9/8
In both Cecelia and Evelina Burney relies heavily
on a set of oppositions concerning manners and
class that can be expressed as:

lower class/upper class
common/noble
rude/refined
impertinent/mannerly

A large part of the cultural criticism and the
comedy that Burney is engaged in comes from the
fact that Evelina and Cecelia often realize that
these oppositions never line up the way that it
seems they ought to.

But additionally an opposition that we haven't
really talked about yet is the opposition of
country/city which is what ultimately breaks down
this system in both novels (well, at least so far
in Cecelia). Because they are both moving from the
country into the city, their status as outsiders
allows both Evelina and Cecelia to evaluate and
re-create this system as they try to become a part
of it.

George