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, before Mrs. Selwyn and Evelina go to Mrs. Beaumont’s, Mrs. Selwyn asks Evelina if she has met Mr. Lovel before. Evelina says that she has, and Mrs. Selwyn says that this explains the rude remarks she overheard Mr. Lovel make about Evelina. Evelina does not care what Mr. Lovel thinks about her. She finds the group (Mr. Lovel, Mr. Coverley, Louisa, and Lord Merton) very rude again at Mrs. Beaumont’s, as they all continue to ignore her. Lord Orville, however, sits and talks with her for hours, while the others play cards and gamble.
Although nobility was associated with virtue and sensibility (an 18th-century term associated with empathy and kindness), many noble characters—like Louisa, Lord Merton, and Mr. Lovel—are totally insensible. They do not notice or care that they rudely leave Evelina out. Lord Orville, in contrast, is genuinely sensible, as he considers Evelina’s feelings and goes out of his way to include her in conversation.
Themes
After several hours, Mr. Lovel announces that, to settle another bet between himself and Lord Merton, they have decided to hire two poor old women to race for them. Evelina is surprised by this, and Louisa makes a rude comment toward her, which Lord Orville smoothly rebuffs. Evelina continues her letter to Mr. Villars three days later and says that she is enjoying herself wonderfully as she spends every day talking with Lord Orville. She feels completely relaxed with him and confident that he will always be kind and polite to her.
In 18th-century Britain, women had few rights and were often commodified and valued based on their family wealth or social status—rather than for their own worth as human beings. Lord Merton and Mr. Lovel want to hire poor, old women because they see them as objects that can be bought and used without any consideration for their feelings. Additionally, although Louisa is a fashionable noblewoman—and nobility was associated with virtue in this period—she is not virtuous at all. She’s rude and cruel to Evelina, whom she views as beneath her because she doesn’t know that Evelina is noble by birth. Lord Orville, in contrast, is kind and considerate toward Evelina; he treats her as his equal regardless of her social rank.
Themes
