The description of the family of Wakefield; in which a kindred likeness prevails as well of minds as of persons 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 In the conclusion, George marries Arabella and Sir William marries Sophia. The squire lives with a melancholy relative far away. The vicar’s fortune is restored when the merchant who stole it is caught. Happiness and felicity reign and the vicar hopes he will be as thankful to God during the good times as he was during the times of adversity. The Vicar of Wakefield Themes The Vicar of Wakefield", based on the once popular novel, is a rather boring melodrama about the misfortunes of the vicar and his family, most of whom, apparently, are saps to any swindler, thief, impostor or scoundrel they happen to meet. The pious family seems incapable of adjusting to, and initially unrecognizing of, the sinners surrounding them. This was the second adaptation of the novel by the Thanhouser Company, who had previously made a one-reel version of it in 1910. Thanhouser seems to have specialized in such classic literary adaptations, which may be viewed thanks to the disproportionately good number of the studio's films available on home video compared to other early producers. This 1917 photoplay includes some rather odd introductory title cards, which appear original, that describe some history of the book and its author. Things get even worse when Olivia elopes with an unknown man. Dr. Primrose sets off in pursuit of her, initially suspecting that the Squire is Oliva’s mystery suitor. However, people along the way who saw Olivia describe an abductor resembling Mr. Burchell. Eventually, Dr. Primrose loses the trail and prepares to head home in defeat.

The novel alludes to historical events and figures of the time, grounding the story in a specific historical context.The vicar then learns that Sophia has been abducted. Almost immediately afterwards, George is brought to the jail as a prisoner, after having heard of Olivia’s shame and then challenging the squire to a duel. The squire’s servants beat him instead. Horrified by this succession of misfortunes, the vicar steels himself and delivers a sermon on fortitude to the entire prison. The initial idyllic life of the family is ironic, given the various difficulties they will face later on.

The Vicar is a sanguine character, who grabs the silver lining from cloud after cloud. He’d tell you that glass is half full and then say it was more than one body needed and give part of it away to his fellow man. He seems a little naive with today’s vision, but he cares far more about honor and integrity than money or position, and we could use a few more of his ilk, I think. 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 plot is thin and full of cliches. In a modern writer, I would toss it out the window, but somehow its date and language make it very palatable. There is some sermonizing (what would you expect from a book written in the 1700s?), but again, I didn’t find it objectionable and actually thought many of his ideas well ahead of his time. He pressed for reform efforts instead of punishment for minor crimes and decried a system in which two crimes, dissimilar in nature, such as murder and theft, often received the same punishment, death by hanging. The man insults the vicar over his opinions, but they are interrupted by the arrival of Mr Arnold, the house’s true master. It turns out that this man was only the butler, pretending to be the master.At one point, Mr Burchell points out Squire Thornhill’s home and explains how the squire is dependent on the generosity of his introverted uncle, Sir William Thornhill. The vicar has heard of Sir William and knows his excellent reputation of “consummate benevolence” (19). Mr Burchell confirms this impression, explaining that Sir William was dissolute and foolish when he was young, but has since grown more respectable in penance for those youthful follies. At one point during the journey, Sophia falls from her horse into a stream. Without a moment’s thought, Mr Burchell heroically leaps after her and saves her life. A few of the incidents in these chapters bear some explanation. For instance, after Olivia and Sophia hear their fortunes read, they begin to misinterpret their dreams to support their hopes. The particulars they use to refer to rural superstitions that were characteristic of the time – a 1755 edition of The Connoisseur said a purse was a “round cinder, as opposed to a hollow oblong one, which betokens a coffin,” and the 1756 Universal Spectator said, “she never has any Thing befalls her, without some fore-notice or other; she…is forewarn’d of Deaths by bursting of Coffins out of the Fire; Purses too from the same Element promise Money; and her Candle brings her Letters constantly before the Post.” It is worth realizing how Goldsmith seeks to skewer not just universal human qualities like the delusions of pride, but also some specific instances of foolishness that he observed in his day. The vicar’s wife tries to convince the Squire to propose to Olivia and threatens to marry her to Father Williams. Although the Squire is angry and envious of the neighbor’s presence, he dares not to propose to Olivia, and her family prepares to marry her to Williams. The Vicar’s early financial misfortunes foreshadow the series of adversities that he and his family will face throughout the novel. Fortune seems resolved to humble the family of Wakefield. Mortifications are often more painful than real calamities