Love in Excess

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1719

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2, Pages 81-128

Part 2, Pages 129-162

Part 3, Pages 163-216

Part 3, Pages 217-269

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Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1 Summary

Content Warning: The source text and this section of the guide contain references to death by suicide and sexual assault.

The novel begins in France, shortly after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713). Count D’elmont and his younger brother, the Chevalier Brillan, have both fought in the war. D’elmont returns to Paris, but Chevalier Brillan stays in the town of St. Omer to recover from injuries. Count D’elmont quickly becomes popular due to “the beauty of his person, the gaiety of his air, and the unequalled charms of his conversation” (37). A wealthy and beautiful heiress named Alovisa falls in love with D’elmont. Alovisa is frustrated that D’elmont doesn’t seem to take any special notice of her, especially since she is used to being admired.

The night before a ball, Alovisa sends an anonymous note to D’elmont, urging him to be on the lookout for a woman showing signs of love for him. At the party, D’elmont encounters a beautiful young woman named Amena Sanseverin. He wonders if she might be the woman who sent the note, and singles her out for flirtation and gallantry. Alovisa catches sight of D’elmont and Amena together and is so overcome with jealousy that she has to leave the party. Once she is home, Alovisa sends her servant, Charlo, to linger outside of the party to hear if there is any gossip about D'elmont. Charlo returns and tells Alovisa that many people at the party noticed that D’elmont seems to be in love with Amena.

Alovisa sends D’elmont a second anonymous note, explaining that the woman who first expressed her love for him (and still loves him) is not Amena. D’elmont is intrigued by this information, but he feels guilty jilting Amena now that he has begun flirting with her. As he spends more and more time with Amena, D’elmont begins to feel infatuated with the beautiful young woman. One day, Amena sends D'elmont a letter stating that she cannot see him any longer unless her father consents. Later that night, Amena sends her servant, Anaret, to see D’elmont.

Anaret explains what has happened: Amena’s father, Monsieur Sanseverin, confronted his daughter, having learned that she had been meeting with D’elmont, and accused her of behaving inappropriately. He forced Amena to write to D’elmont to tell him that she could no longer see him; Amena contrived to send Anaret to D’elmont to reassure him that she still loves him. Anaret explains that Monsieur Sanseverin doesn’t actually have a problem with D'elmont wooing his daughter, but he wants D’elmont to ask his consent, and make a public declaration of his intentions. This news is troubling to D’elmont since “as well as he liked Amena, [he] found no inclination in himself to marry her” (51).

D'elmont explains that he is unwilling to openly woo Amena, but would like Anaret’s help in arranging a secret meeting with her. He gives Anaret money, and she readily agrees to help him. The garden of Amena’s home has a door linking it to an adjoining public park, and Anaret tells D’elmont to be waiting at the door late at night; she will open it for him. Amena is hesitant about the secret meeting at first, but then agrees. However, the plan is foiled because at the last minute, Anaret is unable to obtain the key she needs to open the door. Both Amena and D’elmont are frustrated and disappointed.

They reattempt the plan the next night; this time, Anaret lets D’elmont into the garden successfully, but when she goes to get Amena, Amena refuses to leave the house, giving Anaret a letter to take to D’elmont instead. In the letter, Amena tells D’elmont that she doesn’t want to compromise her morals by meeting with him, and is only interested in a legitimate and sanctioned courtship. D’elmont goes to the house and stands outside the window, coaxing Amena to come out. After some persuasion, he is able to lift her out of her window and they slip through the door into the public garden.

D’elmont begins pressuring Amena to have sex with him; she is on the verge of consenting when Anaret rushes up to them to tell them that lights are on in the house and people seem to be awake. They wait while Anaret goes to investigate what is happening but she does not return, and the couple gets increasingly anxious. They try to open the door so that Amena can get back into her own garden, but discover that the door is locked. They are both increasingly panicked, as D’elmont does not want to take Amena back to his home. Amena realizes they are close to Alovisa’s home and suggests going there, since she believes that Alovisa (a family friend) will help her. By this point, Amena and D’elmont are annoyed with each other, and part on cold terms. D’elmont gives her the letters she has sent him, as they could harm Amena’s reputation.

