Evelina: a novel of manners and social critique

¶ … Role of Mr. Lovel in Evelina; or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World

Fanny Burney's novel, Evelina; or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World, is no doubt a comical look at the societal norms of eighteenth-century Britain and an evolving look into the roles of men and women. The novel operates on the basis of social orders but there are other complex themes at work that deserve attention. Under the satire and comfortably placed next to comedy, Burney hints at the role of men and their significance during this time. We are accustomed to exploring the nature of young women in novels at this time and even the relationships between men and women as they adjust to courtesy and contention. Mr. Lovel is the antithesis of this polite society and the most captivating thing about his character is that he is unaware of his place. Burney establishes Mr. Lovel as the pretentious fool in the novel, indicating that male virtue is not all that it could be in a world that revolves around social finesse and charming graces.

While the novel may come from a female perspective of life in the eighteenth century, it provides a glimpse into the life of how men operated as well. A minor character that turns out to be a major player is Mr. Lovel. Mr. Lovel is significant for several reasons - all of them ingeniously orbiting social graces and real virtue. Mr. Lovel is important to the development of the novel because he helps Evelina understand exactly what is expected of her as a young woman living in London. While she does not like him and is immediately repelled by his condescending attitude, she must still remember where she is and adhere to certain social customs. Her behavior in certain circles is more important than her feelings toward anyone that might cause her to feel uncomfortable or repulsed and who better to teach her this lesson than one that repulses her. When she shuns him, we see that while she is being honest about her feelings; however, there is no place for this kind of behavior in British society and she becomes the rude individual.

This is a sad fact and an even sadder lesson for Evelina to learn. Waldo Glock observes that Evelina is "being true to herself, yet discovers that Lovel accuses her of ill-manners... Evelina discovers the law by which polite society functions, a law which implies that a pretense of courtesy and good-will is preferable to an uninhibited expression of feeling" (Glock 35). This scene and this first lesson set the tone for the rest of the novel in regard to Mr. Lovel. We do not like him just as our heroine does not like him because he is ostentatious and phony.

There is a deeper lesson involved here that engages another theme in the novel and that deals with appearance and reality. Evelina is accused of displaying bad manners but she is innocent because she did not intend to be rude. Mr. Lovel, on the other hand, behaves the way the fully conscious of every move he makes and why. The irony becomes comical the more we consider it. Glock agrees with this notion, adding that the "art of judging the difference between appearance and reality... is not easily learned or discriminatingly applied in practice" (Glock). The entire basis of manners and etiquette can be traced to some form of distinguishing between what is real and what is not but this might not always be mentioned. However, the conventions of society are not always practiced by the most polite and the most polite are not always aware of proper etiquette, as we find with Evelina. Glock observes that Evelina learns that the "spontaneous expression of her feelings invites a retaliatory reflex on the part of society" (Glock). One of the first lessons she learns regarding societal etiquette can be traced to the absurd Mr. Lovel.

At no part in the novel does Evelina change her feelings toward this man; she might need to become accustomed to certain behaviors, but that does not mean that she must present false airs. In regard to Mr. Lovel, we see that when she encounters him again at the theater, she refers to him as "the same odious creature who had been my former tormentor" (Burney 55). Her feelings are quite the same as they were before and when she sees him again at the play and writes, that he is a man of "foppery and impertinence" (Burney 132). In addition, after their encounter at the play, she writes:

But how malicious and impertinent is this creature to talk to me in such a manner! I am sure I hope I shall never see him again. I should have despised him heartily as a fop, had he never spoken to me at all; but now, that he thinks proper to resent his supposed ill-usage, I am really quite afraid of him" (Burney 139).

Evelina might not be able to express herself outwardly in public places but she has no qualms about revealing her true feelings on paper. This "weak and frivolous" (139) man is also teaching her something about how men carry themselves in social circles. Mr. Lovel is responsible for the "first stage" (Glock Paradox 130) of Evelina's education and it is her encounter with him that forces her to understand that to "follow the 'open path' of honor and virtue seems to require her acceptance of the conventional rules of propriety" (130). This brings us to the question about honor and virtue among male counterparts. While it is commonly understood that men and women were seen and treated as different types of individuals during this time, Burney quickly establishes that this does not always make for proper men and Mr. Lovel is the man that drives that point home.

