Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sensibility, Etiquette, and Appearances
Gender, Reputation, and Marriage
Inheritance, Class, and Nobility
Innocence, Guidance, and Experience
Summary
Analysis
The next day, Maria tells Evelina that, while she was at the refreshment stand at the ball, she overheard Lord Orville talk to another man. The man says that Evelina is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Lord Orville laughs at this, however, and says that Evelina is weak and silly. Just then, Mr. Lovel approaches Lord Orville to apologize for getting angry with Evelina, who refused to dance with him and chose Lord Orville instead. Mr. Lovel says that he was provoked by Evelina’s bad manners and that he believes she must be ill-bred. Lord Orville is shocked and says that Evelina’s beauty could not conceal such a horrible truth.
Lord Orville believes that Evelina is ignorant because she does not adhere to etiquette, which was considered required social knowledge in the 18th century. However, Lord Orville does not realize that Evelina does not know these rules—instead, he thinks that she flouts them on purpose, because she does not care about other people. Sensibility (empathy toward others) and etiquette were viewed as interchangeable in this period, and Lord Orville cannot believe that Evelina can be both innately sensible and unaware of etiquette, even though this is indeed the case.
Themes
That evening, Mrs. Mirvan takes Evelina to the opera and Evelina falls in love with the music. She feels as though the singing “melts” her soul and makes her feel soothed and calm. The next day, the group goes to Ranelagh Gardens, and Evelina and Maria notice Lord Orville in the crowd. Although he catches their eye and bows to Evelina, Evelina avoids him and feels ashamed because she thinks she acted foolishly when she met him at the ball. The incident puts her in a bad mood, and she refuses to go out the next day.
Evelina’s response to the opera displays her innate sensibility (an 18th-century concept associated with empathy, emotional responsiveness, and a natural appreciation of the arts). However, although sensibility and etiquette were believed to be intrinsically connected in this period, Evelina is ignorant of etiquette despite her natural sensibility. Evelina is ashamed of the etiquette mistakes she makes in front of Lord Orville.
Themes
The next evening, Evelina goes to see King Lear at the theater and is deeply moved by the performance. The day after this, Captain Mirvan arrives and the family go to meet him. Evelina is disappointed with Captain Mirvan’s conduct, however: he is a rough, uncouth man and is rude to Mrs. Mirvan and Maria. A few days later, the group attends the opera again and, although Evelina loves the music, Captain Mirvan annoys her because he complains all the way through.
Evelina’s emotional response to the theater reflects her natural sensibility in spite of her unfamiliarity with British high society and its customs. Captain Mirvan, on the other hand, understands polite society and its obsession with etiquette—but he looks down on it as petty and trivial. Captain Mirvan has been to many other places where things operate differently, which suggests that perhaps British fashionable society is not as all-important as its members believe it to be.
Themes
