Date of Award
Spring 3-22-2022
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
English and Linguistics
Department Chair or Program Director
Levin, Jonathan
First Advisor
McAllister, Marie
Major or Concentration
English
Abstract
Frances Burney explores the complex intersection of class and courtship in her novel Evelina as her heroine enters adulthood and consequently the marriage market. Throughout the novel, the heroine, Evelina, is pursued or courted by men as she is situated in three distinct class settings. First, she enters society in a respectable middle class setting, then a lower-middle class setting, before finally settling in an upper class setting and gets married. This development in the novel represents the significant affect class has on relationships in the 18th century. Ultimately, Burney communicates how a marriageable woman’s social and economic status clearly correlates with the level of respect she is given by suitors.
Recommended Citation
Clark, Lucy, "Rank versus Romance: The Relationship of Class and Courtship in Burney's Evelina" (2022). Student Research Submissions. 514.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/514