Mr. Branghton is a shopkeeper; he’s Evelina’s cousin and Tom, Miss Branghton, and Polly’s father. Like Madame Duval, Mr. Branghton is from a lower-class family but has made money through his silver shop. Mr. Branghton is greedy and ambitious; he is interested in Evelina because he thinks she will inherit her father, Sir John’s, money. He wants Evelina to marry Tom so that they get a share of this fortune. Mr. Branghton both envies and looks down upon the fashionable and noble characters in the novel. Yet Mr. Branghton wants to emulate and be accepted by the upper classes, though he doesn’t understand the refined culture (like art or opera) that fashionable people enjoy. Mr. Branghton therefore comes off as a foolish character, and his attempts to transcend his class make him seem boorish and lacking in self-awareness. Mr. Branghton is also a neglectful father and a poor role model for his children.
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Mr. Branghton Character Timeline in Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Branghton 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 17
Mr. Branghton is a middle-aged man who runs a silver shop in the city and disdains anyone...
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...her rude questions about her clothes. They ask her how she enjoys the city and Mr. Branghton says that Evelina must try to find a husband so that she can live in...
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Mr. Branghton then asks Evelina if she has ever been to the opera, and Evelina says that...
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Volume 1, Letter 21
...because she is dressed “for the pit,” while the others are not. When they arrive, Mr. Branghton does not know which entrance they need but refuses to ask Evelina even though she...
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Mr. Branghton approaches the pit entrance and tries to pay the doorman a guinea for their tickets....
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...that their seats are extremely high up and that the gallery is crowded and shabby. Mr. Branghton claims that he feels robbed, and the group takes their seats. When the opera starts,...
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Volume 2, Letter 9
...to Mr. Villars from London. She and Madame Duval are staying near the Branghtons, and Mr. Branghton shows them to their lodgings when they arrive. Mr. Branghton tells Madame Duval that Monsieur...
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When they arrive at Mr. Branghton ’s house, Evelina notes that the shop downstairs is large, but the upstairs apartment is...
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Volume 2, Letter 11
...she spent with Madame Duval, Monsieur Du Bois, and the Branghtons. When they arrived at Mr. Branghton ’s house, Evelina, Madame Duval, and Monsieur Du Bois had to wait in the shop...
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...the man, Mr. Macartney, is a poor Scottish poet who rents the upstairs room from Mr. Branghton .
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Volume 2, Letter 12
...call upon the Branghtons, but Miss Branghton and Polly are not home when she arrives. Mr. Branghton invites Evelina upstairs and says that she can wait for them there. While Evelina waits,...
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...Mr. Macartney plans to hurt himself with the pistol. At first, she wants to fetch Mr. Branghton —but suddenly perceiving that there is no time to waste, she hurries after Mr. Macartney....
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Mr. Branghton is not in his room when Evelina gets downstairs. She immediately flings the pistols away,...
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Volume 2, Letter 13
The next evening, the Branghtons dine with Evelina at Madame Duval’s house. Mr. Branghton says that he wants to throw Mr. Macartney out of his lodgings because Mr. Macartney...
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Volume 2, Letter 14
...Du Bois accompanies Evelina and is very polite and attentive. When she arrives, she finds Mr. Branghton in the shop and Mr. Macartney reading in a corner. Mr. Macartney looks startled when...
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...walk past them and immediately sit down in the chairs they have just risen from. Mr. Branghton says that Evelina should take Mr. Macartney’s chair, but she refuses and irritably asks them...
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Mr. Branghton says that Mr. Smith should decide where they go that evening, but Mr. Smith coyly...
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Volume 2, Letter 15
...Although he has insulted her, she is still embarrassed when they find the Branghtons and Mr. Branghton asks her where her cousins are in front of Sir Clement. Evelina explains that they...
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...down at his clothes, which are shabby compared to Sir Clement’s. Tom, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Branghton all disappear into the Gardens to look for Polly and Miss Branghton, and Evelina tries...
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Volume 2, Letter 16
...is. Tom thinks he must be a rich businessman because he dresses so well, and Mr. Branghton bets that he could guess what Sir Clement earns per year. Madame Duval announces that...
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Volume 2, Letter 20
...after several weeks, he reluctantly went to forward it to them. However, on his way, Mr. Branghton and Tom cornered him and demanded rent money immediately. In his despair, Macartney tore up...
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Volume 2, Letter 23
...his sister’s wedding, and Tom suggested that Lord Orville should buy the wedding silver from Mr. Branghton ’s shop. Evelina is now convinced that Lord Orville must despise her.
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