Alovisa’s servant, Charlo, has been spying on the trysts between Amena and D’elmont all along. When Amena and D’elmont were together, Charlo awakened the household by claiming there was a fire; he also locked the door to ensure D’elmont and Amena would not be able to re-enter the grounds of her family’s property. When Alovisa opens the door to find Amena begging for her help, she sees an opportunity to advance her own interests. Alovisa reassures Amena and promises to help her. Meanwhile, Amena looks at the letter D’elmont gave her, and realizes he made a mistake: D’elmont accidentally gave her one of the anonymous letters in which Alovisa professed her love to him. Amena recognizes the handwriting and realizes that Alovisa is her rival for D’elmont’s affections. It seems very unlikely that D’elmont would choose her, since Alovisa is much wealthier.

The next morning, Alovisa summons Monsieur Sanseverin to her home. She tells him that Amena has compromised her integrity with D’elmont, and has deceived her father in order to have secret meetings with him. Alovisa suggests that Sanseverin arrange to send Amena to a convent since D’elmont has no intention of marrying her, and Sanseverin readily agrees. After he leaves, Alovisa summons D'elmont to her home; shortly after he arrives, Amena bursts in and accuses both of them of lying and deceiving her. While they are initially confused, they realize that Amena has gotten ahold of the letter: Alovisa’s reaction prompts D’elmont to finally realize that she (Alovisa) is the woman who professed her love to him. D’elmont leaves to consider this new information: He is flattered to learn that Alovisa is in love with him, as he has by now almost entirely lost interest in Amena.

When he gets home, D’elmont is surprised to meet his brother, Chevalier Brillan, who has unexpectedly arrived in Paris. Brillan tells D’elmont about events in his own life: Brillan heard talk of a beautiful woman named Ansellina De La Tour, and travelled to Amiens to see her. Ansellina is Alovisa’s sister, so, like Amena, she is a wealthy heiress. Brillan fell in love with Ansellina at first sight, but was hesitant to profess his love because Ansellina had many other suitors, including his friend Bellpine. However, he eventually gleaned that Ansellina shared his feelings. As the affection between Ansellina and Brillan grew more obvious, Bellpine became very angry and jealous. Eventually, he challenged Brillan to a duel. In the duel, Brillan delivered what he believes to be a fatal wound. He has fled from Amiens in case Bellpine’s powerful family tries to seek revenge. Ansellina has promised to join him in Paris as soon as possible.

After hearing his brother’s story, D’elmont explains that Ansellina’s sister, Alovisa, is in love with him. If D’elmont and Alovisa get married, it would make it easier for Brillan and Ansellina to also marry. D’elmont likes the idea of marrying a rich and powerful woman, and since he does not believe that he is capable of love, he is not concerned about marrying for pragmatic reasons.

Meanwhile, Alovisa is taking care of Amena and beginning to feel sorry for her. She explains that Amena’s father is going to send her to a convent, but Amena is relieved by the news. She never wants to see D’elmont again and wishes to leave Paris as soon as possible.

D’elmont proposes to Alovisa, who happily agrees and promises to support a marriage between Brillan and Ansellina. As soon as Amena has departed from Paris, D’elmont and Alovisa begin planning a lavish wedding. Brillan learns that Bellpine did not die from his wounds, so he plans to go back to Amiens to retrieve Ansellina so they can also be married.

Part 1 Analysis

Although she was an English writer, Haywood sets her novel in France. While this setting might add an air of exotic or dramatic interest for English readers, it also provides a convenient displacement tactic for a text in which the plot revolves around licentious action. Setting the melodramatic plot in continental Europe, and in notably Catholic locations (England had been Protestant since the 16th century) places Love in Excess in a literary tradition that would continue through the Gothic novels of the later 18th century. Events that were interesting and titillating could be described while being presented as traits associated with supposedly more tempestuous and less morally-upstanding societies. The depiction of Parisian society, in particular, as filled with gossip, rumors, and illicit sexuality, was an enduring cultural trope.

Alovisa’s sudden and abrupt love for D’elmont provides the first example of a pattern that will reoccur throughout the novel: Both male and female characters fall wildly in love the moment they lay eyes on someone. This pattern highlights the theme of The Power of Passion. Rather than being based on personality, compatibility, or actual interactions, love is induced primarily by physical appearance and charisma—“the beauty of his person, the gaiety of his air, and the unequalled charms of his conversation” (37). Alovisa commits to obsessive pursuit of D’elmont without ever speaking to him; he charms her (and other women) because of his good looks and apparent gallantry. While the title of Haywood’s novel signals caution about loving immoderately, the conflict of the plot is largely driven by individuals who love hastily, not simply excessively.