Mr. Lovel is significant to the novel because he represents the snobbish select of London society. When he comments about Evelina's appearance stating, "The air we breathe here... has not I hope been at variance with your health?" (133), he is insinuating that Evelina does not look well and perhaps may not be able to handle the non-rural London air. Furthermore, he follows that remark with a similarly stinging one by noting, "I have known so many different causes for a lady's colour, such as flushing-anger-mauvaise honte -- and so forth, that I never dare decide to which it may be owing" (133). He cannot resist any opportunity to verbally attack Evelina, demonstrating how he cannot let bygones be bygones. Xxxx Newton agrees, noting that after she reuses him, Mr. Lovel's "courtliness sours immediately into self-righteousness, and he persecutes Evelina for the rest of the novel" (Newton). Here the hypocrisy is evident. He can throw jabs at her while everyone is aware that he is the most detestable of the two and if anyone were not suited for the air, it would be him. He is the male version of any female snob we might encounter on any given day in our society. His role is significant not only because it conveys the irony and the hypocrisy of the times but it also illustrates how not all men must endure the overbearing nature of such characters.

Burney emphasizes this type of character by humiliation is the best form, however. One instance of this type of disgrace can be seen in the play scene, when Mr. Lovel does not seem to recognize how important it is to be aware of what play one is attending. Here we see two faults with Mr. Lovell. The first is the fact that he has no desire to keep up with the play or even what play he is attending. He admits, that he seldom listens to the "players: one has so much to do, in looking about and finding out one's acquaintance, that, really, one has no time to mind the stage" (135) and the only reason to attend such an event is to "merely comes to meet one's friends, and shew that one's alive" (135). He does not even respond the Captain's remark that it seems foolish to pay to show one's friends that one is alive. Furthermore, Mr. Lovel further insults himself when he admits that he has trouble staying awake during such events and "by the time it is evening, one has been so fatigued with dining,-or wine,-or the house,-or studying,-that it is-it is perfectly an impossibility" (136) to stay awake and alert. It should be noted that the Captain is fully aware of Mr. Lovel's pretentious nature and fully engages himself to make a mockery of it by calling the entire event one of the best jokes that he has heard. To add insult to injury, the Captain then compares Mr. Lovel to Mr. Tattle in Dryden's play, Love for Love. Evelina reports that the snide remark changes Mr. Lovel's color but it also leads us to another important fact that Mr. Lovel brings to the novel, which is the male dichotomy when dealing with social etiquette. While the two bicker, they reveal how important it is for men to behave in a certain manner.

The Captain's response to the entire event also brings our attention to the importance of male social behavior in the novel. Men, too, must be aware of how to behave in social situations and clearly, Mr. Lovel sees himself above most etiquette. If we look at the Captain's remarks, we find how significant it is for men to establish themselves socially because Lovel's comeback reinforces how men will use social activities to display their manhood. When the two go at it, there is no mention of women in their exchange; therefore, we see how very little women matter when it comes down to it. Mr. Ben is a man, according to the Captain, and later he declares that there "i'n't so much as one public place, besides the play-house, where a man, that's to say, a man who is a man, ought not to be ashamed to shew his face" (Burley 193). There is no mention or consideration for women in this remark and this is certainly part of the accepted societal norms of the day.

His second fault is that he cannot see how pretentious he is when he makes such an admission. Kenneth Moler observes that Mr. Lovel is a "vicious socialite" (Moler 173) and Mr. Lovel's snobbery seems to cross gender lines as he is portrayed as the biggest fool in the novel. As previously mentioned, Mr. Lovel has already demonstrated that he is, at best, shallow with his remarks regarding the theater and his reasons for attending. He cares not who is acting but rather who is attending the performance - an attribute that indicates the most shallow of human beings. With the overarching theme is behavior in social circles and with the character of Mr. Lovel, Burney is extending the role of the pretentious fool to include men. At a time when women were seen as inferior to men and expected to behave certain ways, we rarely think of men in circumstances that embarrass themselves. Certainly, we would expect Evelina, a young and innocent woman to make social faux pas but Mr. Lovel is neither innocent nor very young and his mistakes are of the worst kind because he thinks he is being coy and clever. With him, Burney illustrates how pretension knows no gender boundaries and class is something that belongs to the respectable.