The Bonfire of the Vanities

Kramer is the antagonist to Sherman’s protagonist and symbolizes the corrupting influence of power. An assistant district attorney handling homicide cases, Kramer lives in a three-room apartment on the Upper West Side with his wife, Rhonda, and newborn son. Kramer is shown to be obsessed with appearance and image and works hard to maintain a powerful physique. He is self-conscious about the thinning hair on the top of his head. Like many other young male characters in the book, Kramer looks at women as status symbols and objects of desire. Kramer’s point-of-view narration shows him in a harsher light than Sherman's since Kramer does not experience as much self-doubt. Kramer’s greatest folly is his propensity to draw pleasure from his power over others. When he sees Maria gulping in fear at the suggestion she may be prosecuted, Kramer feels a surge of power so intense it fills “every cell and every neural fiber” (643).

Kramer’s tendency to misuse his power is linked with his modest salary. Often bothered by the fact that he makes much less money than Wall Street bankers and brokers, Kramer feels the only upper hand he has over these wealthy, pedigreed men is that of the law. Kramer’s Jewish heritage and his upbringing in a non-Manhattan borough also make him feel disadvantaged in a hierarchical world, as evinced by the antisemitic jibes often leveled at him. Kramer relentlessly pursues beautiful young women, such as Shelly Thomas. The narrative frames Kramer’s wooing of Shelly as doubly unscrupulous because he is married, and she is a juror on one of the cases he is prosecuting. While Sherman also lies to his wife, he expresses feelings of guilt and shows concern for Campbell. Kramer does not reveal any guilt and hardly thinks of his infant son. Thus, Kramer can be seen as a darker mirror image of Sherman.

The text suggests Kramer started in government work because he wanted to help people, indicating that Kramer had, at one point, some redeeming qualities. However, that desire has been worn down by the drudgery of the work itself and the low income it brings. As the novel begins, Kramer has already decided that 98% of indicted defendants are guilty, showing how the criminal justice system has subverted his idealism. The closer Kramer grows to power by prosecuting Sherman, the more he gains social capital and loses his principles. However, at the end of the novel, Kramer does not find himself in a socially advantageous position. He has been removed from Sherman’s case for helping Shelly sublet Maria’s former apartment. This shows Kramer, like Sherman, is in for a reckoning. Although Kramer remains a static character, there is an indication that adversity may force him to change.

Peter Fallow symbolizes the moral corruption of the media as well as the victory of the unethical in the novel’s cynical world. Fallow’s name is a Dickensian pun on his unproductivity since he starts the novel earning his pay without putting in any hard work. Fallow’s disdain for his work is linked to the fact that he does not think of journalism as real writing, but only as a stop-gap way to make money “on the way to his eventual triumph as a novelist” (181). Thus, Fallow can be seen as a caricature of the type of reporter who disdains their own work while never really writing fiction. Fallow’s character is also a caricature of a snobbish English person who looks down upon the US while wanting to profit from the country’s opportunities. Fallow is shown even judging the “filthy” American carpet in his apartment, but the irony is he will make a name while engaging in equally murky journalistic practices. Fallow describes himself as handsome, with longish, blond hair thinning on top.

The son of a minor English novelist from East Anglia, Fallow has cultural capital but not enough financial capital. In the novel’s status-focused world, this is a failing, which is why Fallow has moved to America to make money. Fallow is portrayed as a character lacking ethics since he is ready to invade people’s privacy and make up lies in the pursuit of a juicy story. Another instance of Fallow’s lack of ethics is his group’s habit of making an American pay their dinner bill when out partying. Unlike Sherman and Kramer, who are shown to have redeeming qualities, Fallow’s portrayal is both flatter and darker. Since the worst characters profit the most at the end of the novel, Fallow is shown to have won a Pulitzer Prize and married the daughter of the billionaire owner of his newspaper. The one scene in which Fallow’s portrayal is more complex is when Arthur Ruskin dies. Fallow is concerned about the dying Ruskin and shaken by his death, unlike the wealthy and famous diners around him. A static character, Fallow does not evolve through the novel.

