<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The paper traces the intertextual echoes of Frances Burney’s debut novel, <italic>Evelina</italic>, in <italic>The Belle’s Stratagem</italic>, a play by Burney’s contemporary Hannah Cowley. The latter was certainly an avid admirer of Burney. In one of her poems she pays tribute to the novelist and praises her ability to achieve uncommon subtlety in the depiction of characters in her writing: “What pen but Burney’s …/… draws from nature with a skill so true” (Escott 2012: 38). The paper, however, argues that the connection between the writers and their literary productions goes much further than the obeisance paid to Burney in Cowley’s admiring verses. The congruence between the plots of <italic>Evelina</italic> and <italic>The Belle’s Stratagem</italic>, and, in some instances, the very wording used in the two texts, poses immediate questions about its significance in Cowley’s popular play (which was first produced in 1780, two years after the publication of Burney’s debut). The conclusions suggest that Cowley deliberately drew Burney’s novel into a discussion on viable models of femininity and matrimony in contemporary society. But they also point to a wider phenomenon, namely, the extent to which the relationship between the eighteenth-century theatre and novel was reciprocal. While several recent studies discuss the influence of the theatre on the novel, little has been said on the importance of the novel for the development of the contemporary drama. This new reading of Cowley’s <italic>The Belle’s Stratagem</italic> as a response to Burney’s <italic>Evelina</italic> shows the immediacy with which a literary dialogue could be opened by authors and appreciated by audiences on the vibrant eighteenth-century cultural scene.</p></abstract>

The paper traces the intertextual echoes of Frances Burney’s debut novel, Evelina, in The Belle’s Stratagem, a play by Burney’s contemporary Hannah Cowley. The latter was certainly an avid admirer of Burney. In one of her poems she pays tribute to the novelist and praises her ability to achieve uncommon subtlety in the depiction of characters in her writing: “What pen but Burney’s …/… draws from nature with a skill so true” (Escott 2012: 38). The paper, however, argues that the connection between the writers and their literary productions goes much further than the obeisance paid to Burney in Cowley’s admiring verses. The congruence between the plots of Evelina and The Belle’s Stratagem, and, in some instances, the very wording used in the two texts, poses immediate questions about its significance in Cowley’s popular play (which was first produced in 1780, two years after the publication of Burney’s debut). The conclusions suggest that Cowley deliberately drew Burney’s novel into a discussion on viable models of femininity and matrimony in contemporary society. But they also point to a wider phenomenon, namely, the extent to which the relationship between the eighteenth-century theatre and novel was reciprocal. While several recent studies discuss the influence of the theatre on the novel, little has been said on the importance of the novel for the development of the contemporary drama. This new reading of Cowley’s The Belle’s Stratagem as a response to Burney’s Evelina shows the immediacy with which a literary dialogue could be opened by authors and appreciated by audiences on the vibrant eighteenth-century cultural scene.

“The Darts to Wound With Endless Love!” on Hannah Cowley’s Response to Frances Burney’s <italic>Evelina</italic>

Department of the History of British Literature and Culture, Institute of English Studies

Studia Anglica Posnaniensia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

“The Darts to Wound With Endless Love!” on Hannah Cowley’s Response to Frances Burney’s 

The paper traces the intertextual echoes of Frances Burney’s debut novel, Evelina, in The Belle’s Stratagem, a play by Burney’s contemporary Hannah Cowley. The...

“The Darts to Wound With Endless Love!” on Hannah Cowley’s Response to Frances Burney’s Evelina

Published Online: Jul 30, 2020

Page range: 43 - 57

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/stap-2019-0003

Keywords
Eighteenth-century novel, eighteenth-century drama, women writers, Frances Burney, Hannah Cowley

© 2019 Anna Paluchowska-Messing, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

“The Darts to Wound With Endless Love!” on Hannah Cowley’s Response to Frances Burney’s Evelina

Published Online: Jul 30, 2020

Page range: 43 - 57

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/stap-2019-0003

KeywordsEighteenth-century novel, eighteenth-century drama, women writers, Frances Burney, Hannah Cowley

© 2019 Anna Paluchowska-Messing, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Eighteenth-century novel, eighteenth-century drama, women writers, Frances Burney, Hannah Cowley