Customer Reviews

The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale (Oxford World's Classics)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In the Bible, Job is a wealthy and happy man who is put to test by God, in order to settle a bet with the Devil. Primrose, the vicar of Wakefield, seems to suffer the same fate: first, he loses all his money; then, a man seduces his daughter and all manners of trouble set upon he and his family. But the man will never surrender. His undestructible good humor and wit, his reliance on philosophy and religion, allow him to endure all kinds of calamities, until the happy end. This is not a moralizaing book: it is pure, intelligent fun, with a message not lectured to us, but insinuated. This novel deserves to be put out of the infamous "classic" shelf (the one that condemns masterpieces of art to become "boring" for lazy readers) and into the public. It's very much worth it.

Charles Primrose, the protagonist of Oliver Goldsmith's "The Vicar of Wakefield," is a living symbol of the combination of ingenuousness and bad luck; a man so naive and unfortunate yet so deadpan and earnest, he would not only be suckered into buying the worst lemon in the used car lot, but walk out of the salesman's office with a "Kick Me" sign taped to his back. What keeps him going is an infectious cheerfulness, an almost quixotic faith in human virtue, and a devotion to the integrity of his family, even though they are often the cause of his troubles.

Primrose, an Anglican minister and the father of six children, begins accumulating misfortunes from the very beginning of the novel. Right before his eldest son George's wedding, he learns that the merchant with whom he has deposited his sizable inheritance has skipped town with all his money. Now impecunious, he is compelled to move his family to a village where he becomes a tenant farmer under an arrogant and devious young landlord named Thornhill. On the way, they meet an itinerant man of questionable background named Burchell who takes a liking to his daughter Sophia.

Life at the farm is fraught with woe, particularly with regard to money. Both Primrose and his son Moses get cheated out of horses they are selling; his daughters lose the opportunity to secure good positions in London because of false rumors being spread about his family; after Olivia runs off with Thornhill, he pursues her and returns to find his house in flames. When Primrose fails to pay the rent and insults Thornhill, who has spurned Olivia in favor of the very girl of whom George was deprived, he is thrown in jail.

But wait, it gets worse. Sophia is kidnapped by a ruffian; Olivia pines away in misery and dies; George, who has left home to make his own way in the world, ends up in Primrose's jail in a return considerably less dignified than that of the Prodigal Son. Primrose, however, remains confident in the glory of Providence and decides to deliver sermons to reform the other prisoners who, unsurprisingly, initially resist his efforts. That they eventually start taking him seriously only implies that they may be even more gullible than he is.

This is a picaresque novel, somewhat in the spirit of "Don Quixote" or "Tom Jones," featuring an intentionally flawed hero who undergoes improbable adventures; and if it appears that I've given away too much of the plot, keep in mind this is a genre in which nothing is quite as it seems. In fact, the denouement is so utterly silly and even stupid that I can't help but respect it for its brazen absurdity; it's really the only ending befitting a dupe as likeable as Primrose.

What a wonderful discovery this book was! Once again I initially judged the book choice on its cover and my interest in the period in which it was written. And it was a great choice. The Vicar's upbeat character was consistent throughout the book. Even in the worst of times, being at his worst, he brought himself back to his basically good, decent nature. This book is perfect for lovers of classics, who have not yet discovered Oliver Goldsmith and especially those who enjoy and laugh at the character of the vicar in other great classics!

I liked this book, but did not get all five stars because of the slowness and somewhat predictable ending. But it was good writing, despite being a little bit stereotypical, but here i am chastizing a book which i gave four stars.

The Vicar is imprisoned for debt, lying on a bed of straw in a damp jail cell in 18th century England. His elder daughter has died of grief after having been tricked, seduced, and discarded by a Villain. His son, in the navy, has been dragged to jail in chains for trying to fight a duel, his other children and wife are starving, his house has burned down and the Vicar's arm severely burnt. Now, let's see----what else can we pile on here ? Oh, yes, another daughter has been kidnapped by ruffians. What should he do ? How about delivering a sermon on happiness and the benign nature of Providence to his fellow convicts ? This dude is wildly naïve and over-the-top optimistic or I'm a monkey's uncle !! If fantastic coincidences and deus ex machina moments are your bag, you are going to love THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. If you are also a "phan of philosophy", then you may thrill to this 18th century version of the Perils of Pauline salted through with sincere observations on Life and generously long moral soliloquies. There are earnest lectures on capital punishment and the virtues of monarchy. The benefits to society of everyone's remaining in their place are also touted. But honestly, for 21st century readers, THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD is not a novel to admire in a literary sense. The characters lack depth or subtlety; many move across the stage like puppets. I understand that as an 18th century work, it is of interest to scholars and students of English literature or maybe, literary history in general. For them, Goldsmith's novel may deserve more stars---you may, indeed, enjoy the English language usages of 250 years ago. But as a literary work, in comparison with all that is available to us now, no, I don't think it deserves more. You can learn about conditions and ways of thought at the time by reading the book and it may indeed show the indestructability of the human spirit (as the Afterword in my edition suggested). However, large numbers of other writers have shown the same thing, only they have done it better.

As I was reading this book I found that all I was hearing had to do with how brilliant the men were and how simple the women were. Mr. Wakefield (the father) made several references to how well he "trained" his wife. In another instance, the women were only chatting but the men were arguing philosophy. I also found this book to be a tedious read. I wouldn't waste my time on it.