Bonus Blog Entry (She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith)

Niagara University Theater (hyperlink)

She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
(Or, the Mistakes of an Evening)

Setting: Hardcastle mansion in the English countryside about sixty miles from London.

Characters:
Mr. Hardcastle- is a middle-aged gentleman who lives in the old mansion in the countryside. Prefers the simple rural life and its old- fashioned manners and customs.
Mrs. Dorthy Hardcastle- Wife of Mr. Hardcastle. Values material possessions and wants to sample high society. Wants to match her son up with her niece to keep her inheritance in the family.
Charles Marlow- Young man who comes to the country to woo the Hardcastles' daughter. He is shy around refined young ladies and at ease with women of humble birth and working-class status. His character is used to satire England's preoccupation with, and overemphasis on class distinctions. He is a like able character by the audience.
Kate Hardcastle- Pretty daughter of the Hardcastle who is wooed by Charles Marlow. When he thinks she is of a lower class his shy nature is broken and she is able to see what he really thinks of her.
Tony Lumpkin- Son of Mrs. Hardcastle by her first husband. He is a fat, ale drinking man who has a ambition. His mom wants to set him up with her niece but they despise each other.
George Hastings- Friend of Marlow who loves Constance Neville. Comes up with a plan to elope with her and gets the help of Tony who only wants her out of his life.
Constance Neville- Young lady, orphan, loves the Hastings but hates the ides of being hooked up with Tony.
Sir Charles Marlow- Father of Charles
Servants in the Hardcastle Household
Maid in the Hardcastle Household
Landlord of the Three Pigeons Alehouse
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Fellows- Drinking friends of Tony

Plot:
The plot consists of many characters that assist to the drama of the play. The scene first begins with Dorthy Hardcastle who is complaining to her husband about the trip she wants to take to London. Mrs. Hardcastle complains of the lack of friends and company she has in her life, and wants to change, while Mr. Hardcastle says he is just fine with his old friends his wife and his old way of life. They live in their home with their daughter Kate, and Tony, a son from Mrs. Hardcastles first marriage. Tony has become a "fat slob" who likes to spend most of his time in the local alehouse. he cannot wait till he comes of age which allows him to receive a 1500 pound inheritance. Mrs. Hardcastle desperately wants to set up Tony and her niece, Constance Neville, in order to have the inheritance remain in the family.
Mr. Hardcastle wants his daughter Kate to be matched with Mr. Charles Marlow who is a scholar with many good qualities. Even though Tony and Constance are assumed to be matched together they despise one another. tony plays a trick on Mr. Hardcastle because he resents the treatment of him lately and wants to get even. tony pretends that the hardcastle house is an "inn" which Marlow and Hastings stay at. Later on in the night, Tony and Constance are insulting each other and Hastings promises Tony he will get Constance off his hands if he promises to help Hastings win her over. Because Marlow still believes he is in the "inn" he is becoming annoying to Mr. Hardcastle. He is very rude and leaves his stuff all over the place.
The plot thickens as Charles Marlow, Marlow's father, arrives at the "inn" Everyone realizes that the Hardcastles house is not an inn and Marlow removes himself, even though he has confessed his love for Kate, many more developments are made, such as the real age of Tony, and Kate, Marlow, Canstance, and Hastings are all betrothed.

Lindsey and I worked together to summarize the plot, characters, and setting from this website.

Coming up with a student guide would not be an easy task especially when keeping the difficulty of students with learning disabilities but it can be done. Tee guide would have to include the plot, characters, and setting of the play in order for the students to get familiar with what they are going to see. This will they will have a basic idea of what they play is about before anything else. Next the guide should include scenarios where the students are able to reflect and think about what they would do if they where in the same dilemma the character or how they would feel if the same thing had happen to them. For example a question could be how would you feel if your mother was trying to put you in a relationship only for her benefit. This could be a good way of having the students "put themselves in the story." The students shoudl also have all of this information readily available to them so that if they do not have enough time to read over things in class they can do it on thier own time in order to better understand. Also the packet should not be to wordy or long. It should be fun and engaging.