"The Vicar of Wakefield"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in Oliver Goldsmiths' "The Vicar of Wakefield'", several encounters with bad judgment, terrible luck and calamity result in the character Primrose finding himself under arrest and imprisoned. The author points out that, although this actual prison experience seems inaccurate along the lines of living conditions and morale of the time the novel is set, the prison sequence is included to show the inherent good in people and for justice to be served. The paper concludes that the prison itself is represented in a preposterous, unrealistic manner but is used to wrap up all the loose ends of the novel and create a fairytale ending.

From the Paper:

"The man behind this appalling act is Primrose's landlord, is none other than Thornhill, the same man who has marred the elder Primrose daughter's reputation. Primrose does owe Thornhill money for taxes owed, but it is the resentment towards Primrose's decision to disapprove Thornhill's marriage to another woman that causes Thornhill to abuse his power and send Primrose to jail. Primrose simply will not condone the marriage because in doing that he would be "giving sanction to adultery"(Goldsmith 165) and setting up another innocent girl to be the victim of Thornhill's debauchery."

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