A Critical Study of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal* HarοId Leung-k Departmen t of Eng1ish College of Liberal Arts I. INTRODUCfION The School for Scandal is generally considered as Sheridan's masterful play in succession of the well-receiveζplay The Rival. lronical旬， the play excels in its blend of sentimenta1ism with the attack on sentimentalism. Some regard it as a revolt against the dominant sentimental comedy of Sheridan's t加 e. 1 Historical­ ly, comedy of manners preced~d sentimental comedy. Sheridan's success 1ies in his ski1lful combination of elements from both traditions. As a dramatist, Sheridan has created virtual1y all that a come'dy of intense qualities could provide: amusing characters, funny intrigues, jaunty and ridiculous situations, witty dialogue, incisive social satire, deft commentary on human foibles and penetrating insight of human relationship. Sheridan's characters follow their comic bents more consistently than abruptly. More laughter and wit than surprising episodes are poured into the play. He never lets up unti1 he has wrung the last drop of laughter frbm every situation possible. These all add up to account for Sheridan's early success (roughly at the age of 25). The School For Scandal is a marvelous a訂ay of comic characters of a highly “civ立泣叫， urbane" society of which the playwright plays an active role. It stirs uproar and wins admiration. It is so . much a caricature of his own time and society. In view of the interrelationship between Sheridan's comic art, 1iterary mien, his time and social climate, this paper is an attempt to deal with the play's cnaracterization with reference to *The author is very grateful to Professor Marion E. Hawkins of the University o f. Wis∞ nsin-River Falls for her va1uable comments and suggestions to the preliminary draft of this paper. -441 一 趴1l1et卸 of National Taiwan Nonnal University Vol. XXVIl Sheridan's own persona1ity. 11. BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1 751-1816) was a man of two major careers-the theatre and politics. Sheridan's life formed a fascinating history-acting and reacting as an outstanding playwright, a parliamentarian, a theatre manager of Drury Lane Theatre, a bold and romantic lover (suitor). Despite his briIliant successes in the fields of theatre and politics, a passio'n for 1iving expensively and . spiritedly in the fashionable society of London brought him domestic unhap­ piness and harassing poverty. His last years were wretched, but his funeral and burial in Westminster Abbey were splendid. Just how much .5heridan's ancestry contributed to his literary and 01叫 orica1 talents is difficu1t to determine. Born in Dub1in, 1751 , the Anglo-Irish drarnatist had a paternal grandfather who was a biographer of Jonathan Swift. The tradition of the Sheridan family carried significance in that it ref1ects the social status and career development of the family. In addition to being a biographer of J onathan Swift, his grandfather, Thomas Sheridan, Doctor of Divinity, was a schoolmaster. He was lacking in , discretion (or tact) and thus sacrificed opportunities for preferment for the sake of a quip. Poor, hag-ridden, he died a pauper. Richard Brinsley's father, Thomas Sheridan, was an actor, theatre mànager, and teacher of elocution, having considerable success in Dublin and England. His mother, Frances, was a prominent author before she was twenty-on~. Miss Sidney Bidulph, one of her works, was a famous novel in her daY. Thomas Sheridan became also an educator and .1ecturer, putting forth the merits of oratory.and rhetoric as an antidote to cure immorality, ignorance, and bad taste. Despite all these noble ventures, the family was forced to move to France 扭 1754 to es個 pe his debts. However, Richard Brinsley Sheridan had a fairly good education at Harrow, a fashionable pub1ic school ne缸 London. Although he was not an outstanding student, he was a popular one who quickly learned whatever knowledge he needed ，的“shed light on conduct and manners in social life. 叫 During his Harrow years, he produced a dramatic sketch based on Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield, revealing his early skí1l at witty dialogue. -442 一一 A Critical Study of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal* Richard Sheridan started witl: writing lampoons, and with a friend composed a bur1esque opera, Jupiter. In 1771 (aged 20) the Sheridans moved to Bath. (lts effect on Sheridan's dramatic career is to be e1aborated 泊 the fo l1owing section.) Bath lay to a considerable degree beneath everything Sheridan wrote. Notice that The Rivals was set there; The School for Scandal was set in London with a “sustained flavor of the life of Bath" in its most interesting scenes. Three plays-al1 in 1775-marked Sheridan's entry into the theatrica1 wor1d. They were The Rivals, St. Patrick's Day, and The Duenne. The Rfvals had to be rewritten in order for Sheridan to be successfully launched into a theatrical career at the age of twenty-four. St. Patrick's Day was a “potboiler." The Duenne wàs an adaptation of old material. His A Trip to Scarborough in 1777 was a reworking of The Relapse by Sir John Vanbrugh. The School for Scandal, in the same year,“put on the stage. .. the psychology of the overtrained wor1d of fashion. 