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 morning, at breakfast, Sir Clement opens a newspaper and says that he wants to find out what happened to a Frenchman whom he saw being arrested just before he left London to come to Howard Grove. Madame Duval turns pale and asks if the Frenchman’s name was Du Bois. Sir Clement says that it was, and Madame Duval is horrified because Monsieur Du Bois is her companion whom Captain Mirvan forced her to leave in London.
Monsieur Du Bois is Madame Duval’s lover—but because they are not married, people view their relationship as improper, as it violates strict 18th-century etiquette.
Themes
Captain Mirvan asks Sir Clement if he thinks Monsieur Du Bois will be hung, and Sir Clement says it is possible. Madame Duval rushes from the table and says that she must go to London immediately to defend him. Evelina gets up to follow Madame Duval, but Captain Mirvan takes Evelina aside and privately tells her that this is a prank he and Sir Clement have cooked up. He insists that Evelina go along with the joke—but Evelina is disgusted with him, and she hurries after Madame Duval.
In 18th-century Britain, and had more power and rights than women; Captain Mirvan takes advantage of this power imbalance to play cruel tricks on Madame Duval. He knows that the other women in the household, like Evelina, cannot challenge him because he is the man of the house, and he can bully them if they do not go along with his schemes.
Themes
Madame Duval decides that she does not believe Sir Clement and Captain Mirvan’s story about Monsieur Du Bois’s arrest. Later that day, a servant delivers a letter to Madame Duval, and Madame Duval hurries to her room. Mrs. Mirvan, Lady Howard, and Evelina go after her to find out what has happened. Once in her room, Madame Duval tells the other ladies that the note has confirmed that Monsieur Du Bois has been arrested.
Captain Mirvan and Sir Clement lack sensibility (an 18th-century term associated with empathy and consideration toward others), as they callously disregard Madame Duval’s feelings to play their joke. Eighteenth-century Britain was patriarchal, meaning that men had more rights and power than women. Therefore, Captain Mirvan knows that the women in the house will not challenge him—and Madame Duval, who is unmarried, does not have a husband to defend her.
Themes
Madame Duval shows Lady Howard, Evelina, and Mrs. Mirvan the letter she has just received. It is allegedly from a “County Justice” who writes that Monsieur Du Bois has been arrested for treason and that Madame Duval must go to court as a witness for him, otherwise he will be hung. Madame Duval says that she will leave at once and go to the County Justice’s house. She does not want Captain Mirvan to know, however, because he will make fun of her. Evelina is amazed that Madame Duval has fallen for the note—which is part of Captain Mirvan and Sir Clement’s prank—because it does not make sense that a County Justice would be involved in a treason committed in London.
In 18th-century Britain, men like Captain Mirvan were able to abuse their power over unmarried women, because they knew that such women could not easily defend themselves. Sir Clement, who is a nobleman, joins in with the Captain, proving Burney’s point that nobility does not always signify virtue.
Themes
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Madame Duval begs Lady Howard to let her use a carriage to visit the County Justice. Lady Howard agrees, although Evelina suspects that Lady Howard is also in on the prank because Captain Mirvan has been forced to go along with it. Madame Duval insists that Evelina go with her, and the pair sets off for the Justice’s house. After they have spent about two hours in the coach, a servant rides alongside them and hands Evelina a note through the window. The note tells her that she is safe no matter what happens, and she suspects it has been written by Sir Clement to warn her about the next stage of the prank.
Captain Mirvan knows that he can play his cruel prank on Madame Duval unchallenged, because Lady Howard and Madame Duval are widows and do not have husbands to defend them. Sir Clement is two-faced and deceitful: he goes along with Captain Mirvan’s joke but still tries to win over Evelina, even though he insults her grandmother. Although Sir Clement is a nobleman—and nobility was often associated with virtue in this period—he is an immoral person.
