The Conscious Lovers

Changing marriage dynamics of the 18th century led to a greater emphasis on romance and love in marriage, with different consequences across different socio-economic classes. The beginning of the Georgian period saw the rising influence on economic and social affairs of the merchant class—wealthy tradesmen who were neither nobility nor landowners. Alongside his lower- and upper-class characters, Steele portrays the prominent merchant elite via the Sealand family. Sir Bevil, Bevil Jr., Myrtle, and Cimberton are nobility by birth; Tom, Phillis, Humphrey, and Daniel are members of the lower classes. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Sealand, Indiana, and Lucinda exist somewhere in between, more ambiguously positioned in the hierarchy. Unlike the social elite, who had the most agency in marriage prospects, or the lower classes, whose prospects were hampered by poverty, the Sealand family must balance their desire for social mobility with their sense of the newfound worth.

When Sir Bevil meets with Sealand to discuss Lucinda and Bevil Jr.’s marriage, he notes: “Genealogy and descent are to be of some consideration in an affair of this sort,” distinguishing the upper and middle classes by adding: “Sir, I can’t help saying that what might injure a citizen’s credit may be no stain to a gentleman’s honor” (365). Sir Bevil’s implication is that an aristocrat like himself may not want to marry someone from a less noble family, since it would impact the family’s social standing. However, he points out that the members of the upper class are less easily damaged by socially unequal marriages than those in the comparatively new middle class—the former come from “an ancient house” (365), a phrase that suggests the durability of reputation and status, while the latter are imitating the manners and affect of their betters. In response, Sealand defensively quips that nobles are only pleasant “because you are generally bred up to be lazy, therefore, I warrant you, industry is dishonorable” (366), explicitly broaching the contrasting values of inherited wealth and earned income. The discussion reveals how the upper class, though controlling most social arrangements, could lose ground to the more industrious merchant class.

Scholars often note that marriage was consistently free to be based on love matches among the lower classes; despite lacking certain forms of socio-economic autonomy, members of these classes were also removed from the valuation and reputational concerns involved in arranged marriage. Tom and Phillis, for example, can carry out their affair without shame or secrecy, and Lucinda even expresses envy over their passionate kiss. However, while Tom and Phillis have fewer limitations on sexual self-expression, they are nevertheless dependent on their employers for prospects after marriage. Tom cannot picture owning a house with Phillis unless the Sealands or Bevils give them one: “It will be nothing for them to give us a little being of our own, some small tenement out of their large possessions” (351). Tom cannot support himself and Phillis outside of service, so he hopes for a reward for helping sort out the marriages of Lucinda, Indiana, Myrtle, and Bevil Jr.: “Consider, we must strike out some pretty livelihood for ourselves by closing their affairs” (351).