The Witlings and the Woman-Hater

by Burney, Fanny; Sabor, Peter; Sill, Geoffrey M.; Sill, Geoffrey M.

• ISBN13: 9781551113784
• ISBN10: 1551113783
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-09-01
• Publisher: Broadview Pr

Summary

This Broadview edition pairs two of Frances Burney's linked comedies. They both present the character of Lady Smatter, a "femme savante" whose lineage may be traced back to Molière; they both centre on the misfortunes of the "elle" figure, the dispossessed heiress and wife who appears frequently in Burney's fiction; and they both criticize a culture of misogyny that breeds suspicion and resentment. The Witlings, lighter and more comic, derives from late seventeenth-century conventions; The Woman-Hater, more melodramatic, both expresses and warns against the excessive sensibility of romanticism. Together, these two plays constitute a miniature history of English drama from the Restoration to the French Revolution and beyond. This edition contains a valuable selection of appendices, including: Burney's "Epilogue to Gerilda"; letters and diary entries; contemporary writings on comedy; and Burney's cast-list for The Woman-Hater.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	7	(1)
Short Titles	8	(1)
Introduction	9	(27)
A Brief Chronology	36	(4)
Frances Burney
A Note on the Text	40	(3)
The Witlings (1778--80)	43	(130)
The Woman-Hater (1800--02)	173	(118)
Appendix A: Burney's Earliest Theatrical Writing: Epilogue to Gerilda	291	(3)
Appendix B: Contemporary Letters and Diary Entries on The Witlings	294	(15)
Appendix C: Burney and Moliere	309	(7)
Appendix D: Contemporary Critical Essays on ``Laughing'' and Sentimental Comedy	316	(3)
Appendix E: Literary Allusions in The Witlings and The Woman-Hater	319	(3)
Appendix F: Burney's Cast-List for The Woman-Hater	322	(2)
Appendix G: Similarities between The Witlings, The Woman-Hater, and Burney's Novels	324	(3)
Select Bibliography	327