Page 260 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

British Drama

Notes Sir Oliver agrees completely with Rowley’s opinion of the relative merits of his two nephews. To
Charles, he opines, “If Charles has done nothing false or mean, I shall compound for his
extravagance.” In marked contrast, Sir Oliver speaks of Joseph as “If he salutes me with a scrap of
morality in his mouth, I shall be sick directly.”
In Act III, scene III, Charles is presented to the audience in his native habitat, drinking, singing,
toasting Maria, and living up to his reputation as an uninhibited wastrel. He is boisterous and
carefree, in sharp contrast to his reserved and polished brother. This scene and the one that follows,
the auction of the pictures, substantiate Rowley’s favourable impression of Charles in spite of his
high living. Undoubtedly, he is wild and full of clever talk in the first place; however, he eventually
shows himself to be inherently decent. His bluntness and recklessness are anathema to the gossips,
but his generosity to his poor relation, Mr. Stanley, and appreciation of past help from Sir Oliver,
put him solidly on the side of common decency and honesty. The image of Charles has been
completed in this scene. He has survived the scandalous gossip to carry the day in his uncle’s eyes.
Sheridan’s decision to hold a major character out of play until it is half finished adds considerably
to the dramatic richness and accentuates the comic effect. It generates great interest in Charles’s
personality and, at the same time, is a device by which the various characters expose themselves by
means of their remarks about Charles.

Maria, Rowley and Sir Oliver all have faith in and understanding of Charles,
while Joseph, Lady Sneerwell, and the rest of the gossips express disgust at his profligacy. These
attitudes only serve to characterize themselves.

The testing of Charles provides one of the several emotional climaxes of the play. Interest
has built on Charles until it is natural that he should be the center of attention when he appears.
His most important scene, the auction scene, comes immediately after his introduction to the
audience. From this scene, the audience can come to understand his true skin. This snap yet
effective treatment is indeed managed with dexterity.

Joseph Surface
Young bachelor who pretends to be honorable gentleman but is really a double-dealing scoundrel.
He is the older brother of Charles Surface and is in love with the fortune Maria. He plots with Lady
Sneerwell to break up Charles and Maria. Meanwhile, he attempts to seduce the wife of Sir Peter
Teazle. Where Charles is direct and frank, Joseph is devious; where Charles is honest, Joseph is
deceitful; where Charles is generous to a fault, Joseph is mean to the point of vice, which he dresses
up as virtue. The professional hypocrisy and contrived tactics are relentlessly peeled off in the
famous screen scene. Two characters (Joseph and Maria) soon become three (with Sir Peter added),
the third overhearing the other two, and then four, two overhearing the other two. The action
proceeds through a series of exposed duplicities ending in a major revelation. The straightforward
Charles throws down the screen to expose Joseph’s perfidity and hypocrisy in the shape of the
abashed Lady Teazle. Joseph reminds us of his ingratiating with Lady Teazle by saying in Act II:
I wish I may not lose the heiress, through the scrape I have drawn myself into with the
wife; however, Charles’s imprudence and bad character are great points in my favour.
This anticipates the events of the scene to ensue. The servant announces Lady Teazle, saying she
always leaves her chair at the milliner’s in the next street, therefore planting the word milliner in
Joseph’s mind for future use. Joseph ordered the servant to set-up the screen to ensure privacy from
the prying eyes of a maiden lady across the street. The irony becomes so evident and plain when
Lady Teazle hides behind it.

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