Evelina
| Original Title: | Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World |
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| Written by: | Fanny Burney |
| Central Theme: | |
| Synopsis: | |
| First published: | 1778 |
A novel written by Fanny Burney and published in 1778. In the form of letters, it tells of the entrance of a young girl named Evelina into society and of how she became reacquainted with her family, gained an inheritance and got married.
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Tropes used in Evelina include:
- Broken Pedestal: Thanks to Willoughby's forged letter, this happens briefly to Lord Orville in Evelina's eyes.
- Butt Monkey: Madame Duval is frequently the butt of Captain Mirvan’s insults and pranks. Towards the end of the novel, Mr. Lovel takes on this role.
- Character Title
- Coming of Age Story
- Contrived Coincidence:The young man Evelina stopped from killing himself just happened to be her long lost half brother.
- Cool Old Lady: Lady Howard and Mrs. Selwyn.
- Daddy's Girl: He may not be her biological father but Evelina is definitely the apple of Arthur Villars eye.
- Dances and Balls: There are several.
- Dance of Romance: Evelina first meets Lord Orville at a ball where he asks her to dance.
- Deadpan Snarker: Mrs. Selwyn is this trope in spades.
- Death by Childbirth: the heroine’s mother.
- The Ditz: Madame Duval
- Does Not Like Men: The widower Mrs. Selwyn.
- Doting Parent: Reverend Villars is this to Evelina.
- Either or Title: Evelina or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World.
- Epistolary Novel
- Gold Digger: Madame Duval, the whole Branghton family and Willoughby.
- Grande Dame: Madame Duval acts this way.
- Happily Adopted: Evelina.
- The Ingenue: Evelina starts off like this due to her sheltered upbringing.
- Jerkass: Sir Clement Willoughby, Captain Mirvan, The Branghtons, Mr. Lovel, and Lord Merton. This novel is packed with jerks.
- The Ladette: Mrs. Selwyn.
- Long Lost Sibling: Mr. Maccartney is Evelina's half brother.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Sir Belmont's reaction to eventually seeing Evelina.
- Naive Everygirl: Evelina starts out like this.
- One Word Title
- Parental Abandonment: Evelina’s mother died giving birth to her and her father abandoned her mother before Evelina was even born.
- Plucky Girl: Evelina.
- Proper Lady: Evelina and Miss Mirvan.
- Rich Bitch: Lord Orville’s sister.
- Shrinking Violet: Evelina.
- Smug Snake: Mr. Lovel.
- The Stoic: Lord Orville.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Evelina is the exact likeness of her deceased mother.
- Surprise Incest: The eponymous heroine saves one Mr. Maccartney from suicide, since he believes he fell in love with his sister. Maccartney grows to idolize his savior Evelina in a quasi-romantic fashion. However, at the end of the novel, Evelina is revealed to be his real sister, while his original beloved was an unwitting (and unrelated) impostor
- Take Care of the Kids: Evelina's mother made Reverend Villars promise to protect her daughter.
- Weddings for Everyone: The ending.
- Will They or Won't They?: Evelina and Lord Orville. They will.