Why did William Makepeace Thackeray avoid melodramatic plots and exaggerated characters?

William Makepeace Thackeray avoided the common Victorian literary devices of melodramatic plots and exaggerated characterization because he prioritized being true to life in his writing.1

He believed that a novelist's important function was to provide a realistic analysis of human behaviour, which included exploring hypocrisy, secret emotions, and the vanity of life. By eschewing exaggerated tropes, he was able to subtly depict various moods and focus on the ambivalence of human motives. His approach allowed him to present characters with dispassionate sympathy rather than relying on simple contrasts between moral good and evil. Ultimately, Thackeray preferred to immerse his readers in a stream of narrative, dialogue, and social commentary that reflected the complexities of the real world.12