Mr. Macartney is a Scottish poet; he’s Sir John Belmont’s son, Evelina’s brother, and Miss Belmont’s fiancé. Evelina meets Mr. Macartney while he is a destitute lodger in Mr. Branghton’s shop. Macartney is in a dire situation, having fallen in love with Miss Belmont in Paris and fought and injured her father, Sir John (who is also Evelina’s father) when Sir John discovered the affair. After his fight with Sir John, Macartney returned home, where his mother revealed that Sir John is his father too—meaning that he and Miss Belmont are siblings. Macartney then fled to Paris, only to learn that his mother had died, leaving him penniless in London. When Evelina meets Macartney, he is on the brink of suicide, and she saves him from harming himself. Macartney, who’s kind and honorable, insists on paying Evelina back for the help she gave him. After she saves him, he works hard to put his pride aside and ask for financial help from his mother’s family, which saves him from ruin. Macartney eventually discovers that Sir John is his father as well, and that Miss Belmont is not Sir John’s real daughter—she and Evelina were switched at birth. Sir John raised Miss Belmont as his own, believing that she was his and his deceased wife, Caroline’s, child. Macartney marries Miss Belmont at the end of the novel, after it is revealed that she is not his sister, and he inherits his share of Sir John’s wealth.
Mr. Macartney 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 Mr. Macartney or refer to Mr. Macartney. 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:
).
Volume 3, Letter 5
Quotes
Yet, when I reflected upon his peculiar situation, his poverty, his sadness, and, more than all the rest, the idea I knew he entertained of what he calls his obligations to me, I could not resolve upon a breach of promise, which might be attributed to causes of all other the most offensive to one whom misfortune has made extremely suspicious of slights and contempt.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Mr. Macartney 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 Mr. Macartney or refer to Mr. Macartney. 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:
).
Volume 3, Letter 5
Quotes
Yet, when I reflected upon his peculiar situation, his poverty, his sadness, and, more than all the rest, the idea I knew he entertained of what he calls his obligations to me, I could not resolve upon a breach of promise, which might be attributed to causes of all other the most offensive to one whom misfortune has made extremely suspicious of slights and contempt.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
