"A Cynical Chapter" brings the action up to Sir Pitt's final illness. Thackeray's cynicism expresses itself in such lines as these about Mrs. Bute:
[who could] have guessed from her frequent appearance in public how she pinched and starved at home . . . I know no sort of lying which is more frequent in Vanity Fair than this: and it may be remarked how people who practise it take credit to themselves for their hypocrisy, and fancy that they are exceedingly virtuous and praiseworthy, because they are able to deceive the world with regard to the extent of their means . . . Mrs. Bute certainly thought herself one of the most virtuous women in England. What will not a mother do for the benefit of her beloved ones?
Miss Horrocks has hoped to become Lady Crawley, but "fate intervened enviously, and prevented her from receiving the reward due to such immaculate love and virtue." Miss Horrocks begs mercy from Mrs. Bute, "but those who know a really good woman are aware that she is not in a hurry to forgive, and that the humiliation of an enemy is a triumph to her soul."
A cynical example of Vanity Fair shows in the kitchen maid whom Miss Horrocks has promoted. First she praises Miss Horrocks' pitiful attempt at music; then when Sir Pitt falls ill and Mrs. Bute takes over, the maid turns against Miss Horrocks.