Reverend Reginald Bacon, a key character, is described as projecting power and dignity with his presence. Bacon is “one of those thin, rawboned men who look powerful without being muscular” (150). Immaculately dressed in a suit at all times, Bacon is an eloquent speaker who possesses natural charisma. Bacon heads important civic groups, such as the All Peoples’ Solidarity, and ostensibly fights for the rights of the Black people of New York City. However, the plot shows Bacon’s charismatic front is less about helping the community and more about securing power and wealth for himself. An example of Bacon’s vested interests is his investing money for a daycare into an investment firm; another is his eagerness to sue the hospital that treated Henry Lamb so he can profit from the transaction.

Bacon’s portrayal in the novel is broad, and he is more of a caricature than a well-rounded character. Unlike Sherman or even Fallow, Bacon is not given a substantial point-of-view narration that would flesh out his interior life. He is shown to wear an ostentatious gold watch, symbolizing his love of luxury, and likes to be addressed as Reverend, which shows he prefers deference. Thus, in practice, Bacon opposes the very socialist and egalitarian values he preaches. Bacon is an important mover in the plot, as he orchestrates the Henry Lamb case getting attention. A static character, Bacon symbolizes how power can corrupt everyone.

The female character who gets the most space in the novel, Maria is central to the plot. Maria is in her twenties, and seen through Sherman’s eyes, is stunningly beautiful, with “remarkable high cheekbones […] and bobbed hair […] like a black hood” (18). Always fashionably dressed in expensive clothes, Maria is from the American South. She is married to 71-year-old financier Arthur Ruskin, and the narrative suggests it is a marriage of convenience for Maria. Maria is a morally gray character shown having affairs outside marriage, first with Sherman and later, with Filippo Chirazzi. She is presented as more reckless and less ethical than Sherman since she dissuades him from going to the police after their hit-and-run involving Henry. Later, Maria lies in court, not accepting that it was her behind the wheel when Henry was hit. Her flaws frame her as a negative, unsympathetic character.

However, Maria’s portrayal is more a caricature of the femme-fatale or dangerous beauty tropes than a well-rounded exploration. Maria is not given an inner monologue or a point-of-view narration, which would help the reader see her motives. She is presented through the male gaze as weaponizing her sexuality, such as when Kramer interprets her every move as a come-on, but the narrative shares little of what is going on in her mind. The narrative suggests Maria feels out of place in New York society because of her small-town background and her relatively simple education. Maria also states that Ruskin verbally abuses her. However, these plot points are never pursued through Maria’s narration.

Judy, the 40-year-old wife of Sherman McCoy and mother of Campbell, is an interior decorator. Described by Sherman as good-looking, blonde, and too thin because of her diet and exercise regimen, Judy is one of the few relatively sympathetic characters in the novel. Like Maria, Judy is not given a point-of-view narration, but her treatment in the text is more generous. Although Judy has her flaws, such as hypocrisy and a hunger for status, she is also shown to be dignified and ethical. Sherman notes that though Judy is heartbroken over his affair, she usually speaks politely to him before Campbell, putting Campbell’s needs above her own. When Sherman confesses to the affair, Judy holds her own against him, telling him he can have her support but not her love. In some respects, Judy is a broad character type, the trope of the good, supportive wife and mother. She functions as Sherman’s moral compass.

The District Attorney of the Bronx, Abe Weiss represents the internal corruption of the criminal justice system. At the start of the novel, Weiss is unpopular in the Bronx for the perception that he delivers only “white justice.” Weiss wants to correct this impression but not because he cares about systemic racism. Instead, Weiss wants to ensure he is elected District Attorney for another term. When Sherman’s case comes to the fore, Weiss eagerly prosecutes him as an image-building exercise, ignoring factual evidence that Sherman might have been resisting a robbery attempt when his car hit Henry Lamb. Weiss’s determination to prosecute Sherman, without a care for truth or fairness, shows how the quest for power can subvert the very idea of justice.