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Volume 2, 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
Evelina writes to Mr. Villars and says that she will be happy when Mrs. Clinton arrives to take her away from London. The previous morning, she was forced to visit the Branghtons with Monsieur Du Bois and was pestered by him, Tom, and Mr. Smith. When she returns, she discovers that both Lord Orville and Sir Clement visited while she was out. Monsieur Du Bois then chooses to follow Evelina into the drawing room and confess his love for her. Madame Duval walks in on them, and a dreadful scene ensues. Madame Duval furiously dismisses Monsieur Du Bois and announces that Evelina must immediately marry Tom, or she will have nothing more to do with her. Evelina says that she will not do this, and Madame Duval sends her to her room.
As a young, unmarried woman, Evelina’s reputation is precarious—any accusation of flirtatious or inappropriate behavior could be devastating for her. Burney shows how difficult it was for women to maintain their good social standing in this period. Although Evelina wants to remain pure, she is hounded by male suitors. Even though Evelina is not interested these men, others would likely believe that Evelina is a flirt, rather than that the men harass her uninvited. This is further demonstrated when Madame Duval blames Evelina for Monsieur Du Bois’s attempt to seduce her, even though Evelina has not encouraged him.
Themes
