“She Stoops to Conquer” is a Comedy of Intrigues

Answer

“She Stoops to Conquer” is a comedy of intrigues,” Discuss.

”She Stoops to Conquer” (1771) is a famous comedy by Oliver Goldsmith (1728 – 1774). Another name for the comedy of intrigue is the comedy of the situation. This is a fantastic comedy of intrigues. After scanning the play, we get sundry features of comedy of intrigues, which are discussed below:

The Definition of Comedy of Intrigue: Comedy of intrigue is a type of comedy in which wicked characters, complicated conspiracy, satirical situations, farcical humour, dual identity of character, and dramatic irony are correctly discussed.

Wicked Characters: Wicked characters are the fundamental feature of a comedy of intrigue. It is generally understood that wicked characters will create farcical situations. In the play, we get sundry, wicked characters. Without the hero, Charles Marlow, almost all the characters are wicked. The best example of a wicked character is Tony Lumpkin.One of his wicked thoughts:

It’s a damn’d long, dark, boggy, dirty, dangerous way. Stingo, tell the gentlemen the way to Mr. Hardcastle’s!

Complicated Conspiracy: Complicated conspiracy is also a feature of a comedy of intrigue. The plots will be developed by creating complicated conspiracy by its characters. In the play, we get a lot of conspiracies against each other. For example, Tony plots against his mother more than one time. Mrs. Hardcastle and Mr. Hardcastle plot against Tony. They do not inform his legal age for money from Tony’s real father, Lumpkin.

Satirical Situations: The writer of the play satires upper-class people in the sense of advancement. For example, we get the description of a satirical point in the character of Mrs. Hardcastle. When Marlow comes to Hardcastle’s house from London, she wants to know about London fashions. She is constantly updated on the latest styles, dresses, and haircuts. He reads a magazine named Scandalous Magazines for updates. Besides, Marlow is ridiculed mildly during Kate Hardcastle’s disguise. Because he cannot identify Kate, he tries to kiss her. Even though he cannot usually talk with ladies. Kate mocks Marlow in the following manner:

She that you addressed as the mild, modest, sentimental man of gravity, and the bold, forward, agreeable Rattle of the ladies’ club.

Farcical Humour: Farcical humour is one of the significant features of a comedy of intrigue. Without farcical humour, a comedy of intrigue is impossible. In the play, we get sundry farcical humours. For example, Tony’s misdirection of Marlow and his friend Hastings for the house of Mr. Hardcastle. Tony steals jewels of Neville from his mother’s almirah to help elope Neville and Hastings. 

Don’t be a fool. If she gives you the garnets, take what you can get. The jewels are your own already. I have stolen them out of her bureau, and she does not know it.

After stealing, Tony gives the jewel to Hastings, and Hastings keeps the jewel to Marlow for safety. Marlow then keeps the jewel to Mrs. Hardcastle for safety. This type of situation makes the audience laugh a lot.

Dual Identities: Dual identity is also a feature of a comedy of intrigue. In the play, we get sundry characters of dual identities. Marlow has a dual identity as a strange type of man with upper-class women and shy with ordinary women. Kate Hardcastle has a dual identity as a barmaid and a juicy lady. Kate Hardcastle expresses that:

But I vow I’m disposing of the husband before I have secured the lover!

Tony and Neville also have dual identities. They are honest by nature and pretentious, as they do not know anything about Neville’s jewel after stealing it from the almirah in front of Mrs Hardcastle.

To sum up, from the above discussion, we may assert that “She Stoops to Conquer” is a fantastic comedy of intrigue. The writer discusses all the features of a comedy of intrigue purely in the play.