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 and tells him how busy the Mirvans have been as they prepare for Captain Mirvan’s return. Although Evelina longs to join Mrs. Mirvan and Maria in London and attend the theaters and fashionable city sites with them, she will only go if Mr. Villars agrees to her trip. She knows that Mr. Villars always has a good reason for anything he censors or suggests, so she will not argue if he says no.
Evelina respects and defers to Mr. Villars’s advice because she knows that he wants what is best for her. Rather than encourage Evelina to stray, his willingness to trust her makes her grateful and respectful toward him, and more likely to seek and follow his advice.
Themes
