Synthesized answer
The opening description of Vivian's infancy subtly establishes the social tone of the English drawing-room through details of his upbringing and his mother's aspirations. His "curly locks and his fancy dress" marked him as "the pride of his own and the envy of all neighbouring establishments" for his first five years [2]. This suggests a preoccupation with outward appearance and social standing, common in such settings. Furthermore, his mother's "solicitude" and the "care of the most attentive of nurses" were exerted to "injure an excellent constitution," indicating an excessive, almost indulgent, level of attention that could be interpreted as a characteristic of a privileged environment [2].
The passages also highlight the mother's focus on Vivian's presentation and her anxieties about social perception. Mrs. Grey attempts to make his hair curl, and Vivian's refusal is met with his mother's surprised admiration, wondering "who could have told the child that?" [5]. Vivian's fear of being laughed at by other boys for his hair, and his awareness of social ridicule ("the boys called him girl"), further underscores a world where appearances and the opinions of others, even other…
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From the book
is first work of fiction; and the young author was at once hailed as a master of his art by an almost unanimous press. In this, as in his subsequent books, it was not so much Disraeli’s notable skill as a novelist but rather his portrayal of the social and political life of the day that made him one of the most popular writers of his generation, and earned for him a lasting fame as a man of letters. In “Vivian Grey” is narrated the career of an ambitious young man of rank; and in this story the brilliant author has preserved to us the exact tone of the English drawing-room, as he so…
tion and vivid descriptive powers. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Is there anything you want, sir? He distinctly beheld Mrs. Felix Lorraine open a small silver box. It was very slowly that the dark thought came over his mind. VIVIAN GREY BOOK I CHAPTER I We are not aware that the infancy of Vivian Grey was distinguished by any extraordinary incident. The solicitude of the most affectionate of mothers, and the care of the most attentive of nurses, did their best to injure an excellent constitution. But Vivian was an only child, and these exertions were therefore excusable.…
sation no disagreeable relief to the pompous prosiness of his predecessor. And now, having succeeded in commanding Mrs. Million’s attention by that general art of pleasing which was for all the world, and which was, of course, formed upon his general experience of human nature, Vivian began to make his advances to Mrs. Million’s feelings by a particular art of pleasing; that is, an art which was for the particular person alone whom he was at any time addressing, and which was founded on his particular knowledge of that person’s character. “How beautiful the old Hall looked to-day! It…
ious that his son should be at home as little as possible; for he feared for a youth the fascination of London society. Although busied with his studies, and professing “not to visit,” Vivian could not avoid occasionally finding himself in company in which boys should never be seen; and, what was still worse, from a certain social spirit, an indefinable tact with which Nature had endowed him, this boy of nineteen began to think this society delightful. Most persons of his age would have passed through the ordeal with perfect safety; they would have entered certain rooms, at certain…
imself as independent in his magnificent library as if he had never ceased to be that true freeman, A MAN OF CHAMBERS. The young Vivian had not, by the cares which fathers are always heirs to, yet reminded his parent that children were anything else but playthings. The intercourse between father and son was, of course, extremely limited; for Vivian was, as yet, the mother’s child; Mr. Grey’s parental duties being confined to giving his son a daily glass of claret, pulling his ears with all the awkwardness of literary affection, and trusting to God “that the urchin would never…
More questions about this book
- The publisher's note distinguishes Disraeli's early "creative period" from his later works, attributing changes to "old age." How might the novel "Vivian Grey," written by a twenty-one-year-old, reflect or be shaped by a youthful perspective, particularly in its portrayal of an "ambitious young man of rank"?
- The text states "Vivian Grey" is "not a great novel" but "beyond question a marvelously true picture." What specific criteria for literary "greatness" versus historical "truth" are implied by this distinction, and how does the description of its content support this evaluation?
- The note emphasizes Disraeli's prominence as a statesman and how it "tended to obscure" his true literary period. How might Disraeli's dual identity as both a political figure and a novelist influence the reader's interpretation of his social and political commentary in "Vivian Grey," particularly concerning the "portrait gallery of notables"?
- The publisher places Disraeli's literary period alongside Dickens, Bulwer, Thackeray, and Scott. Considering the description of "Vivian Grey" as capturing "living characters... who charm us with their graceful manners," how does this portrayal align with or diverge from the typical social commentary and characterizations found in the works of his mentioned contemporaries?