Author/Authors :
vural özbey, kübra hacettepe üniversitesi - edebiyat fakültesi - ingiliz dili ve edebiyatı bölümü, Ankara, turkey
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 metamorphosed 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.
NaturalLanguageKeyword :
Comedy of Manners , Sentimentalism , Love , Marriage , Oliver Goldsmith , She Stoops to Conquer , or the Mistakes of the Night
