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Volume 1, Letter 14
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sensibility, Etiquette, and Appearances
Gender, Reputation, and Marriage
Inheritance, Class, and Nobility
Innocence, Guidance, and Experience
Summary
Analysis
Mr. Villars is alarmed to hear that Evelina has met Madame Duval. He advises her to be polite to her grandmother, because ill-mannered people like Madame Duval are more likely to hold a grudge or take revenge if they feel they are treated rudely. Mr. Villars also says that he will not order Evelina to leave London, but eagerly anticipates her safe return. He was also amused to hear of her meeting with Sir Clement Willoughby at the ball. Mr. Villars hopes that Evelina won’t see Sir Clement again, though, since he sounds untrustworthy.
Mr. Villars corroborates Evelina’s gut instinct that Madame Duval is a bad influence and may try to lead her astray. This suggests that Mr. Villars, who has raised Evelina since birth and tried to provide her with strong moral, guidance, has done a good job. Although Evelina is young and inexperienced, she is already able to discern between good-intentioned and bad-intentioned people.
Themes
