Vanity Fair with its rich cast of characters takes place on the snakes-and-ladders board of life. Amelia Sedley daughter of a wealthy merchant has a loving mother to supervise her courtship. Becky Sharp an orphan has to use her wit charm and resourcefulness to escape from her destiny as a governess. This she does ruthlessly musing: 'I think I could become a good woman if I had £5000 a year'. Thackeray's story is set at the time of the battle of Waterloo in which the Sedley fortunes are lost and Amelia is back to square one while Becky rises with contemptuous ease.