Why is Vanity Fair called A Novel Without a Hero?

William Makepeace Thackeray subtitled his 1848 novel Vanity Fair as "A Novel Without a Hero" to reflect its nature as a panoramic satire of early 19th-century English society rather than a traditional heroic tale.1

The title signifies that the book lacks a conventional protagonist who embodies traditional virtues or moral excellence. Instead, the narrative focuses on the human condition, characterized by corruption, ambition, and frailty. The central figure, Becky Sharp, is an amoral adventuress, while the other primary character, Amelia Sedley, is depicted as passive. By centering the story on these flawed and complex individuals within a "densely populated" social landscape, Thackeray subverts the expectations of the Victorian novel, which typically featured a virtuous hero at its core.12