A Witty Stratagem for Love and Marriage: Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of a Night
Abstract
The plays of a comedy of manners, a genre which emerged in the Restoration period, draw attention through the presentation of colourful couples and pairs, set-scenes, the satirical approach to upper-class manners and certain themes such as material pursuit and a cynical attitude towards love and marriage. This type of comedy, however, met severe critical remarks after the Restoration, as its moral context was questioned as a result of social, economic and governmental changes in the country. Effectively, the second half of the 18 th century is laced with the rise of sentimental ideals in that sentimentalism formed the core of the works of the time. Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) is one of the literary figures who dwelt upon the new dynamics of the age, and he adapts the conventions of the comedy of manners to his new reader/audience in his play entitled She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of a Night (1773). While he touches upon the themes of materialism, love, and marriage, he unfolds the idea of parental consent and the quest for true love and affection among the young generation. This propounds the view that the characteristics of the Restoration comedy of manners are meta- morphosed in Goldsmith’s age, and the playwright uses and abuses sentimental ideas, although he does not challenge the social norms by means of his characters. This paper sets out to determine the contexts of love and marriage in Goldsmith’s age that he affirms in the relationships between parental figures and children and in the affairs of couples in She Stoops to Conquer while this play’s differences from the Restoration comedy of manners are emphasised.
Keywords
Comedy of Manners Sentimentalism Love Marriage Oliver Goldsmith She Stoops to Conquer or the Mistakes of the Night
References
- Barker-Benfield G. J. (1992). The Culture of Sensibility: Sex and Society in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Chicago 1992.
- Burns E. (1987). Restoration Comedy: Crises of Desire and Identity. London 1987.
- Butt J. (1979). The Age of Johnson 1740-1789. Oxford 1979.
- Bywaters D. (2009). “Representations of the Interregnum and Restoration in English Drama of the Early 1660s”. The Review of English Studies 60/244 (2009) 255-70.
- Chernaik W. (1995). Sexual Freedom in Restoration Literature. Cambridge 1995.
- Cox J. E. (1969). The Rise of Sentimental Comedy. Springfield 1969.
- Danziger M. K. (1978). Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. New York 1978.
- Donaldson I. (1986). “Drama 1710-1780”. Ed. R. Lonsdale, Dryden to Johnson (1986) 161-192. London.
- Evans J. (2011). “‘The Dullissimo Maccaroni’: Masculinities in She Stoops to Conquer”. Philological Quarterly 90/1 (2011) 45-65.
- Evans J. (2015). “Adapting the Stratagem: Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer”. A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles 28/1 (2015) 34-38.
- Freud S. (1961). “The Ego and the Id”. Ed. J. Strachey, Trans. A. Strachey, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud: The Ego and the Id and Other Works. Vol. XIX (1923-1925) (1961) 12-66. London.
- Freud S. (1964). “New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis”. Ed. J. Strachey, Trans. A. Strachey, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud: New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis and Other Works. Vol. XXII (1932-1936) (1964) 5-182. London.
- Goldsmith O. (1969). “An Essay on the Theatre; or, a Comparison between Laughing and Sentimental Comedy”. Ed. G. H. Nettleton & A. E. Case, British Dramatists from Dryden to Sheridan (1969) 751-753. Carbondale.
- Goldsmith O. (1993). She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of a Night. Ed. D. W. Lindsay, The Beggar’s Opera and Other Eighteenth-Century Plays (1993) 327-399. London.
- Hitchcook T. (1997). English Sexualities, 1700-1800. London 1997.
- Keeble N. H. (2002). The Restoration: England in the 1660s. Oxford 1961.
- Krutch J. W. (1961). Comedy and Conscience after the Restoration. New York 1961.
- Macfarlane A. (1993). Marriage and Love in England 1300-1840. Oxford 1993.
- Montgomery F. W. (1966). “The Challenge of Restoration Comedy”. Ed. J. Loftis, Restoration Drama: Modern Essays in Criticism (1966) 32-43. New York.
