Section B: NON - AFRICAN DRAMA OLIVER GOLDSMITH - SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER How do Young Marlow and Hastings view Tony Lumpkin in the play?

Answer Details

In Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer, Young Marlow and Hastings, the two young gentlemen travellers, regard Tony Lumpkin chiefly as a boorish country lout and, in their ignorance, as a helpful stranger, but their view of him is comically mistaken, for it is Tony who deceives and manipulates them throughout.

They see him as a rude country fellow. When Marlow and Hastings meet Tony at the Three Pigeons alehouse, they take him to be an ill-mannered, ignorant rustic. Tony's coarse manners, his fondness for drink and low company, and his broad country speech confirm their impression of him as an uncultivated bumpkin beneath their notice as gentlemen.

They see him as an obliging informant. At the same time, because Tony directs them on their way, they regard him as a helpful, if rough, guide. They trust his information and follow his directions to what they believe is an inn. In this they seriously underestimate him, for the directions are a deliberate trick: Tony sends them not to an inn but to Mr Hardcastle's private house, setting the whole comedy of errors in motion.

Their view is shown to be mistaken. The travellers' condescension blinds them to Tony's cunning. Far from being a mere fool, Tony is a sharp, mischievous schemer who enjoys making others the butt of his jokes. Hastings later comes to depend on Tony as an ally, for Tony helps him in his elopement with Constance Neville by securing the jewels and by carrying out the night-drive deception on Mrs Hardcastle. Thus their initial contempt gives way, at least for Hastings, to a working alliance.

Significance. The gap between how Marlow and Hastings view Tony and what he really is drives the plot and much of the humour. Their gentlemanly pride makes them easy victims of the very rustic they despise, illustrating the play's theme that appearances deceive and that cleverness is not the monopoly of the well-bred.

Conclusion. Marlow and Hastings view Tony Lumpkin as a rough, ignorant country lout and a convenient guide, but this dismissive view is exactly what allows Tony to outwit them. Goldsmith uses their misjudgement to launch the mistakes of the night and to expose the folly of judging by appearances.