Vanity Fair Chapter 24 Summary

In which Mr. Osborne takes down the Family Bible

  • Dobbin goes off to meet with Mr. Osborne to tell him the news.
  • When he gets there, Osborne is fully convinced that he's coming to negotiate George's surrender and is all smiles and rainbows.
  • But when he finds out the real reason Dobbin is there, Osborne has a total meltdown and is completely apoplectic.
  • That night he goes home and continues to be extremely angry. Until now, the servants had been instructed to set out a dinner plate for George in case he decided to come back. This time, Osborne orders the plate taken away.
  • After dinner, he goes to his study and the proverbial excrement really hits the proverbial fan.
  • He takes out the family Bible, opens it to the page where the family's births and deaths are recorded, and crosses out George's name.
  • Then he burns his will.
  • Oh, it's on now.
  • Meanwhile, Dobbin tries to ingratiate himself with Mr. Chopper for some reason. (It's not all that clear what this guy could possibly do for George's cause, but whatever.)
  • Dobbin invites him out to dinner the next day, at which Chopper tells him that Osborne will never forgive George and gives Dobbin a letter from Osborne to his son.
  • Then Dobbin has dinner with a General who used to be the Colonel of Dobbin's regiment. This guy tells Dobbin that the army will ship out really soon.
  • Dobbin goes to the barracks and finds Spooney and Stubble writing letters to their moms about how much they love them and will miss them. He thinks about writing a letter to George and Amelia about the deployment but decides to let them enjoy their honeymoon some more instead.
  • The narrator then tells us that if Dobbin had proposed to Jane, she most likely would have been able to reconcile Osborne and George. But as it is, there's nothing for it.