- Moody H. R. (1986). “The Meaning of Life and the Meaning of Old Age”. Ed. T. R. Cole & S. A. Gadow, What Does It Mean to Grow Old? Reflections from the Humanities (1986) 9-40. Durham.
- Moore W. (2009). “Love and Marriage in 18 th -Century Britain”. Historically Speaking 10/3 (2009) 8-10.
- Nettleton G. H. & Case A. E. (1969). “She Stoops to Conquer; or, the Mistakes of a Night”. Ed. G. H.
- Nettleton & A. E. Case, British Dramatists from Dryden to Sheridan (1969) 755-756. Carbondale.
- Quintana R. (1965). “Goldsmith’s Achievement as Dramatist”. University of Toronto Quarterly 34/2 (1965) 159-177.
- Schmidt R. N. (1975). Uncommon Common Sense: An Intellectual History and Literary Study of Sentimentalism, Oliver Goldsmith and She Stoops to Conquer within the Original British Liberalism of the Third Quarter of the Eighteenth Century. Unpublished Dissertation. University of California, California 1975.
- Semiday S. (2015). Mining for Goldsmith: Kate Hardcastle from She Stoops to Conquer. Unpublished MA Thesis. Regent University, London 2015.
- Shtaywi A. A. Q. (1994). Courtship and Marriage in Oliver Goldsmith’s Major Works. Unpublished Dissertation. Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma 1994.
- Simmons E. (1994). “Restoration and 18th -Century Drama”. Ed. Simmons A Guide to Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature: 1660-1789 (1994) 39-57. London.
Oliver Goldsmith’in She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of a Night Adlı Oyununda Aşk ve Evlilik İçin Zekice Bir Hile
Abstract
Restorasyon döneminde bir tür olarak ortaya çıkan töre komedisi oyunları aşık çiftleri, türe özgü sahneleri, üst sınıf davranışlarına olan hicivsel yaklaşımı, maddi arayış, aşk ve evliliğe karşı kuşkucu yak- laşım gibi temalarıyla dikkat çeker. Ancak töre komedisi, ülkedeki sosyal, ekonomik ve politik değişik- liklerin göstergesi olarak ahlaki içeriği bakımından sorgulanınca, Restorasyon döneminden sonra sert eleştirel görüşlere maruz kalır. Özellikle 18. yüzyılın ikinci yarısı duygusal ülkülerin yükselişine tanıklık eder; şöyle ki, duygusallık dönem eserlerinin temelini oluşturur. Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) çağının yeni dinamiklerinin üzerine kafa yormuş edebi kişilerden biridir ve She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of a Night (1773) adlı oyununda Restorasyon dönemi töre komedisi özeliklerini yeni okuyu- cusu/izleyicisine uyarlar. Oyun yazarı, materyalizm, aşk ve evlilik temalarına değinirken aile onayı kavra- mını ve genç nesilde gerçek aşk ve yakınlık arayışını göz önüne serer. Bu ise Restorasyon töre komedisi özelliklerinin Goldsmith’in zamanında değiştiğini gösterir. Karakterleri aracılığıyla toplumsal yapıyı sor- gulamamasına rağmen, oyun yazarı duygusal fikirleri kullanır ve onları suistimal eder. Bu çalışma, She Stoops to Conquer adlı oyunun Restorasyon töre komedisinden farklılıklarını vurgularken, oyundaki ebe- veynler ve çocukları arasındaki ilişkilerde ve aşık çiftlerin ilişkilerinde Goldsmith’in kendi dönemindeki aşk ve evlilik kavramlarını nasıl değerlendirdiğini saptamayı amaçlar.
Keywords
Comedy of Manners Sentimentalism Love Marriage Oliver Goldsmith She Stoops to Conquer or the Mistakes of the Night
References
- Barker-Benfield G. J. (1992). The Culture of Sensibility: Sex and Society in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Chicago 1992.
- Burns E. (1987). Restoration Comedy: Crises of Desire and Identity. London 1987.
- Butt J. (1979). The Age of Johnson 1740-1789. Oxford 1979.
- Bywaters D. (2009). “Representations of the Interregnum and Restoration in English Drama of the Early 1660s”. The Review of English Studies 60/244 (2009) 255-70.
