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Volume 1, Letter 23
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 writes to Evelina at Howard Grove, where she is now staying with the Mirvans and Madame Duval. Mr. Villars writes to say that he has enjoyed her letters, even though at times they made him anxious. He was very annoyed to read about Sir Clement’s conduct and thinks that Sir Clement likely has bad intentions toward Evelina. Mr. Villars was alarmed to read that Sir Clement escorted Evelina home from the opera and feels sure, now, that Evelina has learned from her mistake and will not accept such invitations in future.
Mr. Villars proves he is a good moral guide for Evelina and that he has her best interests in mind. He does not judge Evelina because she behaved naïvely but accepts that growing up involves trial and error. Mr. Villars further trusts that Evelina has learned from her experience with Sir Clement, which shows that he wants to give her freedom—alongside his guidance—to make her own way in the world.
Themes
Mr. Villars is also impressed with Lord Orville’s conduct, especially when he alerted Mrs. Mirvan that Evelina had disappeared alone with Sir Clement after the opera. Mr. Villars says that this proves Lord Orville has real honor, as many young men would have left a young woman at Sir Clement’s mercy. Unfortunately, Mr. Villars, writes, Evelina’s sweet nature and her ambiguous class status means that she is just not suited to city life. He hopes that she will not be too disappointed to leave London and return to the country.
Lord Orville demonstrates genuine sensibility (an 18th-century term associated with empathy and genuine consideration for others) as he is genuinely concerned for Evelina and acts in her best interests. In 18th-century Britain, women were often stereotyped as deceitful and untrustworthy. Because of this attitude, many men would not give Evelina the benefit of the doubt and would instead assume that she wanted to be alone with Sir Clement. In reality, she simply made a naïve mistake by leaving with him. Meanwhile, Mr. Villars points out that although Evelina is noble by birth, she has been raised middle-class. Therefore, she does not have a good grasp of etiquette, the complex social rules which governed fashionable society.
Themes
Literary Devices
