where he is granted a small pay. Once Thornhill leaves, William proposes to Sophia. Gender Roles and Expectations: The theme of gender roles and expectations is prevalent throughout the novel, as characters navigate the rigid gender norms of eighteenth-century England and struggle to assert their identities and autonomy. George and Arabella are happy to reunite and plan to wed. It is later discovered that Olivia is still alive. Ephraim had lied to prompt the vicar to write a reconciliation letter to Thornhill. Additionally, it is found that Jenkinson had legitimately wedded Thornhill and Olivia, and so Thornhill loses Arabella’s fortune. The vicar notices that his daughters are forgetting their lessons on humility and temperance. Instead, they are indulging in the “pride that [he] had laid asleep, but not removed” (44). They grow vain, overly worried about their complexions, and begin to abstain from their chores. Similarly, they speak disparagingly about the Miss Flamboroughs, whom they now deem too coarse and common, and attempt to talk only of fashionable, highbrow subjects.In the end, Miss Wilmot regains her fortune, and Sir William gives Olivia the allowance he gave the Squire. At Dr. Primrose’s request, the Squire isn’t punished for his actions. Sir William also chooses to marry Sophia, and Dr. Primrose marries them along with George and Miss Wilmot. However, Arabella’s father, scarps the engagement after the vicar, aggravates him in a philosophical debate concerning marriage, and after the vicar loses his wealth to a dubious merchant who he later discovers that he is a thief. Now impoverished, the vicar’s family has to move to a more low-class location. A poor and eccentric friend, Mr. Burchell, whom they meet at an inn, rescues Sophia from drowning. She is instantly attracted to him, but her ambitious mother does not encourage her feelings.

In their new locality, the vicar works as a low-rank cleric and a farmer. The vicar’s family sends George, who had graduated from Oxford, to London, hoping that he earns a living to help the families. The new neighborhood is pleasant and rural, but the women specifically find it hard to adapt to a more miserable life than they are used to. The vicar prepares to return home. Along the way, he stops one night in an inn, and coincidentally discovers that Olivia is there as well. They reunite in a tumult of emotion, and Olivia explains how the squire seduced her, married her in a fake ceremony, and then left her in a de facto house of prostitution. She finally escaped his clutches, and has since lived at the mercy of the innkeeper. The equal dealings of providence demonstrated with regard to the happy and the miserable here below. That from the nature of pleasure and pain, the wretched must be repaid the balance of their sufferings in the life hereafter

Oliver Goldsmith's "The Vicar of Wakefield" (1766)

Chapter 17, when Olivia is reported to be fled, can be regarded as the climax as well as an essential turning point of the novel. From chapter 17 onward it changes from a comical account of eighteenth-century country life into a pathetic melodrama with didactic traits. Eventually, the squire asked George to fight a duel on his behalf, in a matter concerning a lady’s honour. Though he felt terribly about, he performed well. He is the vicar in the title, and the narrator of the story. He presents one of the most harmlessly simple and unsophisticated yet also ironically complex figures ever to appear in English fiction. He has a mild, forgiving temper, as seen when he forgives his daughter Olivia with open arms. He is a loving husband and a father of six healthy, blooming children. However, though he usually has a sweet, benevolent temper, he can sometimes be a bit silly, stubborn, or vain. For instance, he is obsessed with a particularly obscure, and not very important, matter of church doctrine. One of his "favourite topics", he declares, is matrimony, and explains that he is proud of being "a strict monogamist" (in the sense that he is opposed to remarriage of any sort and believes scripture allows only one marriage partner for a person's lifetime). He tactlessly adheres to his "principles" in the face of a violent disagreement with the neighbour who was soon to become his son's father-in-law (who is about to be married a fourth time). He "...was called out by one of my relations, who, with a face of concern, advised me to give up the dispute, at least till my son's wedding was over." However, he angrily cries that he will not "relinquish the cause of truth", and hotly says, "You might as well advise me to give up my fortune as my argument." This is ironic, as he immediately finds out that his fortune has been unexpectedly reduced to almost nothing. This makes Mr. Wilmot break off the intended marriage with Mr. Primrose's son George and Miss Arabella Wilmot, and thus his son's happiness is almost shattered. He is sometimes proud of what he fancies is his ability at arguing, and often misjudges his family's supposed friends and neighbours. However, despite all his faults, he is affectionate, faithful, loving, patient and essentially good-natured. Narrative Structure: The use of a non-linear narrative structure adds complexity and interest to the story, allowing for multiple perspectives and interpretations.