she stoops to conquer

"She stoops to conquer", or, initially called "The mistakes of a night" it was written in 1772 by the Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith a hundred years after restoration of the monarchy in England, 1660. one important movement was getting powerful at that moment: Sentimental comedy which can be defined according to MERRIMAN, 2010: “ comedy that addresses itself to the spectator's love of goodness rather than to his sense of humor and emphasizes the moral aspects of its situations and the virtues of its characters", for example Mrs Hardcastle laments the fact that they never go to town, while her husband thinks the people of the town foolish. She says: "I hate such old-fashioned trumpery" And her husband replies:
"And I love it. I love everything that's old: old friends, old manners, old books. old wine"

In the play the autor tried to satirize and mock the manners and behaviours of upper-class english people to show this the writer uses diferent dramatic techniques and stylistic devices along the play. The play takes place in the old mansion Hardcastle, which is located in the countryside. A brief episode takes place at a nearby tavern, The Three Pigeons Alehous on one day. The play is divided in five acts which develops the Mr. Hardcastle's plans to marry his daughter Kate to coy Marlow, the Sir Charles Marlow's son. Mrs. Hardcastle wants her son Tony Lumpkin to marry her ward Constance Neville, who is in love with Marlow's friend Hastings. A misadventure occurs when Tony mislead Marlow and Hastings into believing that Mr. Hardcastle's home is an inn. By posing as a servant, Kate wins the heart of Marlow. Through various deceptions, Tony releases himself from his mother's and join Constance with Hastings.

The main characters are:
Hardcastle—A retired British gentleman who owns a country home. He loves everything old—old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine, etc.
Mrs. Dorothy Hardcastle—Married to Hardcastle. She loves the modern fashions of London, although she's never been. She tries to keep atop of the latest styles, trends and gossip.
Tony Lumpkin—Son of Mrs. Hardcastle and stepson to Mr. Hardcastle. Spoiled by his mother, he likes to spend his time drinking, gambling, and playing practical jokes. He is not yet of age, and so does not have control of his inheritance.
Miss Kate Hardcastle: Daughter of Mr. Hardcastle. Her father has arranged for her to marry young Charles Marlow.
Miss Constance Neville: Niece of Mrs. Hardcastle and best friend of Kate Hardcastle.
Mr. Charles Marlow: A well-traveled young man who is overcome with lack of confidence when speaking to women of his class, but is full of confidence when speaking to lower-class women.
Mr. George HastingsBest friend of Charles Marlow. He is secretly engaged to Constance Neville.
Sir Charles Marlow (father)—Father of Charles Marlow and long-time friend of Mr. Hardcastle.
THEMES.
1.- Social class: Is the central theme of the play, the society was divided in status
- Upper class and Middle class: They enojed of the best clothes, food, fashion avaible and liquor of the society.
-Lower class: they struggled to survive in a society in which life was not easy.
2.- Clothing: There were many differences in this topic, the upper class wore the finest crafted outfits, beauty was really important to women so much so they did hurt their bodies and internal organs because their corset was too tied tighly. Men shaved their heads and then wore wigs, they were much easier to manage than a real head of hair. Men were rarely seen without their wigs on if they owned one. Also many wore three point cocked hats. Three piece suits were definitely the most common attire for men. The pants were cut really high and didn’t go past the knees. Some even carried canes.
3.- Education: Schools were only for upper class because the could afford it, they constantly were opening and closing. it was normal for the times that students fees were charged to them to cover the books and materials of teachers, university was allowed to men only . Lower class was limited to get a job to survive.
4.- Employment: The men were largely responsible for going out to work and bringing an income into the home. Amongst the poor, however, women too sought employment. Generally though, women were kept busy with the housework. In our opinion the prologue is coherently well-organized because every single idea that the author gives are understandable and easy to get, we mean about mocks, accordding to the age this play described the characters giving us a clear idea about society status in which they were in. In many works of literature contrast between the different social classes is employed. In this play it is not so much the difference between classes which is explored, but rather the extremely different ways in which certain characters treat people according to which class they belong to. This creates many opportunities for humour as there are characters who are of a different class to that which they are believed to be (for example, Marlow believes Hardcastle to be an innkeeper and Kate to be a barmaid), those who are pretending to be of a different class (Kate), and those who are ambiguous as regards class (Tony is happier with 'commoners' in the pub than with his family but does not entirely fit in with either of the two social sets.)