Eighteenth Century Literature Essay

Evelina is an epistolary novel concerning an innocent young woman and her introduction to eighteenth century society. She has had a sheltered upbringing and knows little of the social etiquette required of a young woman in London. As the story progresses, she learns how to behave, and equally how not to behave, when faced with the behaviour of her social climbing family and others in London society. The Monk is a gothic tale of a holy man, living an innocent and moral life, who is drawn deeper and deeper into the depths of depravity. On the surface these stories have little in common. However, it can be argued that each of these works can impart to the reader of the time an example of good conduct, and the consequences experienced if one should not follow it. It will be argued that each work shows the reader a moral framework by which to live one’s life. In her work Evelina, Frances Burney satirizes the society of the day, and shows the reader through the example of her protagonist that manners and good behaviour ultimately lead to reward. In contrast, Matthew Gregory Lewis, in his work The Monk gives us Ambrosio, who starts the novel almost at the height of moral perfection. His downward spiral into lust, witchcraft and murder is ultimately punished in the most hideous of ways, and he has no way of redeeming himself, so is left to eternal damnation. Whilst the actions of the “villains” of the piece in Evelina can in no way match those of the “villains” in the monk, the reader is still given the same underlying message through each text; that good behaviour is rewarded and bad behaviour is punished.

Frances Burney is most notably remembered for her work Evelina; or, A Young Lady's Entrance into the World (1778). This novel of manners was a humorous piece that depicted a simple young woman being thrust from a simple backwater into the more racy and fashionable life of eighteenth-century London Society. The work contains many elements. It gives an insight into...