Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World: Volume 2, Letter 29 Summary & Analysis

Evelina writes again to Maria and says that nothing much has happened at Berry Hill, where she’s staying with Mr. Villars. Although Evelina is despondent and disheartened, she tries to conceal this from Mr. Villars. A few days ago, however, he entered the library unexpectedly and found her crying. Evelina was distressed by how sad this made him and vowed to do better in future. The next day, however, Mr. Villars catches her staring morosely out of the window and begs her to tell him what is wrong. After all, he says, her suffering is also his suffering.

Mr. Villars asks Evelina if she misses the city, but Evelina replies that she wishes she had never gone there. Mr. Villars laments that he allowed her to go and says that he should have trusted his judgement and kept her at home. Mr. Villars then asks Evelina if she misses her friends from the city—people like Lord Orville. Evelina begins to cry, and Mr. Villars says that, although he longs to know what afflicts her, he does not want to force her to confide in him.

Evelina shows Mr. Villars the insulting letter that Lord Orville sent her, and Mr. Villars is amazed. He can only assume that Lord Orville was drunk when he wrote it. Mr. Villars further says that Evelina should have returned the note to Lord Orville so that he could read it when sober and feel ashamed of his actions. Evelina is comforted to hear that Mr. Villars does not blame her. He thinks it is understandable that she is disappointed in Lord Orville, as he hid his unpleasant character under such a noble veneer.