She Stoops to Conquer

Act II of She Stoops to Conquer uses Tony Lumpkin's prank on Marlow and Hastings to depict how preconceived biases can hinder perception, particularly when it comes to The Instability of Social Class Identity. Goldsmith uses asides—dialogue spoken by the characters to themselves rather than to other characters—to convey the incorrect social expectations of Marlow, Hastings, and Mr. Hardcastle.

When Marlow and Hastings enter the Hardcastle house, believing it to be an inn, they are shocked by Mr. Hardcastle’s behavior. While his actions would not be unusual for an aristocratic gentleman welcoming a peer into his home, they appear bizarre and inappropriate for an innkeeper. When they enter the “inn,” Mr. Hastings greets them and attempts to engage the two young men in conversation, telling them a story about his service in the war. Marlow finds this oddly familiar and too casual for an innkeeper, remarking, “a very impudent fellow this! But he’s a character, and I’ll humor him a little“ (26). While Marlow is willing to engage the man he believes to be an innkeeper in conversation, he is continually surprised that Mr. Hardcastle will not leave them alone. He points out the misaligned class behavior when he notices, “my host seems to think it ill manners to leave me alone, and so he claps not only himself, but his old-fashioned wife, on my back. They talk of coming to sup with us too“ (32). While it would be normal to eat dinner at the home of a family friend, it is unusual to dine with the innkeeper at an inn.

These asides are ironic and expose The Instability of Social Class Identity, as Mr. Hardcastle actually is a gentleman. The only reason that his actions seem annoying or rude to Marlow is that his perception of social class has been manipulated by Tony Lumpkin. Particularly, when Mr. Hardcastle begins to discuss philosophy, Marlow dismisses the idea that working class people ought to talk about such topics, joking, “well, this is the first time I ever heard of an innkeeper’s philosophy“ (27). Mr. Hardcastle is actually an educated gentleman and really does know about philosophy and politics, but the play suggests that real wisdom will not be recognized unless it comes from an authoritative source—an aristocrat.

Mr. Hardcastle, similarly, finds Marlow and Hastings to be rude, as they are behaving in a way appropriate for the upper class towards a servant, and not towards a fellow gentleman. He is shocked when Marlow and Hastings demand that he make them some punch, try to change the dinner menu, and continually interrupt his stories, remarking to himself, “this is the most unaccountable kind of modesty I ever met with“ (25). The interactions between these characters indicate that proper behavior is not universal and that correct manners are dependent upon class and context. The polite way to interact with a servant is seen as very inappropriate towards a fellow gentleman. Through this encounter, Goldsmith suggests that the differences between the social classes are not always obvious, particularly when the characters’ expectations are biased by misleading information. This destabilizes the assumptions of inherent superiority or inferiority that class is based upon, subtly challenging the idea that there is anything truly different between an innkeeper and a gentleman other than their reputation.

The relationship between Constance Neville and Tony Lumpkin also hints at the way in which people can delude themselves and misread behavior because of their preconceived notions, evoking The Deceptive Nature of Appearances. In this case, however, it is not a misunderstanding of class dynamics that causes the confusion, but rather wishful thinking. Constance is pretending to be in love with Tony so that she can persuade Mrs. Hardcastle to give her the inheritance of jewels left to her by her family. Tony, however, hates Constance and does not try to hide his disdain for her. When Mrs. Hardcastle witnesses their fight, however, she does not perceive Tony’s behavior correctly, telling Hastings, “observe their little sports. They fall in and out ten times a day, as if they were man and wife already“ (39).

While neither Constance nor Tony truly like one another romantically, Mrs. Hasting's desire to have them get married so that she can keep the valuable jewels in her family distorts her perception. Constance deliberately plays into her incorrect assumptions, encouraging her belief that they will eventually get married. She tells Mrs. Hardcastle, “there's something generous in my cousin's manner. He falls out before faces to be forgiven in private” (39), suggesting that any apparent dislike between the two of them is only how it appears to an outsider, and that they are much better friends in private. However, in this case, the outward appearance of their relationship is the truth about it. It is only Mrs. Hardcastle's imagination and biased perspective that leads her to misinterpret their behavior towards each other.