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Volume 1, Letter 2
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
Lady Howard writes to Mr. Villars. Although she knows that Mr. Villars is protective of Evelina, Lady Howard begs him to send Evelina to visit her at Howard Grove. Lady Howard’s daughter, Mrs. Mirvan, plans to take her own daughter, Maria, to London for the summer, and Lady Howard thinks it would be good for Evelina to go with them.
Lady Howard worries that Mr. Villars’s protective attitude toward Evelina will be bad for her in the long run. Although Mr. Villars worries that Evelina is too young and innocent to enter the world alone, Lady Howard feels that Evelina must be allowed to gain experience for herself, so that she can mature and grow.
Themes
Lady Howard observes that Evelina has lived a sheltered life and that it would be good for her to venture into the world. Lady Howard says that if young people are denied opportunities like this, they will believe that the world is much more exciting than it really is and will want to explore it more. Lady Howard further explains that Evelina’s estranged father, Sir John Belmont, lives abroad and therefore will not encounter her in London. Lady Howard asks for Mr. Villars’s opinion of this plan and assures him she will respect his decision.
Unmarried young women in 18th-century Britain were viewed as their father’s (or their guardian’s) property and could not decide for themselves when or how to enter the world. Although Mr. Villars fears that the outside world may corrupt the innocent Evelina, Lady Howard worries that if he denies her the chance to gain experience for herself, Evelina may rebel against him and ignore and resent his guidance. This could lead to her becoming more vulnerable to being led astray.
Themes