While D’elmont is the protagonist of the novel, Alovisa initially plays a more active role in setting the plot in motion. She takes on a traditionally masculine role by freely choosing the object of her affection and then actively pursuing him. Alovisa has a higher degree of autonomy than many 18th-century female characters because she has no male relatives or guardians and possesses significant wealth, leaving her relatively free to make her own decisions. Alovisa’s privilege, along with her beauty, have rendered her somewhat entitled. The narrative implies that part of why Alovisa is so determined to win D’elmont stems from her distaste for being treated like other women: “[D]isdaining to be ranked with those, whom her vanity made her consider as infinitely her inferiors” (38).

However, she is still largely governed by social conventions and concerns about her reputation, which introduces the theme of Constraints on Feminine Desire. The anonymous letter is an important reflection of these constraints: Alovisa takes a bold action by sending a letter declaring her love, but she maintains some caution by concealing her identity, thereby “let[ting] her into the secrets of his heart, without the shame of revealing her own” (39). Alovisa’s choice to remain anonymous creates significant confusion and conflict, implying that if characters lived in a world where they were genuinely free to profess their desires, courtships might be less fraught and dangerous. Within the first few lines of the novel, the narrator deplores the “custom which forbids women to make a declaration of their thoughts” (37), embedding an element of social critique into the text. The tension that drives Alovisa to send a note, but only an anonymous one, emphasizes that women feel love and attraction, but are limited in how they are permitted to express it.

In the Amena-D’elmont storyline, as with subsequent storylines, consent is often ambiguous, as female desire is constrained by strict social norms governing female sexuality. Amena genuinely desires D’elmont, but is also well aware of the risks associated with having sex with him outside of marriage. Haywood often constructs scenes of elaborate hesitation, in which a female character wavers between surrendering to desire and maintaining social norms. These scenes heighten suspense and titillation for readers. By depicting characters almost, but not quite, experiencing sexual consummation, the text presents a risqué episode within a narrative frame that—at least ostensibly—condemns unrestrained sexuality. Significantly, Haywood shows female characters hesitating but also experiencing desire: When Amena initially declines to meet D’elmont, she explains that, “tho’ I have loved you […] yet I will rather suffer my life, than my virtue to become its prey” (55), emphasizing that her reputation is interfering with her desire.

Haywood uses love triangles to create conflict throughout the plot, and often uses alliteration to signal which characters are involved in the triangle. Amena is Alovisa’s first rival, and functions as a foil character. Amena lacks the autonomy and security that Alovisa enjoys: She is subject to patriarchal control and eventually punished for engaging in an illicit relationship with D’elmont. More significantly, Amena comes from a much less wealthy family, and this is part of why D’elmont sees her as good enough for a dalliance but not good enough for marriage. This easy cooling of D’elmont’s affection reflects the contrast between Fickleness Versus Unchanging Love in the novel. D’elmont’s enthusiastic attempts to seduce Amena are particularly callous because he never intends to make her his wife; he freely admits that, “as well as he liked Amena, [he] found no inclination in himself to marry her” (51).

Even Amena, upon learning that Alovisa also wants D’elmont, accepts that D’elmont is going to choose the wealthier woman instead: “[S]he considered the high birth and vast possessions that Alovisa was mistress of, in opposition to her father’s scanted power” (63). This quotation shows that Amena is doubly vulnerable because of both gender and class, and she suffers as a result. Her eventual banishment to a convent (referred to as a monastery, but likely an error in terminology, given that monasteries were populated by male monks sworn to celibacy) highlights the real and serious consequences of a woman for engaging in an illicit relationship.

The conclusion of Amena’s storyline at least avoids the convention of a tragic death awaiting a woman with a compromised reputation, which would become prominent in later 18th and 19th century literature. She greets going to a convent with relief, rather than horror. Amena’s trust has been violated by both D’elmont and Alovisa, to the extent that she no longer wants to be part of society; this level of betrayal and pain occurs even though she never had sex with D’elmont.

After learning of Alovisa’s love for him, D’elmont makes the fatal mistake of marrying for pragmatic reasons rather than romantic ones. At this point in the novel, he is a fairly cynical and detached character who does not believe that he is capable of love, so he prioritizes wealth and social advancement instead. D’elmont’s hubris in believing that he can avoid love sets the stage for subsequent conflict in the plot and his own character development. His detached perspective also undermines Alovisa’s apparent triumph: It seems that she has succeeded in achieving her desires, but she has not truly won D’elmont’s heart, and therefore is only setting herself up for future suffering.