Evelina (1778), written by Frances Burney is a novel that deals with the character Evelina and her eventual marriage to Lord Orville. The novel is a quintessential for the development of novel writing especially for the Augustan age and female writers who employs epistolary format to share, communicate and express their personal space in writing. Burney uses epistles to project the communication, personal messages as well as her feminist stance in the society.
The novel opens with a letter send by Lady Howard to Mr. Villars where the letter demands a permission to let Evelina spend some time with her family. In the letter , one can observe the evidences of the novelist use of epistles to show the personal messages beings hared only through a series of letters. Mr. Villars also gives his consent to let her go to Howard Grove and he also mentions that Madame Duval is the grandmother of Evelina as well as Evelina’s mother pass away soon and her father Sir John Belmont refuses to acknowledge her. The personal information is only shared through letters and reflects the time and age of the late eighteenth century society.
The epistle also shows the feminist stance in the novel. Through the letters, one can assess the position of a woman in the society. Burney is trying to highlight the social status of a woman like Evelina whose dignity and respect is based on her identity. The concern that Mr. Villars shows to let Evelina stay with her family members shows the patriarchal society that can disparage Evelina’s reputation. She adopts a name “Anville” to disguise her identity to visit Howard Grove so that the public will not scrutinize her for her past and her father’s abandonment.
The most important aspect of the epistolary novel is the gazebinto the feminine experiences of a woman. As the literary writings are heavily dominated by man, Burney has presented a female experiences in the society especially Evelina’s adventure at London , visiting the theatre and her experiences with man. She observes Lord Orville to be charming , polite and engaging with conversations rather than Mr. Lowel and she finds Sir Clement to be immoral and disrespectful. Evelina also experiences the different personalities of a woman including her stay with Branghton family and Madame Duval who is continuously trying to capture Evelina for herself as noticed by Mrs. Mirvan.
The epistle also clearly projects the range of different plots and twist to the story. When Evelina encountered Mr. Macartney, she rescues him from committing suicide and she saves him. It is later revealed when he tells Evelina that Sir John Belmont is actually his father and they are siblings. Evelina thinks that the girl he falla in love is his own sister. It opens up gradually later as a series of stories connecting the complexities of social relationships where Mr. Villars is given Evelina to be raised while Caroline maid , Dame Green gives her daughter to Sir John Belmont during their infant so that she can inherit the property. This give a sense of relief to Evelina later that he can marry Miss Belmont since she is not their sister.
As an epistolary novel, Mr. Villars also writes numerous letters to Evelina and the most significant part is the exposure of Lord Orville feelings toward Evelina. Mr. Villar writes in a series of letters to her and it is revealed later that Lord Orville proposes to her out of jealousy. Evelina accepts his love for her and the novel ends with their soon to be marriage , visitation to Mr. Villar and the eventual reconciliation of Evelina’s family.
