In the following excerpt, Straub examines Burney's portrayal of female maturity in Evelina and finds that her treatment of independent, mature women depicts two opposing female fates: the idealization of romantic love as the only acceptable feminine goal versus negative eighteenth-century ideological assumptions about female maturity.
In the following essay, Fizer investigates Burney's scrutiny of paternity in Evelina, maintaining that the novel presents a crisis of the father figure because of the numerous paternal models it portrays.
In the following essay, Campbell states that Evelina includes a “model of reading” similar to conduct literature in its concern with propriety, which is intended to instruct Burney's critics on how to read her work. Campbell further evaluates the way in which the male characters in the novel “read” Evelina, and render female characters into “texts” by objectifying them.
In the following essay, originally published in 1981, Newton demonstrates the way in which Evelina's world is ruled by the imposition of men on women, arguing that male assault and control is the central expression of power in Evelina. Furthermore, Newton maintains that the novel endorses a gentlemen-run patriarchy, while at the same time fantasizing about female power.
In the following essay, Dykstal's reading of Evelina is informed by Jürgen Habermas's analysis of the role of the bourgeoisie in early capitalist Europe. According to Dykstal, Evelina presents Burney's hope that the fictional culture she presented would encourage independence and cultural literacy, both of which are necessary in Habermas's view for the bourgeoisie to challenge the dominance of the aristocracy.
In the following essay on Frances Burney's Evelina, Tucker discusses issues the story raises concerning intellectual property rights and personal identity.
In the following essay, Thompson offers a re-examination of the relationship between Evelina's literary background and the feminist aspects of the novel. Thompson maintains that Evelina must mediate between two distinct publics: that which is aroused by her as a spectacle, and that which is summoned by her literary self.
In the following essay, Severance proposes a psychoanalytical approach to Evelina that focuses on political rather than individual psychology. From this standpoint, Severance examines the relationship of the theme and structure of Evelina to the kingship of George III and his evolution from a symbol of illegitimate power to an impotent emblem of national unity.
In the following essay, Staves challenges those critics who find Evelina trivial and asserts that the anxiety felt by the main characters is quite real and is often induced by violence.
In the following essay, Cutting-Gray studies the significance of Evelina's journal and assesses her “calculated innocence and concealed experience.” The critic concludes that Evelina's writing is an effort to portray herself as “an entity,” but this version of herself is in fact a narrowly-defined product of the patriarchal code.
In the following essay, Olshin contends that Evelina's “obscure birth,” not her ignorance and inexperience, is the driving force of the novel. The critic also faults Burney for failing to move past Evelina's search for a societal identity into deeper emotional territory.
