A well constructed play, Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer (a comedic satire) entwined specific themes of action. Through the character's, Goldsmith shows his audience the underlying meanings of the play. The themes of appearance versus reality, social class, and parent vs. child are all identified. Early in Act II, the characters Marlow and Mr. Hardcastle show interesting behavior towards each other. When Marlow and Hastings go to the inn , they treat Mr. Hardcastle very poorly because he is an innkeeper. Due to this Mr.Hardcastle’s first impression of him is very low. “Mr. Hardcastle: (Aside) This is the most unaccountable kind of modesty I ever met with...this may be modern modesty, but I never saw anything look like old-fashioned impudence” (II. 64-65). In contrast, Marlow behaves differently towards Kate(Mr. Hardcastle daughter). Kate is Marlow’s love interest and shows deep compassion and kindness towards her. At this point, the unclear personality of Marlow has come through. In Act III, Kate and Mr. Hardcastle have different views of Marlow. They disagree as to who Marlow really is, and Mr. Hardcastle does not want Kate to be with someone of that character. “Mr. H: So madam. So, I find THIS is your MODEST lover Kate, Kate, art thou not ashamed to deceive your father so?” (III. 147-149). In reply, Kate responds “K: But if I shortly convince you of his modesty, that he has only the faults that will pass off with time...will improve with age, I hope you'll forgive him” (III. 150-153). Kate thinks of Marlow as a kind and modest man where as Mr. Hardcastle thinks of him as a rude and impudent man. This is where the theme of appearance versus reality comes in. Marlow’s true behavior is established when he was at the inn with Mr. Hardcastle. Marlow’s behavior with Kate is false because he just wants to woo her. Goldsmith plays with this theme to show his audience what is true and what is false. Furthermore