In these satires the franc-archer is portrayed as vainglorious, cowardly and militarily useless. The title can be translated as "The Swaggering Soldier" or "Vainglorious Soldier". He is "vainglorious, vindictive, [and] vicious". He is a vainglorious and bungler man, who never has managed to levitate. Waugh mocked as a vainglorious social climber. Purely personal motives may have actuated the vainglorious historian to ignore both uncle and nephew. Mortimer is identified as a vainglorious figure whose pride is the cause of his actions. In the novel Mehnaz Elahi is characterised as a vainglorious and self-absorbed mistress.