As opposed to William Shakespeare’s tragic Othello, the drama “She Stoops To Conquer” by Oliver Goldsmith is a comedy. It used the act of mistaken identity which is commonly seen in Shakespearean dramas to complement its dramatic irony.
Tony Lumpkin, the son of Mrs Hardcastle, is the character used in kick-starting those dramatic techniques. Though Tony Lumpkin is considered illiterate, foolish, nonchalant and not a serious minded fellow; but those traits of his are very essential for a comical act.
Tony misled Marlow and Hastings into believing they were in an inn whereas in Mr. Hardcastle’s house (Marlow’s in-law); he did so because he had no friendly relationship with Mr. Hardcastle.
According to the drama, Tony is a drunk who is fond of merrymaking. While his mother’s plan was for him to marry Neville, he was busy planning Hastings and Neville elopement which naively revealed to his mother due to his illiteracy.
Though it is said that Oliver Goldsmith lived between 1728 to 1774 but Wikipedia has claimed that Oliver Goldsmith’s birth date and year are not known with certainty.
He witnessed the era when class difference was really in vogue in England and such class difference is evident in the drama where Marlow belongs to the upper class while Kate is of the lower class.
