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Wigs and Hats
Berry Hill is Evelina’s childhood home where she was raised by her adopted guardian, Mr. Villars. Berry Hill represents Evelina’s innocence, virtue, and purity. It’s is the place where Evelina’s story begins (she sets out on her adventures from Berry Hill) and represents her youth, naïveté, and sheltered upbringing away from society. Evelina’s journey into town puts her return to Berry Hill in jeopardy, as she may be kidnapped and married off by her grandmother, Madame Duval. This threat symbolizes the broader moral and spiritual dangers of city life, which threaten to corrupt Evelina and ruin her innocence—something she would never get back, just as she could never return to Berry Hill if she made a bad match with an unsuitable husband. Evelina learns to navigate city life without jeopardizing her innocence, and therefore, at the novel’s conclusion, she returns to Berry Hill with her new husband, Lord Orville. Since Evelina resists corruption and makes an honorable marriage with a man who loves and respects her, her return to Berry Hill symbolizes the idea that she has successfully transitioned from being an innocent girl to a mature young woman without compromising her virtue.
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Berry Hill Symbol Timeline in Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World
The timeline below shows where the symbol Berry Hill 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 13
...town, and Evelina confesses that she will be glad to leave London and return to Berry Hill and to Mr. Villars.
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Volume 1, Letter 14
...agrees, but Evelina is afraid of Madame Duval and wishes she could return home to Berry Hill .
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Volume 1, Letter 25
...by her time in the city—she is still eager to return to the country and Berry Hill . She says, however, that her return to Howard Grove with the Mirvans has not...
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Volume 1, Letter 29
...If it were up to him, Mr. Villars writes, he would bring Evelina home to Berry Hill and protect her from the outside world—but he knows that he cannot do this and...
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Volume 2, Letter 6
...toward her and says that if Sir Clement propositions her again, Evelina should return to Berry Hill .
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Volume 2, Letter 25
...will immediately send Mrs. Clinton to fetch her from London and bring her back to Berry Hill , instead of sending her to stay with the Mirvans at Howard Grove. He cannot...
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Volume 2, Letter 26
Evelina writes to Maria and tells her that she has left London and gone to Berry Hill . Evelina’s time in London has been so stressful and tiring that Mrs. Clinton thinks...
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Volume 2, Letter 29
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...
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Volume 3, Letter 1
...She supposes that he must be a hypocrite and wishes that she could return to Berry Hill and avoid him.
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Volume 3, Letter 18
...arrangements. Evelina does not want to marry without Mr. Villars’s blessing, so she writes to Berry Hill to ask for it. Lord Orville also says that, after their marriage, they can spend...
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Volume 3, Letter 23
...can only write a quick note, as their carriage waits outside to take them to Berry Hill , where they will stay for a month. She cannot wait to be reunited with...
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