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 evening, Evelina, the Branghtons, Madame Duval, Monsieur Du Bois, and Mr. Smith go to Vauxhall Gardens. Although the garden is very pretty, Evelina feels it is spoiled because she is with such an unpleasant group. She only speaks to Monsieur Du Bois, who is polite to her. Evelina is annoyed by Mr. Smith, who constantly bothers her—at one point, he even grabs her hand and makes her run with him through the crowd. The group eats dinner together, and the Branghtons say that Evelina must be happy, since she has never seen a place like this in all her life.
Although Evelina has been raised middle-class and is not educated in etiquette, she has spent time with genuinely refined upper-class people. She finds the Branghtons unpleasant by contrast: they are rude and ignorant and do not care about other people’s feelings. Ironically, the Branghtons are condescending toward Evelina, whom they see as ignorant because she has been raised in the countryside. But Evelina demonstrates a deeper understanding of fashionable traits, like sensibility (empathy) and etiquette (manners) than they do.
Themes
After dinner, Miss Branghton and Polly suggest that they take Evelina for a walk in the Gardens. Evelina is reluctant to go, but Madame Duval insists, and Polly and Miss Branghton lead Evelina down one of the dark alleyways. They have not gone far when a group of drunk men surrounds them and refuses to let them go. Evelina and the Branghton sisters scream with fright, but the men just laugh, and one grabs hold of Evelina. She manages to break free and tries to rush back toward the well-lit Garden, but another group of men blocks her way.
This passage symbolizes the idea that the Branghtons are a bad influence on Evelina and could potentially lead her astray. Women’s reputations were fragile in 18th-century Britain: if women deviated from acceptable social behavior (or were even rumored to have done so), they could face social ruin and ostracization. On top of this, men were afforded much more power and social influence, so they could abuse and take advantage of women without facing consequences. Evelina’s struggle against the Branghtons and against the men who try to assault her symbolizes her attempt to maintain her purity and choose a moral path in life.
Themes
Evelina recognizes one of the men in the group as Sir Clement and cries out to him for help. Sir Clement tells the other men that he will take care of Evelina and leads her away. The other men think that Evelina is an “actress,” but Sir Clement insists that he knows her. Sir Clement asks Evelina what she is doing there, and Evelina explains that she is lost. Sir Clement begins to make passionate advances toward Evelina and, to her horror, she realizes that he has led her deeper into the Garden’s maze.
Sir Clement is a bad moral influence on Evelina—he does not have her best interests in mind and both literally and metaphorically leads her astray. “Actress” means prostitute in 18th-century slang. Evelina’s situation is extremely precarious, as any accusations of misconduct or premarital sex could damage a woman’s good name irreparably. Sir Clement does not care about this, however, and tries to seduce Evelina regardless.
Themes
Evelina tries to escape from Sir Clement and tells him that he insults her. Sir Clement then says that he doesn’t know what Evelina expects, since she has wandered into a dark place with no companions—he can only assume that she has devious intentions. Evelina begins to cry, and Sir Clement begs for her forgiveness. Evelina, once again, tries to break away from him, and he asks her why she teases him and resists his advances. Evelina insists that she does not mean to tease him and, again, tries to leave. Sir Clement follows her and, forcing her into one of the alleyways, holds her fast until she agrees to forgive him.
Eighteen-century Britons tended to view women as untrustworthy and easily corruptible—and they simultaneously prized women’s purity. Even rumors of premarital sex or misconduct could seriously jeopardize a woman’s reputation, as men tended to be believed over women (as Sir John was believed over Caroline). Sir Clement is inconsiderate of Evelina’s feelings and doesn’t care about her reputation—he only cares about getting his own way.
Themes
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Evelina is worried about Miss Branghton and Polly, who are still lost in the garden, so she tells Sir Clement that she must find her group. Although he has insulted her, she is still embarrassed when they find the Branghtons and Mr. Branghton asks her where her cousins are in front of Sir Clement. Evelina explains that they are in the alleyways, and Mr. Branghton says that the foolish girls must want to be assaulted. Evelina asks Tom to look for his sisters, but Tom says that they must look after themselves if they choose to behave stupidly.
Although Sir Clement is an unpleasant and immoral person beneath his outward etiquette, he is still a nobleman with a large amount of social clout. The Branghtons, in contrast, are middle-class and do not have good manners, so Evelina worries that Sir Clement will look down on her because she is related to them. Mr. Branghton misogynistically assumes that, because his daughters have wandered off, they are asking to be assaulted by men. Women in 18th-century Britain were treated as more corrupt and deceitful than men, so any abuse they suffered was often seen as deserved.
Themes
Evelina continues pleading with the Branghtons to go and look for Miss Branghton and Polly, who are lost in the Gardens. Suddenly, Mr. Smith bursts out of an alleyway nearby, grabs Evelina’s hand, and teasingly exclaims that Evelina did a good job running away from him. Sir Clement is amazed by these proceedings and cannot understand why Evelina is with the Branghtons. He asks her where the Mirvans are, and Evelina says she is not with them anymore. She is hurt that this seems to change Sir Clement’s attitude toward her.
Mr. Smith does not believe that Evelina is uninterested in him, instead assuming that she avoids him because she wants to lead him on. Meanwhile, Sir Clement, who is a nobleman, looks down on the middle-class Branghtons. Although nobility was associated with virtue in this period, Sir Clement’s attitude toward Evelina when he finds out she has middle-class cousins shows that he is not virtuous. He is, in fact, shallow and judgmental.
Themes
Mr. Smith, who notices Sir Clement talking with Evelina, suddenly becomes very forlorn and sadly looks down at his clothes, which are shabby compared to Sir Clement’s. Tom, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Branghton all disappear into the Gardens to look for Polly and Miss Branghton, and Evelina tries to distract Sir Clement by looking at some paintings on display. Mr. Smith comments on the paintings, but Sir Clement makes a sarcastic comment, and Mr. Smith looks ashamed. Polly then emerges from the Gardens; Miss Branghton appears not long after and says that two young men made her walk with them.
Although Mr. Smith strives to appear upper-class, his humble origins are obvious when he is seen next to a true nobleman. This reflects Burney’s point that social mobility is largely impossible in 18th-century British society. Sir Clement’s rude attitude toward Mr. Smith also shows that, although Sir Clement is a nobleman, he is not a virtuous person and is not a good moral example to emulate.
Themes
The party decides to go home, and Sir Clement offers Evelina a ride in his carriage, which she refuses. When they reach their carriage, however, Sir Clement insists they share and jumps into the coach with them before anyone can object. On the way home, he tries to take Evelina’s hand several times and seems very curious to know where she is staying. Evelina is ashamed when they pull up outside their lodgings and sees the surprised look on Sir Clement’s face. Madame Duval hates Sir Clement, however, so Evelina says that he will not be invited to visit.
Although Sir Clement is a nobleman and is therefore educated in etiquette and manners, he is rude and inconsiderate of other people’s feelings. Nobility was also associated with virtue in 18th-century Britain, but Sir Clement shows that he is not virtuous and does not have Evelina’s best interests in mind—he does not care that holding her hand in public, while they are unmarried, could damage her reputation. Sir Clement is also shallow and looks down on the Branghtons because their house looks poor and because they are middle-class.
Themes
