ABSTRACT

disguises himself as a beggar in order to test the kindness of Sidney and her brother, was picked up by Sheridan's son Richard Brinsley in The School for Scandal Themes in the novel are the powerlessness of women in patriarchy and the bonds of consolation formed among women. A destructive kindness exists between Sidney and her mother; oppression as women binds Sidney and the maidservant Patty Main, while class difference separates them; and romantic friendship offers solace but no hope for change. In the 1767 continuation, Sidney's powerlessness is destructive to her own daughters.