DOI: 10.13114/MJH.2018.405 Geliş Tarihi: 18.01.2018 Mediterranean Journal of Humanities Kabul Tarihi: 06.06.2018 mjh.akdeniz.edu.tr VIII/1 (2018) 417-429 A Witty Stratagem for Love and Marriage: Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of a Night Oliver Goldsmith’in She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of a Night Adlı Oyununda Aşk ve Evlilik İçin Zekice Bir Hile Kübra VURAL ÖZBEY 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 18th 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 Öz: 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. Anahtar sözcükler: Töre Komedisi, Duygusallık, Aşk, Evlilik, Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of the Night Arş. Gör., Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Edebiyat Fakültesi, İngiliz Dili ve Edebiyatı Bölümü, Ankara. [email protected] 418 Kübra VURAL ÖZBEY After the return of Charles II (1630-1685) to his kingdom in 1660, the theatres were reopened by the king, because the Puritan ideology of the Interregnum period banned the performances of plays in theatres from 1642 to 1660. As a public art form, theatres became important tools to subvert Puritan norms and restrictions since the plays with the support of the restored monarchy were primarily written to entertain the king and his court coming from France. Initially, the plays of earlier playwrights such as William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Ben Jonson (1572- 1637), Francis Beaumont (1584-1616) and John Fletcher (1579-1625) were performed immediately after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 (Krutch 1961, 14). Meanwhile, some new plays were written: John Tatham’s (1632-1664) The Rump (1660), Abraham Cowley’s (1618-1667) Cutter of Coleman Street (1661), John Wilson’s (1626-1696) The Cheats (1663), John Dryden’s (1631-1700) The Wild Gallant (1663), George Etherege’s (1636-1691) The Comical Revenge (1664) and Sir Robert Howard’s (1626-1698) The Committee (1665) were among the first examples of new plays that were staged in the theatres (Bywaters 2009, 259, Krutch 1961, 14-5). As the playwrights were supported by Charles II and his court, the plays enacted – mainly comedies to appeal to the taste of the king – were “characterized by [their] relation to social and political change” (Burns 1987, 1), reflecting the life style and fashion of the court and supporting the royalist cause. Therefore, these comedies were based upon the representation of the manners and behaviour of the upper classes and they provide precise details concerning life in London. The playwrights of the Restoration period condemned the parliament supporters, Puritan ideals and despised rural values, in their presentation of aristocratic life. In contrast to the conservative and religious propaganda of the previous government, the dramatists also had a cynical attitude towards the high values of love, marriage, religion and friendship (Montgomery 1966, 40). By addressing a closed community of upper classes, these comedies were welcome by their audience with their light-hearted criticism and witty style. Signifying that “the Puritan past was past” (Keeble 2002, 180), the reopening of theatres introduced the genre of the comedy of manners with its new type of characters whose features were shaped by the dynamics of the age. Indeed, the characters in these plays were celebrants of the new values of the court of Charles II, such as indulgence, luxury, freedom, sexual pleasure and a fashionable life. In line with the philosophical and political trends of the day – Hobbesianism, Epicureanism, skepticism and primitivism or naturalism – the libertine character appeared on the English stage and became a means of purging the previous restrictive ideology. Therefore, the libertine was portrayed as “a power-seeking animal [with] a defiant materialism, a scepticism directed at conventional structures of authority and an egoistic psychology” (Chernaik 1995, 41). Pursuing the pleasures of life by drinking, spending time in the company of friends in the popular places, coffee houses, theatres or parks, flirting or having sex, the libertine character represented the way of life among the members of the upper-class. In this radical opposition to conventional norms of morality and ethics, these libertines not only “rejected the orthodox medieval and Renaissance concept of universal order and of man’s place and purpose [but also] embraced the satisfaction of the sense in accordance with the ‘reasonable’ dictates of Nature – that is [. .] one’s ‘natural’ impulses and desires” (Underwood 1957, 13). Thus, the plays openly depicted sexual desire and the affairs of the libertines who attempted to achieve “a symbolic enactment of mastery” (Chernaik 1995, 5) through their intercourses. The libertines’ way of living was central to the plays of the time, and their depictions were contrasted with the characters who believed in the ideals of love and marriage. Moreover, the Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer, or the Mistakes of the Night 419 bad imitators of the libertines – country bumpkins or fop characters – dominated examples of comedy of manners as they lacked the wit of the libertines in their foolish efforts to follow libertine ideals-fashions. Additionally, the setting, as well as the themes of these plays was determined by the acts of the libertines. While the bedchambers, trendy meeting places – Hyde Park, St. James Park and Covent Garden – and drawing rooms were used as settings, the pursuit of money and sex, adultery, despising country manners and a skeptical attitude towards certain institutions were among the issues addressed through these comedies. As a case in point, George Etherege’s (1636-1692) The Comical Revenge; or, Love in a Tub (1664) is a prototype of the Restoration’s comedy of manners plays in which he realistically depicts London city life, represents the nature of libertinism and deals with the set themes of this type of comedy, such as pursuit of sex and money. Sir Frederick is the libertine figure of the play who finds pleasure in drinking, flirting and satisfying his sexual appetite. He is skeptical about love and marriage, and he pursues Mrs. Rich and attempts to deceive her to attain her wealth in his witty plots. On the other hand, he defends Tory idealism and even fights in a duel against the supporters of Cromwell. While Etherege partially pinpoints a heroic aspect for the libertine, his play contains the essential structure of the comedy of manners through its characters, themes and plot. In a similar fashion, William Wycherley (1641-1716), who himself suffered from the practices of the Interregnum period, creates a witty libertine figure, Horner, in his play entitled The Country Wife (1675). The libertine of the play goes after his sexual desires, has affairs with married women and epitomises the hedonistic way of life in his plot to appear to be impotent. His disrespect for the institution of marriage, his hypocrisy and pretense are elaborated in his portrait, and hence the play is based upon intrigues of sexuality, as well as the contradiction between appearence and reality.