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
Evelina writes to Mr. Villars to tell him about her last night in London and her trip to the Pantheon. When they arrived, Evelina found the building extremely beautiful; it made her feel solemn to look at it. The first person they encounter there is Sir Clement who, to Evelina’s surprise, does not seem at all embarrassed about what happened between them in his carriage a few nights ago, when Sir Clement tried to seduce Evelina. Evelina wishes that she had not forgiven him so that he wouldn’t speak to her anymore.
Evelina’s reaction to the Pantheon architecture displays her innate sensibility, a characteristic associated with empathy, strong emotional responses to the world, and a naturally refined appreciation of art and beauty. By trying to seduce Evelina, Sir Clement potentially jeopardizes her reputation. Women’s reputations were extremely fragile in 18th-century Britain, and any suspicion of impropriety could seriously damage a young women’s good name and her ability to find a husband. The same rules did not apply to men, however. Sir Clement shows that he does not genuinely care about Evelina through his nonchalant attitude and his disregard for her reputation, once again proving that his politeness is just a false persona.
Themes
Evelina enjoys the concert but is irritated that, although the people around them claim to love music, they talk all the way through it. The group then go into the tearoom and sit down with Lord Orville, who is with a group of friends. Evelina is annoyed, however, because Sir Clement will not leave her alone. Even Mrs. Mirvan notices and thinks he is behaving improperly.
Evelina’s emotional response to music further demonstrates her natural sensibility. Although sensibility was fashionable in this period, most people in high society are not genuinely sensible—they have no strong emotional response to music—only pretending to be sensible to improve their social standing.
Themes
Evelina then notices that one of the men in Lord Orville’s party is staring at her. She is annoyed and thinks he has bad manners—in fact, she is surprised to see him with Lord Orville’s group, as Lord Orville is so polite. The man loudly asks Sir Clement who Evelina is, and Sir Clement replies that he does not know and addresses the man as “your Lordship.” Evelina cannot believe it: the man who’s been staring at her so rudely is a noble and has therefore been educated in manners.
Nobility was often viewed as synonymous with virtue in the 18th-century Britain; nobles were educated in etiquette (manners), so people also widely believed that people in this class were more courteous than people in lower classes. However, Lord Merton proves Burney’s point that nobility is not a sign of innate goodness. Instead, class is arbitrarily decided by birth and does not necessarily signify virtue.
Themes
Sir Clement asks Mrs. Mirvan and Evelina if they like the Pantheon, and they reply that they do. Captain Mirvan, however, says that people will like anything so long as it is fashionable, regardless of how boring or stupid it is. Lord Orville says that 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 many beautiful women present.
Captain Mirvan is extremely bad-mannered and disrespectful toward Evelina and Mrs. Mirvan. Captain Mirvan is a naval officer and lives outside conventional society because he is often at sea. This is seemingly why he feels that fashionable society is shallow and doesn’t care about manners, even though they were considered extremely important in 18th-century Britain. While it’s true that many people in high society are shallow (as evidenced by characters like Sir Clement and Mr. Lovel), Captain Mirvan’s insensitivity also demonstrates that he does not care how Evelina and Mrs. Mirvan feel.
Themes
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Lord Orville replies that art and natural beauty complement each other, but Captain Mirvan scoffs and says that men only want one thing. He adds that women cost a fortune to keep. Lord Orville says that Mrs. Mirvan, Maria, and Evelina must be very gracious to forgive this talk. Captain Mirvan says that all the fashionable people come to the Pantheon just to stare at one another, even though half of them are ugly. Mr. Lovel, who is also at the table, says that the men come to admire women, and Captain Mirvan recognizes him from the theater as the man who said he only goes there to be seen.
Like Evelina, Lord Orville has natural sensibility, as he, too, has a deep appreciation for art and natural beauty. Women did not control their own money in 18th-century Britain, and Captain Mirvan’s misogynistic and insensitive comment draws attention to the fact that men are financially responsible for women when society is organized like this. Captain Mirvan correctly believes that fashionable 18th-century society is generally shallow and that, although many fashionable people claim to be highly sensible and interested in the arts, they are really only interested in appearing sensible to make themselves look refined.
