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Volume 1, Letter 31
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
Evelina writes to Mr. Villars and tells him that Sir Clement Willoughby has come to stay with them at Howard Grove. Sir Clement claims that he was too forlorn to stay in town without Evelina and the Mirvans there. Captain Mirvan is delighted to see Sir Clement and immediately begins to plan an elaborate prank that he and Sir Clement can play on Madame Duval.
Captain Mirvan is misogynistic and does not respect Madame Duval, who is a widow and does not have a husband to defend her. Instead, Captain Mirvan treats her as a joke and demonstrates no sensibility (an 18th-century term used to describe empathy and consideration for others) as he constantly teases her.
Themes
