Men's Wives

by William Makepeace Thackeray

Overview

Men's Wives explores the complexities of love, ambition, rivalry, and societal expectations through a satirical and comedic lens. The story revolves around a family dynamic shaped by social aspirations, where a young woman attracts various suitors, each motivated by different personal desires. The narrative reveals how individuals navigate the pressures of societal norms while competing for affection, power, and status. The competition among suitors enhances the tension within the social sphere, with personal ambitions and rivalry fueling their interactions. The novel critiques societal conventions, particularly through the lens of familial relationships and personal motivations. It underscores how individuals use charm, connections, and manipulation to secure social standing, often at the expense of genuine emotion. As the story unfolds, the complexities of love, desire, and status become central to the characters' journeys. These dynamics illustrate the fragile boundaries between personal integrity and social advancement, where the pursuit of love and success can intertwine, leading to unexpected consequences. The exploration of ambition and rivalry highlights the comedic yet poignant realities of navigating social expectations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789369427345
Publisher:	Double 9 Books
Publication date:	01/01/2025
Pages:	156
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.36(d)

About the Author

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was an English novelist, satirist, and illustrator. Born in India, Thackeray was sent to England by his mother at the age of four following the death of his father, a secretary for the East India Company. Educated at the Charterhouse School, a boarding school in Godalming, Surrey, Thackeray went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge before abandoning academia in 1830. He spent the next few years traveling throughout Europe, visiting Paris and meeting the elderly Goethe in Weimar. In 1836, after squandering much of his inheritance on gambling and ill-advised investments, Thackeray at last settled down, marrying Isabella Gethin Shawe and embarking on a career as a professional writer. During this period, he contributed regularly to Fraser’s Magazine, The Times, The Morning Chronicle, and Punch, while also publishing Catherine (1840) and The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844), his first full length works of fiction. Despite his newfound success, however, these years were tragically marred by the decline of Thackeray’s wife, who suffered from a debilitative case of postpartum depression that led to her institutionalization. Between 1845 and 1851, under the pseudonym Hibernis Hibernior, Thackeray produced illustrations in Punch that are now recognized as hostile to the Irish people and exploitative of their suffering during the Great Irish Famine. In 1848, Thackeray published Vanity Fair, a satirical novel examining the lives of England’s elite during and after the Napoleonic Wars.