Themes
Captain Mirvan begins to mock Mr. Lovel and says that plays are the only things in fashionable society that tell the truth. Lord Orville turns to Evelina and Maria and says that he would like to know what they think about it all. Pleased to be included, the women are about to answer when Captain Mirvan cuts them off and says that there is no point in asking silly girls. Evelina and Maria fall silent, and Lord Orville quickly changes the subject.
Plays, which are fictional and necessarily artificial, are more truthful than upper-class people in 18th-century Britain, because actors do not claim to genuinely be their characters. Eighteenth-century British society claimed to revere authentic emotional responses, or sensibility. However, most fashionable people are not genuine and only pretend they are to line up with contemporary fashion. Captain Mirvan, meanwhile, is misogynistic; his attitude reflects wider 18th-century attitudes toward women, who had few rights and who were generally disrespected and not taken seriously.
Themes
Literary Devices
Lord Orville begins to talk about Cox’s Museum but, again, Captain Mirvan breaks in and argues that it is a silly, frivolous place. 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 is seated beside. Lord Merton announces that he and the ladies are going to Ranelagh this evening and, turning to Evelina, he takes her hand and says that he hopes to see her there.
Captain Mirvan looks down on fashionable society and thinks it is trivial and shallow. Although Captain Mirvan is an unpleasant character, he has more perspective on British society than the other characters because he is a naval officer and has spent time abroad. His point of view suggests that, from a global perspective, fashionable British society is not as important or special as it Britons think it is.
Themes
Evelina tells Lord Merton that she will not go to Ranelagh, so Lord Merton makes an impassioned speech begging her to go. Evelina is embarrassed, and she notices Lord Orville watching with concern and Sir Clement eyeing them miserably. Captain Mirvan insists that he will not take Evelina and Maria to Ranelagh this evening, and he rudely tells Lord Merton that he does not want the girls there anyway, as they have nothing interesting to say. The Captain goes on to say that fashionable men are like monkeys, while fashionable women are like puppets. Mr. Lovel says that the Captain is very harsh.
Like many fashionable people, Lord Merton tries to make himself look sensible by appealing emotionally to Evelina. However, Lord Merton does not really care about Evelina—if he did, he would not jeopardize her social standing by flirting with her publicly, as women’s reputations were extremely fragile in this period. Instead, Lord Merton uses the appearance of sensibility to try to get his own way. Although Captain Mirvan is rude and misogynistic toward Maria and Evelina, he is correct when he asserts that fashionable society is shallow and that people pretend to be things they are not—they pretend to be sensible when, really, they are selfish.
Themes
The party then breaks up, and Captain Mirvan says that he wants to leave. Lord Orville courteously parts with Mrs. Mirvan and Evelina and says that he is sorry that 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 the house, they’re surprised by a visit from Lord Orville, who has come to wish them well once more before they leave London. Evelina will be sorry not to see him anymore, as he is so kind and polite.
Although nobility was often seen as synonymous with virtue in this period, Sir Clement and Lord Merton—who are both nobles—prove that this is not always the case. They do not care about how Evelina feels, just about getting their own way with her. Lord Orville, in contrast, is genuinely considerate and thoughtful: he does not embarrass or try to pressure Evelina.
Themes
Before Lord Orville leaves, Sir Clement also arrives to say goodbye. Evelina is irritated because Sir Clement keeps trying to speak to her privately; he seems forlorn about her departure. Captain Mirvan invites Sir Clement to visit them at Howard Grove, and Evelina thinks it’s rude that the Captain does not invite Lord Orville as well. Lord Orville leaves shortly after this, and Evelina goes upstairs because she does not want to spend any more time with Sir Clement.
Sir Clement lacks sensibility because he does not pick up on Evelina’s impatience with him—instead, he continues to pester her. Furthermore, Sir Clement doesn’t care that he could damage Evelina’s reputation if he insists on being alone with her. Women’s reputations were extremely fragile in this period, and it was viewed as improper for unmarried women to be alone with men.
Themes
