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Mr. Lovel
Lord Merton is Mr. Lovel’s friend and Lady Louisa Larpent’s fiancé. He’s an arrogant nobleman who openly and rudely flirts with Evelina in front of Louisa. His manners are so bad that Evelina is amazed when she finds out he is a gentleman. Evelina later encounters Lord Merton while she stays in Bristol with Mrs. Beaumont, who is related to Louisa. Lord Merton is extremely vulgar and bad-mannered. He drinks and gambles all day, tries to seduce Evelina repeatedly, and joins in a cruel bet with Mr. Lovel during which he hurts an old woman.
Lord Merton Quotes in Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World
The Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World quotes below are all either spoken by Lord Merton or refer to Lord Merton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Volume 1, Letter 23 Quotes
Lordship!—how extraordinary! that a nobleman, accustomed, in all probability, to the first rank of company in the kingdom, from his earliest infancy, can possibly be deficient in good manners, however faulty in morals and principles!
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Lord Merton Character Timeline in Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World
The timeline below shows where the character Lord Merton appears in Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Volume 1, Letter 23
...Captain Mirvan must have noticed the beautiful building, and the other Lord (whose name is Lord Merton ) announces that no one has time to look at buildings when there are so...
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...In fact, the Captain cries, all the places in town are dull, including Ranelagh Gardens. Lord Merton protests that Ranelagh Gardens are divine and begins to flirt openly with a lady he...
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Evelina tells Lord Merton that she will not go to Ranelagh, so Lord Merton makes an impassioned speech begging...
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...they will soon leave town. Sir Clement tries to accompany Evelina to her carriage, but Lord Merton pushes through and kisses Evelina’s hand lecherously. When Evelina and the Mirvans arrive back at...
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Volume 3, Letter 1
...him that one morning, when she and Mrs. Selwyn were out walking, they bumped into Lord Merton and his friends. Lord Merton approaches Evelina and says that he searched all over London...
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Lord Merton is indifferent to Mrs. Selwyn’s sarcasm and asks Evelina where she will be that evening....
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Mrs. Selwyn swiftly leads Evelina away, and they lose Lord Merton in the crowd. Later that day, Mrs. Selwyn asks a shopkeeper about Lord Merton, and...
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...understand why Lord Orville would treat her with such contempt when he dislikes men like Lord Merton , who treat women freely and inconsiderately. She supposes that he must be a hypocrite...
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Volume 3, Letter 2
...and Mrs. Selwyn walked to Clifton Hill to visit Mrs. Beaumont. While they were there, Lord Merton and Lady Louisa Larpent also arrived, and Lord Merton seemed surprised to see Evelina.
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...and wind have exhausted her and are too much for her fragile nerves. She and Lord Merton have been out for a drive, and she complains that he goes too fast. They...
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Volume 3, Letter 3
...Lovel then arrives, followed by Louisa. They both ignore Evelina and only greet Mrs. Beaumont. Lord Merton then arrives and does the same. He asks Louisa how she is feeling, and Louisa...
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During lunch, Lord Merton and Mr. Coverley argue over who can drive the fastest, and they agree to have...
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Not long after this, the group agrees that they must decide on a wager for Lord Merton and Mr. Coverley. Mrs. Selwyn suggests a battle of wits, but they all seem rather...
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Evelina feels ashamed that she participated in Lord Merton and Mr. Lovel’s foolish gambling, and she says so privately to Lord Orville. Lord Orville...
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Volume 3, Letter 4
...Mr. Lovel thinks about her. She finds the group (Mr. Lovel, Mr. Coverley, Louisa, and Lord Merton ) very rude again at Mrs. Beaumont’s, as they all continue to ignore her. Lord...
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After several hours, Mr. Lovel announces that, to settle another bet between himself and Lord Merton , they have decided to hire two poor old women to race for them. Evelina...
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Volume 3, Letter 7
Evelina writes to Mr. Villars to tell him about the bet between Lord Merton and Mr. Coverley, which was settled the day before. Lord Merton came to the house...
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Lord Merton announces the race’s start, and the two old women try to run. They crash into...
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...very moody about it. Once inside, Lord Orville apologizes that he didn’t protect Evelina from Lord Merton and says that he considers her to be someone he should protect. Evelina complains that...
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Volume 3, Letter 8
The next evening, Evelina, Mrs. Selwyn, Lord Orville, Louisa, Mrs. Beaumont, Lord Merton , Mr. Lovel, and Mr. Coverley attend a ball together. Lord Orville dances first with...
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Volume 3, Letter 16
...she does not want to see him again. Mrs. Selwyn, Mr. Lovel, Mr. Coverley, and Lord Merton enter the room, and Mrs. Selwyn says that she has just seen Sir Clement on...
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Lord Merton asks Louisa if she will walk with him in the garden, but Louisa says that...
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Volume 3, Letter 21
...next day, Evelina and Lord Orville go out for a drive to Bath with Louisa, Lord Merton , Mr. Lovel, and Mrs. Selwyn. On the road, they bump into Captain Mirvan who,...
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...group returns to Mrs. Beaumont’s house for dinner. During dinner, Captain Mirvan is annoyed by Lord Merton and Mr. Lovel’s simpering conversation, and he continues to make inappropriate comments.
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Lord Merton and Mr. Coverley say that Mr. Lovel must fight Captain Mirvan, as he cannot let...
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