Captain Mirvan's Masculinity In Lord Orville

Lord Orville proves himself to be the opposite of Sir Clement. However, although Orville has masculinity, he also possesses a feminine delicacy which makes a range of questions and responses to his breeding. His decline in actions calls into question his superiority as a true gentleman. Burney feminizes Lord Orville with traits such as sensitivity and compassion. These traits draw a contrast with Captain Mirvan’s masculinity. Captain Mirvan’s traits are excessive and over exaggerated with solid male qualities of being loud, impatient, and rough. These male traits are established by authority, such as hardiness and confidence. In contrast, softness and weakness that Orville obtain can lead to the loss of self-control. In this light, Orville’s conflicting behaviors contains both male politeness and feminine qualities. For example, he quickly becomes jealous once he discovers Evelina alone with Macartney in the garden …show more content…
“Representing true civility, Lord Orville has already twice redirected the company’s attention when Captain Mirvan has insulted Lovel and threatened him with violence”(439). Orville asks politely for the Captain to send the monkey away. Orville takes his own actions by removing the monkey from the room. This decisive action shows his strong role in the scene by getting rid of the monkey in a forceful and not polite way, making his violent action the right one. His humane and generous behavior is proven to be stronger than Captain Mirvan’s brutal and “manly” behavior. This action eliminates tension between his male sexual identity and his statue. Orville’s decisiveness gesture reinforces his manliness and power. The business with the monkey reforms Orville’s