Family Dynamics
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| A traditional 18th century English family |
In Evelina, as well as in today's society,
family relationships and affairs are very complex. Relationships between
siblings or parents, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, grandparents and
grandchildren, are all extremely complicated and they have really evolved since
the 18th century, and even since the 1980’s. One very prominent
relationship in this novel is that of Evelina and her guardian, Mr. Villars.
Mr.Villars, based on my reading of Evelina, is a very good father figure
and parent without being too protective or too disciplinary and strict. Evelina
and Madame Duval have quite a bizarre relationship, mostly based on the fact
that Evelina had only known her grandmother for a few months. Evelina appears
to be embarrassed and ashamed of her family in front of people whose opinions
she values the most. Captain Mirvan and his daughter Maria have quite a
strained relationship. He does not treat her with respect and he acts as if her
opinion means nothing and to him, she is near invisible. Lord Orville and his sister,
Lady Louisa Larpent, are two people with very contrasting personalities and
behaviours. He is calm and respectful, while she is loud and dramatic.
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| Evelina by Frances Burney |
The way in which people treated their family members and
close relations in the 18th century is very different from the way things are today. For example,
in our society, families are much more relaxed in each other’s company and some
parents do not receive the amount of respect that should be accorded to them.
In this novel, many different types of parenting are portrayed and family
dynamics are an important part of the plot-line. From Evelina, and to
this day, families are always arguing between themselves; there are always
disagreements and clashing opinions because those are the consequences when you live with people for part of your life. Sibling rivalry is also a very important part of family dynamics in today’s society. For the most part, our siblings and parents are always just there, so we don’t really take the time to appreciate them. Do you think the family dynamics and relationships in Evelina still apply today? Has anything changed since the 18th century?
I think it's interesting how you compare family relationships from the 18th century to the ones in today's society. I completely agree with you when you say that the respect parents or parent figures receive today is very different from Evelina's time. I think that in too many families today there are ungrateful and disrespectful children. Maybe this is due to the liberty that they are given compared to children from the 18th century. If we look at Evelina, she was brought up in a much more serious and strict era where embarrassing your family meant a lifetime of shame for the entire family. It seems that today’s society is much more forgiving in such situations. I also think it’s a hard to decide how sibling relationships have changed over time because we only discover that Evelina has a sibling near the end of the novel. However, this relationship she forms with her newly discovered brother seems awfully proper compared to the way siblings act today. Maybe this is just how things were or it is just because they are only starting to get acquainted. Nevertheless, there has clearly been some change in family relationships since the 18th century and family members seem to be much more open and free with one another in today’s more lenient society.
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