The tone of She Stoops to Conquer is largely comic and satirical, with Goldsmith’s use of dramatic irony bringing the audience into confidence with the playwright in a way that encourages them to laugh with him at the characters’ expense.
As is conventional for a laughing comedy, the play mocks the upper classes and their pretensions, with Goldsmith using hyperbole along with numerous other techniques to highlight many of the characters’ vanities and affectations. Marlow in particular proves a victim of this, with Goldsmith’s representation of him intentionally making him a bit foppish and ridiculous. Likewise, Mr and Mrs Hardcastle are also constructed in a satirical fashion, making them caricatures of traditionalism and frivolity, respectively.
The mocking of these characters, however, is always in good humor, with neither Goldsmith nor the characters taking themselves or each other too seriously. Accordingly, the tone of the play remains light-hearted and playful throughout. The play’s central conflict is merely a prank, with the only real damage being done to Marlow’s dignity, and even then with no material consequences. The stakes are low and there’s a happy ending for almost everyone, with the only exception, Mrs Hardcastle, hardly evoking any of the audience’s pity.
Furthermore, the play’s prologue and epilogues, which are more self-referential and reflective in their tone than the body of the text, allow Goldsmith’s own voice to cut through. In particular, the prologue, which sets up the play’s purpose as a demonstration of the need for light-hearted, anti-sentimental laughing comedies, plainly shows the play’s primary intention to amuse.
