2. Embarrassment seems a key factor in some of the early scenes of Evelina. She is embarrassed by her own behavior and by that of her friends. What are the causes and elements of that embarrassment? How is embarrassment related to "The History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World"? (And what does the word "world" mean in the sub-title?)
3. Stereotypes and originals. "Original" was an eighteenth-century term for a uniquely eccentric character. Many of Burney's characters are stereotyped eighteenth-century characters; some may be originals. What is the nature of stereotyping, social deviance, and eccentricity in Burney's characters? What is the relationship between the judgments of the reader and the judgment of various characters (including Evelina herself)? What (if anything) does the handling of characters suggest about Burney's view of human nature?
4. "A Young Lady's Entrance into the World" may have been the only part of a woman's life worth writing fiction about in the eighteenth century. (Between Defoe's novels and Austen's Persuasion, few novels have heroines older than their early twenties.) What light does Evelina shed on this fact, particularly by its depiction of older women? What does it suggest or imply about the role of women in the eighteenth century?
5. Evelina takes the form of letters written to a father-figure. It is a quest for acknowledgment by the heroine's father. It begins with a poem written by the real author to her real father. In what sense is patriarchy the real villain of the novel? How does the novel define it? How does Evelina encounter it? What are the forms that it takes? What is the relationship of finding a father to finding a husband? Does Evelina succeed in escaping or even modifying the patriarchy around her?
6. In Mr. Macartney, Evelina finds a masculine doppelgänger. In what ways is his role similar or complimentary to that of Evelina? Is his inclusion in the novel useful to the thematic and structural development of the novel, or does it seem an unnecessary luxury?
7. Howard Grove--London (Mayfair)--Howard Grove--London (Holborn)--Berry Hill--Bristol. What is the relationship between successive places in Evelina and its theme or structure?
8. Evelina provides clear groupings of class: Rural aristocracy, urban aristocracy, urban bourgeoisie. Does Fanny Burney provide an analysis of these classes? Does the novel seem to represent (or attack) the interests and attitudes of any particular class? What is the relationship of the treatment of class to the treatment of manners?
9. At times Burney seems to rival Smollett in her representation of the physical grotesque, but at the same time she approaches Richardson in her concern for the details of social behavior and for their moral implications? What is the relationship between these two elements? What is the function of the grotesque in the novel?
10. There are several levels of plot in Evelina: (1) the story of Evelina's appearance in society, her various adjustments in behavior and attitude, and her status as the object of various suitors; (2) the story of her birth, her mother's death, her rejection by her father, and her efforts to recover her position as daughter. What is the relationship between these levels of plot? What is the function of the daughter-plot in the novel? Is its inclusion necessary or a flaw?
11. The plot of Evelina is partly dependent on various misunderstandings and misinformation. Some of these may be innocent, some not. What, exactly, is being misunderstood? How important are such misunderstandings to the meaning of the novel? Are they merely devices of plot?
12. Evelina was carefully revised before its anonymous publication. Burney's spontaneous style is exemplified by the selection from her diary ("Reader-Response at Sir Joshua's," to be distributed in class). In addition to comparing the style, look at Burney's character and behavior both as a figure in the scene she describes and as the person writing about it. Does the scene resemble the techniques and concerns of Evelina? [In the passage, written in a journal Burney sent to her sister Susan, she is particularly concerned about the recent publication of a pamphlet that either discusses Evelina or reveals her as its author. "Sir Joshua" in the passage is, of course, Sir Joshua Reynolds, the great portrait painter.]