吋 His last play, The 0戶itic (1 779) was a satire on the Georgian stage. Pizarro, Sheridan's play of tragedy, was produced in 1799. He also revised The Stranger, a play by the German writer August von Kotzebue. In 1776, Sheridan decided to buy, with the aid of his father-in-1aw and a friend, a share in the' Drury Lane Theatre owned by David Garrick, the actor-manager-playwright. For some thirty-odd years from 1776, Sheridan was a part-time theatre manager. However, he went into politics in 1780 when he was e1ected to Par1iament to represent the town .of Stafford. He was a strong supporter of the Whig Party until the end of his political career in 1812. Sheridan a1so was often heard in defense of the American colonies, for which Congress reportedly tried to make him a gift of twenty tholisand pounds, which he refused.4 His wit and charm earned him many friends in 1ρndon society. Samuel Johnson we1comed him 詛 to his libera1 cIub, saying that the man who had “written the two best comedies of his age is sure1y a considerable man. 吋 Sheridan tried to carry on paral1el careers, but he neglected each. His aristocratic colleagues never quite fully accepted him because they thought of him essentially as a dramatist, not a “gentlemen." After a11, he was not of nob1e birth. During his political career, his theatre, the Drury Lane, which had been declared an unsafe structure 扭 1791 ， had to be remode1ed at great cost. In 1809, ~t burned to the grou -443 一 Bulletin of National Taiwan Nonnal University Vol. XXVIl years later, apparent1y neglected by friends. In all, his political career lasted about thirty-two years; and his career as a dramatist for about seven or eight. Never­ theless, he is remembered better asa dramatist, f10t a statesman. Sheridan's own life was chaotic. He drank too much, courted too many women, hastened to remarry. Alcohol, women,“taste," extravagartce and “ quality of 1ife," al1 these made Sheridan himself a goodspokesman of his time and the subject matter of'his play The School for Scandal. In one sense, Sheridan is labeled as a typical “ romantic prodigal," intelligent, eloquent, quixotic, and playful. llI. SOCIAL MILIEU Sheridan's time was an age of conversation, fashíon, costume, color and gossìp. The School for Scandal reflects faithfully the social temper-the tastes, customs, and morals of the modish society of its age in which, Alvin Redmen notes,“therich lived in magnificentstyle and dressed. in ermine, silks, satins, and brocades. exquisitely embroidered with gold or silver thread. .也e gent1emen vied with their ladies in the fantastic display of ostentatious fashion. ; . manners were rigid and morals were lax. "6 The socíety was elaborate and artificíal. Small talk,. scandalizing, drinking, and gamb1ing were more important than occupation .with the world of trade, the church, or the 訂ts. Bath-‘'The Sanctuary for Neutral Scandal" 一 is the backdrop of The School for Scandal. For good reasons, Bath is considered as a unique place-the hub of English social life. ‘'The place of. fountains" was fJIst made known by Samuel Foote's The Maid 01 Bath. Even Horace Walpole frequented the place out of admiration and perhaps, vogue. Apart from the pomp, popularity andprominence of the place, it is most notable of all the places that Sheridan finds valuable inspiration and revelation for his plays, including Th e School for Scandal. Sheridan's hectic romance, though its price is “fairly" de缸， starts bravely at Bath, and makes a name for himself for his elopement to France and two dueIs. To Sheridan, the enchantress ìs the sparkling singer of ballads, Elízabeth Ann Linley, who lends her aid to her'“ Roman Father" in his attic Entertainment. Because of David Garrick's prologue, Elizabeth Ann Linley gets acquainted with the Sheridans. She pours out her heart to the Sheridan sisters, Lissy and Bes呵， -444 一 A Critical Study of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal* and thus, Richard Brinsley Sheridan. The courtship consists of love letters, secret meetings, recriminations and disapproving parents, forming a very so1id basis of a winning corr..edy. Like many good resorts for lovers and places for social intercourse, Bath's Pump Room is “perenially" crowded, like a Welsh fair or an lndian bazaar. Bath is fi11ed with a gay crowd.