The Conscious Lovers

Act III compares Lucinda and Phyllis, juxtaposing The Impact of Social Standing on Prospects of the lower and upper classes. Though Lucinda’s prospects, in terms of marriage and wealth, are grand, Phillis gets to enjoy romance, even without the promise of a wealthy, secure future. Lucinda asks Phillis why she is free to kiss Tom without first demanding the offer of an engagement: “But can’t you trust one another without such earnest down?” (353). Having sex outside of marriage—or even the implication that she has done so—is dangerous to Lucinda’s reputation, since her bridal worth will decrease if she is seen as no longer virginal. Thus, she sees the promise of marriage as a necessary guarantee prior to engaging in physical displays of affection. However, Phillis’s response plays on terms like “seal” and “deeds”—which for the upper class are linked to official contracts, while for the lower class are euphemisms for sexual activity. For Phillis, the social concern of ruined reputation is irrelevant, so sex becomes a declaration and guarantee of its own. Though Phillis lacks security, she gets to enjoy her affair with Tom more explicitly; meanwhile, Lucinda must insist that Myrtle cannot see her without an official proposal and is in danger of being married off to the horrible Cimberton.

Still, Phillis and Tom’s affair is differently complicated by their lack of wealth. They lament being oppressed by their position in society. In discussing their future, they dream about having their own home—something that their very rich employers could easily grant them: “It will be nothing for them to give us a little being of our own […] one acre, with Phillis, would be worth a whole country without her” (351). Even Tom’s grand romantic gesture of picking a small, poor life with Phillis over a life of access to Bevil Jr.’s resources is tainted by the suggestion that they could only get independence as a gift from their employers. Tom does not suggest that he and Phillis purchase a home, but hopes that Lucinda or Bevil Jr. will reward them thus for their services. Critical to Tom’s perspective is the contrast between what such a home represents to the play’s two echelons of society: While “one acre” is “worth a whole country” to the servants, it would only be “some small tenement out of [their employers’] large possessions” (351), emphasizing the disparity in wealth between the classes.

Finally, Act III addresses the misogyny inherent in arranged marriages, especially when would-be grooms are mercenary. When Cimberton meets Lucinda, he appraises her as though she were an animal or object that he was considering for purchase; her only value is the combination of her dowry and ability to bear children. Mrs. Sealand’s complicity implies that Cimberton—via his connection to the titled Sir Geoffry—is of a higher class, so he is condescending to marry Lucinda because of her family’s wealth. This transactional arrangement ignores Lucinda’s agency or wishes: Although throughout the appraisal, Lucinda protests, telling Cimberton: “Don’t you run me over thus, you strange unaccountable!” (356), Mrs. Sealand supports Cimberton in this act of erasure, though, telling Lucinda to stop talking because “he talks finely, he’s a scholar, he knows what you have” (356). The imagery of being “run over” shows the way Cimberton’s behavior removes Lucinda’s personhood from their future marriage.