Essay on Love and Hastings

Submitted By lizzbethrenee
Words: 687
Pages: 3

I read She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Godsmith. The Main characters are Mr. Hardcastle who has decided that his daughter Kate should marry the son of one of his old friends, Marlow. Mrs. Hardcastle, is an overbearing mother and she has decided that her son Tony and her niece, Constance, are going to marry; despite the fact that they both hate each other. Marlow is coming to a visit and he is also coming with a friend Hastings, Hastings happens to be Constance’s sweetheart. Everything goes array when Tony decides to play a joke on Marlow and Hastings, he tells them the Hardcastle house is an inn, and being lost and trusting they believed him. The two gentlemen are very rude to Mr. Hardcastle, because they believe him to be an innkeeper and therefore treat him as such. Hastings finds out the truth first but he and Constance decide to keep the truth from Marlow thinking it would just upset him. Hastings tells Marlow that it just so happens that Kate and Constance are also at the same inn. Hastings freaks out; he is terrified of woman from the upper class. He is fine with lower class women but he cannot say a complete sentence when a woman of rank enters the room. When he meets Kate he doesn’t look at her face or say anything intelligent, nonetheless, Kate likes him and decides she wants to find out his true character. She wears her plain clothes to trick him and it works, Marlow mistakes her for a servant and is completely different around her. He is open, loud, crass and he tries to kiss her. Mr. Hardcastle sees this and is outraged. He kicks him out of the house after he cannot handle Marlow’s insults anymore. Marlow realizes his mistake just after Mr. Hardcastle kicks him out. Marlow’s father soon arrives and everything is sorted out when the two gentlemen hide behind a screen and hear Marlow’s profession of love and confusion for themselves. The two lovers are happy and agree to be married. Meanwhile much scheming has been going on between Hastings, Constance and Tony. Hastings and Constance are planning on eloping but they need Constance’s dowry to do so. They all plot to steal Constance jewels which are being hold by Mrs. Hardcastle but that plan completely falls through when the jewels are accidentally sent back to Mrs. Hardcastle after they are stolen. It all works out though when Tony downright refuses to marry Constance and because he is “of age” they agree. In the end everyone is happy, except Mrs.