- Chernaik W. (1995). Sexual Freedom in Restoration Literature. Cambridge 1995.
- Cox J. E. (1969). The Rise of Sentimental Comedy. Springfield 1969.
- Danziger M. K. (1978). Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. New York 1978.
- Donaldson I. (1986). “Drama 1710-1780”. Ed. R. Lonsdale, Dryden to Johnson (1986) 161-192. London.
- Evans J. (2011). “‘The Dullissimo Maccaroni’: Masculinities in She Stoops to Conquer”. Philological Quarterly 90/1 (2011) 45-65.
- Evans J. (2015). “Adapting the Stratagem: Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer”. A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles 28/1 (2015) 34-38.
- Freud S. (1961). “The Ego and the Id”. Ed. J. Strachey, Trans. A. Strachey, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud: The Ego and the Id and Other Works. Vol. XIX (1923-1925) (1961) 12-66. London.
- Freud S. (1964). “New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis”. Ed. J. Strachey, Trans. A. Strachey, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud: New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis and Other Works. Vol. XXII (1932-1936) (1964) 5-182. London.
- Goldsmith O. (1969). “An Essay on the Theatre; or, a Comparison between Laughing and Sentimental Comedy”. Ed. G. H. Nettleton & A. E. Case, British Dramatists from Dryden to Sheridan (1969) 751-753. Carbondale.
- Goldsmith O. (1993). She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of a Night. Ed. D. W. Lindsay, The Beggar’s Opera and Other Eighteenth-Century Plays (1993) 327-399. London.
- Hitchcook T. (1997). English Sexualities, 1700-1800. London 1997.
- Keeble N. H. (2002). The Restoration: England in the 1660s. Oxford 1961.
- Krutch J. W. (1961). Comedy and Conscience after the Restoration. New York 1961.
- Macfarlane A. (1993). Marriage and Love in England 1300-1840. Oxford 1993.
- Montgomery F. W. (1966). “The Challenge of Restoration Comedy”. Ed. J. Loftis, Restoration Drama: Modern Essays in Criticism (1966) 32-43. New York.
- Moody H. R. (1986). “The Meaning of Life and the Meaning of Old Age”. Ed. T. R. Cole & S. A. Gadow, What Does It Mean to Grow Old? Reflections from the Humanities (1986) 9-40. Durham.
- Moore W. (2009). “Love and Marriage in 18 th -Century Britain”. Historically Speaking 10/3 (2009) 8-10.
- Nettleton G. H. & Case A. E. (1969). “She Stoops to Conquer; or, the Mistakes of a Night”. Ed. G. H.
- Nettleton & A. E. Case, British Dramatists from Dryden to Sheridan (1969) 755-756. Carbondale.
- Quintana R. (1965). “Goldsmith’s Achievement as Dramatist”. University of Toronto Quarterly 34/2 (1965) 159-177.
- Schmidt R. N. (1975). Uncommon Common Sense: An Intellectual History and Literary Study of Sentimentalism, Oliver Goldsmith and She Stoops to Conquer within the Original British Liberalism of the Third Quarter of the Eighteenth Century. Unpublished Dissertation. University of California, California 1975.
- Semiday S. (2015). Mining for Goldsmith: Kate Hardcastle from She Stoops to Conquer. Unpublished MA Thesis. Regent University, London 2015.
- Shtaywi A. A. Q. (1994). Courtship and Marriage in Oliver Goldsmith’s Major Works. Unpublished Dissertation. Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma 1994.
- Simmons E. (1994). “Restoration and 18th -Century Drama”. Ed. Simmons A Guide to Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature: 1660-1789 (1994) 39-57. London.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture |
| Journal Section | Araştırma Makaleleri |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | June 30, 2018 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2018 Volume: 8 Issue: 1 |
| Adres: Akdeniz İnsani Bilimler Dergisi Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Edebiyat Fakültesi 07058 Kampüs, Antalya / TÜRKİYE | E-Posta: mjh@akdeniz.edu.tr |