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Act II
Quick revise
Marlow’s tongue-tied shyness towards Kate, having explained earlier to Hastings, “Why, George, I can’t say fine things to them; they freeze, they petrify me.”, suggests the constricting nature of wanting to be and coping with an “ideal”.
Mrs. Hardcastle fakes sophistication with Hastings but, through Goldsmith’s use of dramatic irony, we recognise her falseness: “I dressed it myself from a print in the Ladies’ Memorandum-book for the last year”.
Mrs. Hardcastle treats Tony like a spoilt child creating a contrast with Hardcastle’s treatment of Kate, thus exploring the theme of parenthood.
