The Conscious Lovers

The Conscious Lovers is a sentimental comedy play by 18th-century playwright Richard Steele. The play was first performed at Drury Lane in 1722, and it was published the same year with a different Epilogue. 

The Conscious Lovers, which is based loosely on Andria, or The Woman of Andros, a comedy by ancient Roman playwright Terence, is an explicitly moral comedy, following characters that are rewarded for their uprightness: Bevil Jr. wants to marry Indiana, a woman with a mysterious background who turns out to be high-born, a frequent twist in comedies of this time that allowed plays to resolve with multiple marriages. The play focuses on the virtues of Honesty and Integrity in Relationships, The Impact of Social Standing on Prospects, and the need for Calm Restraint in Love and Friendship.

This guide uses the edition of the play found in the Norton Critical Edition of Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy, an anthology edited by Scott McMillin and published in 1997.

Content Warning: The play includes period-accurate sexist language and attitudes about gender that are outdated and considered offensive today.

Plot Summary

Steele’s Dedication, Preface, and Prologue discuss Steele’s intentions in writing a sentimental comedy: While playwrights in the Restoration period made audiences laugh at lewdness and violence, this play will not use these tactics even if that makes the play less funny.

The play opens with Sir John Bevil talking with his servant, Humphrey, about his son, Bevil Jr. Sir Bevil is concerned that Bevil Jr. is having an affair with an unknown woman, as they were seen together at a play. Sir Bevil is planning to marry his son to Lucinda Sealand and worries that Bevil Jr.’s affair will interfere with this plan. The affair is out of character: Bevil Jr. is notably frugal and rarely acts without first consulting his father. Sir Bevil gives his son’s servant, Tom, a letter for Lucinda. Tom will deliver it to Lucinda’s servant, Phillis, with whom Tom is having an affair.

Sir Bevil and Humphrey visit Bevil Jr., who agrees to marry Lucinda, following his father’s wishes but without excitement. Later, Bevil Jr. explains that he is in love with a woman he rescued from an abusive situation in Toulon. Bevil Jr. has never told her his feelings so as to not cross his father.

Bevil Jr.’s friend, Myrtle, is upset with Bevil Jr. for agreeing to marry Lucinda, with whom Myrtle is in love. Bevil Jr. posits that the biggest threat to Myrtle’s romance with Lucinda is her suitor, Cimberton, so Bevil Jr. suggests that Myrtle and Tom disguise themselves as Target and Bramble, two lawyers in charge of Lucinda and Cimberton’s marriage. 

Isabella, the aunt of Bevil Jr.’s beloved, Indiana, argues that Bevil Jr. is only supporting Indiana so he can have sex with her. Concerned, Indiana pushes Bevil Jr. to admit that he loves her. Bevil Jr. counters that some men simply enjoy helping others, which leads Indiana to think that Bevil Jr. only sees her as charity. 

Tom meets with Phillis in the Sealands’ home. Phillis does not trust Tom, though he promises he loves Phillis and no one else. As they kiss, Lucinda enters. Lucinda is shocked by Phillis and Tom’s passion, which Phillis attributes to their difference in class. Lucinda hates Cimberton, whom her mother wants her to marry. Phillis points out that Cimberton cannot marry without the approval of his uncle, Sir Geoffry.

Cimberton and Mrs. Sealand discuss Cimberton’s plan to get Lucinda pregnant every year for 10 years after they marry. Lucinda is offended, but Mrs. Sealand criticizes her for speaking in Cimberton’s presence. Myrtle and Tom arrive in disguise as lawyers; they declare that Cimberton cannot marry without Sir Geoffry’s presence.

Myrtle challenges Bevil Jr. to a duel after finding out that Bevil Jr. and Lucinda have exchanged letters, not realizing that Bevil Jr. only wrote to tell Lucinda that he does not want to marry her. Bevil Jr. almost agrees to fight when Myrtle implies that Bevil Jr. does not love Indiana. However, he calms down and shows Myrtle Lucinda’s letter, which only asks for Bevil Jr.’s protection. The two friends resolve their issues without dueling.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Sir Bevil calls Sealand low class for being a merchant (because he has to earn a living rather than having inherited his wealth). Sealand opposes Bevil Jr. marrying Lucinda because of the affair Bevil Jr. is having with another woman. Sir Bevil denies it, but resolves to investigate. Humphrey assures Sir Bevil that Indiana is a woman of quality, and they go to meet her.

Phillis criticizes Myrtle for his lack of effort to marry Lucinda. Myrtle is not sure he can push for marriage without offending Lucinda, so Phillis suggests that Myrtle disguise himself as Sir Geoffry to delay Lucinda’s marriage to Cimberton. When Phillis gets Mrs. Sealand and Cimberton out of the room, Myrtle reveals his disguise and confesses his love for Lucinda. Lucinda is startled but amused. Myrtle resumes his disguise when Cimberton and Mrs. Sealand return.

Humphrey, Sir Bevil, and Sealand go to Indiana’s home. Isabella immediately recognizes Sealand as her long-lost brother and Indiana’s father: When Indiana was a child, she and her aunt were kidnapped. Sealand does not recognize Isabella, but when Indiana drops a bracelet, Sealand recognizes it as a gift to his former wife, who died at sea. Sealand realizes that Indiana is his daughter. Indiana, Isabella, and Sealand rejoice.

In the end, Sealand agrees to let Indiana marry Bevil Jr. The recovery of her sister means Lucinda’s fortune is halved, so Cimberton refuses to marry her. At this, Myrtle sheds his disguise and proposes to Lucinda, to which the Sealands agree. In the Epilogue (both the original and the published versions), Indiana rejoices in the rewards from Providence gained through the characters’ steadfast morals.