In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Quelling the French Threat in Frances Burney's Evelina LEANNE MAUNU A "little character-monger," Dr. Johnson once called Frances Burney as she was leaving an evening party at Lady Galway's London home shortly after the publication of her first novel, 1778's Evelina. Pleased herself with the description, Burney recorded the incident in both her journals and in her preface to The Wanderer, essentially registering the appellation in the annals of literary history.[ The import of Johnson's epithet, of course, is that it draws attention to Burney's writing style, which Johnson meant to celebrate as one that used common character types in order to amuse and delight. Dr. Johnson was, however, not the only reader to point out Burney's facility with drawing interesting characters. In his 1843 review of Burney's published letters and diaries, Macaulay backs up Johnson's claim, stating that "It was in the exhibition of human passions and whims that her strength lay; and in this department of art she had, we think, very distinguished skill."2 According to Macaulay, Burney's skill as an author lies in her ability to show "human passions and whims," emotions and behaviors that are shared by all humans, and so which can also be recognized as general personality types. Writing even earlier in the century than Macaulay, William Hazlitt also noticed this tendency in Burney's work, remarking that Burney's "forte is in describing the absurdities and affectations of external behaviour, or the manners of people in company."3 Hazlitt is quick to point out, however, that Burney's 99 100 / MAUNU characters fall into general types and categories. While Burney is adept at recreating these "manners" of those in society, "Her characters, which are all caricatures, are no doubt distinctly marked, and perfectly kept up; but they are somewhat superficial, and exceedingly uniform."4 Hazlitt recognized in Burney's early novels her tendency to make characters and actions appear simpler than they really are or could be, yet he failed to realize that this oversimplification resulted from Burney's own view of the world. The "superficial" and "exceedingly uniform" characters she created in her early works were the direct result of her own belief that society is relatively superficial, relatively easy to interpret. The representation of Burney as a "character-monger" thus developed from the idea that Burney peopled her early novels with exaggerated personalities. The frenchified fop, the naive country girl, the handsome lord: all of these are characterizations that were easily recognized by Burney's readers.5 While Burney's skill in drawing these character types has long been recognized by many critics, what has gone relatively unexamined is the darker side of Burney's characterizations as exemplified in that most puzzling and disturbing pair of characters in the novel: Captain Mirvan and Madame Duval. Burney's other relationships have received much critical attention over the past two hundred years, but few have stopped to question the function of these two particular characters and the nature of their relationship. Having slipped through most of the cracks, the Captain and Madame Duval usually receive only cursory treatment, for most readers of the novel do not quite know what to make of these two odd characters. When discussed at all, the Captain and Madame Duval are rarely paired together, usually receiving separate treatment instead.6 Despite their neglect, however, this fascinating couple is an important indicator of nationalist sentiment in Britain during the mid to late eighteenth century. In creating these two ribald characters, Burney had to look no farther than the nationalist rhetoric and anti-French propaganda of the day for inspiration. The young Burney draws upon some of the more nationalistic attitudes and stereotypes of her society, reinforcing a vision of France that adhered to the negative portrayals already put into place by her fellow Britons. Here the work of historian Linda Colley elucidates our understanding of these portrayals. In her groundbreaking text Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837, Colley laid the foundation for a new understanding of how the idea of Britain developed. Drawing upon Benedict Anderson's idea of nations as imagined communities,7 Colley demonstrates how a...

pdf

Share