Illustration of Kate Hardcastle in high society attire on the left, and dressed as a barmaid on the right

She Stoops to Conquer

by Oliver Goldsmith

Start Free Trial

Student Question

Analyze the following quotation from She Stoops to Conquer.

Marlowe (Aside): This simplicity bewitches me, so that if I stay I'm undone. I must make one bold effort, and leave her. (to her) Your partiality in my favor, my dear, touches me most sensibly, and were I to live for myself alone, I could easily fix my choice. But I owe too much to the opinion of the world, too much to the authority of a father, so that-I can scarcely speak it--it affects me. Farewell.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

This quote comes from Act IV and is said by the character Marlow to Kate, the character of Miss Hardcastle, whilst she is in her disguise of a servingwoman. This is particularly significant for a number of reasons. Firstly, it shows the way in which Marlow is attracted to Kate as a servingwoman, and secondly it shows that in spite of that attraction and his own feelings towards her, he does the noble thing and refuses her, when, based on his actions earlier on in the play, the audience at least half expects him to take advantage of Kate and sleep with her. This quote therefore signals an important change in Marlow as a character, and in particular the way in which both the audience and Kate come to think of him. Note how this is shown in what Kate says after Marlow delivers this speech and leaves the room, fighting his desire for her:

I never knew half his merit till now. He shall not go, if I have power or art to detain him.

Having used her disguise to learn more about the true character of her potential suitor, Kate has decided that this generosity and determination to do what is right rather than what he wants to do shows significant strength of character and goodness, and this is something that attracts her, and helps her to realise his worth as an individual. She decides that he is definitely somebody she could be married to and share her life with, and determines to use all of her arts to gain him.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Analyze the following quotation from She Stoops to Conquer.

Marlowe (Aside): This simplicity bewitches me, so that if I stay I'm undone. I must make one bold effort, and leave her. (to her) Your partiality in my favor, my dear, touches me most sensibly, and were I to live for myself alone, I could easily fix my choice. But I owe too much to the opinion of the world, too much to the authority of a father, so that-I can scarcely speak it-it affects me. Farewell.

This quotation spoken by main character Charles Marlow in She Stoops to Conquer occurs in Act 4, when Marlow is still confused as to who is the sweet barmaid for which he is falling in love (or lust?) so quickly without knowing that she is actually his soon-to-be fiancee, the very rich Miss Hardcastle "stooping" to conquer his heart.

As we know, Marlow has a fascination with simple (lower-socially speaking) women. He feels comfortable in their presence and drawn to them immensely.

This simplicity bewitches me, so that if I stay I'm undone. I must make one bold effort, and leave her.

Here he is acknowledging his weakness, and he also owns up to the fact that he if he remains in her presence for too long, he will fall for her or flirt. He needs to move on. Especially after he openly declares that he would do something about it if he had a choice.

Your partiality in my favor, my dear, touches me most sensibly, and were I to live for myself alone, I could easily fix my choice

Basically here he is saying that the fact that she likes him floors him, but if he were not already promised to someone else he would return the favor.

This fascinates Miss Hardcastle, for she sees that Marlow's heart is capable of humility and also of faithfulness. She sees that Marlow is owning up to his responsibility to not fail her father in his promise to marry her the proper way.

But I owe too much to the opinion of the world, too much to the authority of a father, so that-I can scarcely speak it-it affects me.

See how intensely she affects him but how, in contrast, he battles his weakness and even leaves the place because even he cannot explain how much he respect what this father expects of him as a gentleman.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Last Updated on