Themes
Madame Duval also receives a note from the servant, which tells her that Monsieur Du Bois has escaped from prison. Madame Duval tells the coachmen to turn around and hurry home—she wants to get back before Captain Mirvan discovers she is gone. As they drive, the coachmen begin to argue about which direction they should take. Eventually, they stop at a farm to ask for directions. When the coachmen return from the farmhouse, they tell Evelina and Madame Duval that there are thieves on the loose and that the ladies had better leave their valuables with the farmer, as they may be ambushed on the way home.
The plot about robbers is obviously part of the elaborate prank that Captain Mirvan and Sir Clement are playing on Madame Duval. Captain Mirvan, who orchestrates the prank, uses his power against Madame Duval and does not care that he puts her in a frightening situation, where she genuinely thinks she could be robbed or hurt. This shows that Captain Mirvan has no regard for Madame Duval’s feelings.
Themes
Madame Duval is afraid at the prospect of robbers, so she makes one of the coachmen sit in the carriage with her. They have not gone far when the other coachman cries out that they are under attack, and two masked men break into the coach and seize Evelina and Madame Duval. One robber carries Madame Duval away on his horse, and the other holds Evelina fast. Evelina soon discovers that this man is Sir Clement, who begs her not to be alarmed. He then begins to tell her how much he loves her, but Evelina angrily rebuffs him and demands to know what has happened to Madame Duval.
Captain Mirvan is misogynistic and insensible toward Madame Duval’s feelings—he genuinely frightens her for his own entertainment and because he knows that, as an unmarried woman, she has no one to defend or protect her. Sir Clement goes along with Captain Mirvan’s prank because he wants to spend time with Evelina and knows the Captain will throw him out if he refuses to join in. This shows that Sir Clement is a selfish and immoral man, as he goes along with a vicious prank against Evelina’s grandmother just so that he can try to seduce Evelina.
Themes
The other masked man, who is Captain Mirvan, then reappears, and he and Sir Clement ride off together. Evelina gets out of the coach and discovers Madame Duval tied up in a ditch, hysterical with rage and fright. Her clothes are ruined, her wig is missing, and she is bruised and covered in mud. When Evelina unties her, Madame Duval smacks Evelina across the face. Although this shocks Evelina, Madame Duval is clearly upset, so Evelina forgives her and tries to comfort her. Slowly, Evelina coaxes Madame Duval back to the carriage.
Captain Mirvan physically bullies Madame Duval because he knows he can get away with it, as men had unchallenged power over women in 18th-century Britain. As a woman, Madame Duval has fewer rights and less social power than the Captain. Captain Mirvan partly dislikes Madame Duval because he finds her pretentious—she wears a wig, which suggests that she’s trying to make herself look younger. However, although Captain Mirvan is right about Madame Duval’s being a shallow person, it does not justify his misogynistic violence against her.
Themes
Once Evelina and Madame Duval are back in the carriage, Madame Duval bursts into tears again and cries that the robber beat her terribly. She vows to take him to court, but Evelina knows that she cannot, because she never saw his face. Although Evelina is tempted to laugh at Madame Duval’s hysterical reaction, she is annoyed with Captain Mirvan and Sir Clement for taking their cruel prank so far.
Although Madame Duval wants to take Captain Mirvan and Sir Clement to court, it was extremely unlikely that a woman would legally win against a man in this period. Although Evelina is tempted to laugh at Madame Duval, she is too considerate to ever do this, as she does not want to hurt Madame Duval’s feelings.
Themes
Literary Devices
When Evelina and Madame Duval arrive home, Madame Duval sneaks up to her room because she does not want Captain Mirvan to see her without her wig and make fun of her. Captain Mirvan is gleeful during dinner—while Madame Duval hides in her room—because of the success of his prank. After dinner, Evelina begs Mrs. Mirvan to ask Captain Mirvan to leave Madame Duval alone. Although there is not much that Evelina can do to stop Captain Mirvan’s antics, she wishes that she had protested sooner.
Captain Mirvan bullies Madame Duval because, as a woman, she is powerless and defenseless. Women were also considered their husband’s property, so although Mrs. Mirvan can ask Captain Mirvan to leave Madame Duval alone, there is no guarantee that he will listen to her.
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