The Conscious Lovers

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1722

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Summary

Background

Act Summaries & Analyses

Dedication-Act I

Act II

Act III

Act IV

Act V-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Letters

A frequent trope of many Restoration and 18th-century works is the exchanging of letters, which often contain proof of scandal or innocence. In The Conscious Lovers, letters exchanged potentially inappropriately or illicitly between people who should not be communicating represent the dangers of secrecy and play into the theme of Honesty and Integrity in Relationships. When Bevil Jr. and Lucinda correspond secretly about their decision not to marry one another, Myrtle assumes that these letters contain the “scandal” of Lucinda and Bevil Jr.’s love. Myrtle is confused and upset by any private correspondence between his beloved Lucinda and another man, but he cannot address the issue with Lucinda. In response, Myrtle sends a letter of his own challenging Bevil Jr. to a duel.

The implication of Myrtle’s strong reaction to learning about this correspondence is that the letters—smuggled into Lucinda’s home via secrecy-promoting servants—symbolize a sexual penetration of a private space. This interpretation of hidden letters as sublimated sexual contact is common in modern scholarship about 18th-century literature. In Act IV, Scene 1, the play’s climactic moment, Bevil Jr. breaks the secrecy of the letters to reveal his and Lucinda’s innocence. The play ignores ideas of privacy here, privileging the restoration of the men’s friendship over concerns about intrusive monitoring of Lucinda’s inner life.

Indiana’s Bracelet

Indiana’s bracelet is a minor object in the play, but it symbolizes an important distinction between The Conscious Lovers and other comedies that play on similar devices. At the end of the play, Sealand notices Indiana’s bracelet and realizes that Indiana is his daughter. They are reunited, and Indiana receives the social elevation necessary to marry Bevil Jr. without conflict. Thus, the bracelet is a symbol of both Indiana’s heritage and her family’s social position. Sir Bevil is concerned that Bevil Jr. is too high-born to marry Sealand’s daughter—as a member of the aristocracy, Bevil Jr. would be marrying down into the merchant class, an issue that Cimberton and Myrtle, as Sir Geoffry, also discuss. The bracelet that reunites Indiana and Sealand confirms that Indiana is another Sealand daughter—not exactly the woman “of quality” that Humphrey and Bevil Jr. assumed she is.

The bracelet and subsequent reunion use a common dramaturgical technique in 17th- and 18th-century comedies, in which a reveal in the end of the play resolves concerns around marriage between classes. Typically, anxiety about a cross-class marriage builds throughout the play, culminating in the discovery that the lower-born member of the couple—typically the woman—is actually the long-lost daughter of a wealthy noble. This reveal eases class tension and resolves the play neatly with a socially equal marriage. Richard Steele modifies this trope by having the bracelet reveal Indiana’s wealth without confirming a noble birth. Such a shift reflects the cultural turn toward love as an important factor in marriage matches, alongside birth and wealth.

Mimicry

There are multiple instances of imitation in The Conscious Lovers, both on stage and off. The motif plays on the anxiety of identity and authenticity, especially when it comes to social standing. Tom acknowledges adopting the manners of upper-class gentlemen, specifically when he interacts with other servants and aristocrats. Tom’s impersonation of a gentleman is nuanced. On the one hand, this detail is intended to be comical, as the boisterous Tom makes for a poor nobleman: Tom’s impersonation of libertines from the prior Restoration period shows that this lifestyle is going out of fashion; Tom is catching on late to a past swagger. On the other hand, it also highlights the social concern that breeding and affect are performative and could be accessible to anyone—a fear that often permeates strictly hierarchical societies.

Later, Myrtle and Tom successfully disguise themselves as Bramble and Target. Here, the critique is of overly abstruse expertise; the ostensibly learned lawyers are mocked when Myrtle and Tom spew gobbledygook in imitation of legal jargon. Finally, Myrtle successfully impersonates Sir Geoffry; here, the disguise is not meant as critique—the joke instead is aimed at Cimberton, who cannot tell his uncle apart from a peer. The motif of performance thus also shows how outward behavior is not indicative of a person’s true self.