I enjoyed revisiting the familiar comedic form of bringing order from chaos in Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. I find the most interest object of analysis is how perspective serves to flag the contrasts within the character of Marlow.
Marlow, the sentimental traveler whose misfortunes with ladies of substance contrast his ability with to win over those he detests, serves as the center of the humor in the main story. He is fooled by Lumpkin(and later, Kate, Hastings, and Neville) into believing the Hardcastle home is an inn. The oft repeated contrasting adjectives describing Marlow are impudence and modesty. Before he arrives, Kate desires he be impudent while Hardcastle hopes his reputation for modesty holds true. When he does arrive they both experience the opposite of what they hope. This is a result of Marlow's deception and having to face his character flaw. He seems impudent towards Hardcastle because he believes Hardcastle to be an innkeeper. The humor is that in trying to act properly towards an innkeeper he insults a host. The funniest example of this is the situation with the ale. Marlow commands his servants to drink as much as possible since any innkeeper would want him to run up the bill. But truly he is fooled into impudence much the same way he is fooled into it by Kate's simple dress.
In the end Marlow's modesty is trumped by the deception bringing his impudence to the fore. "Stooping to Conquer" is an interesting concept and title that plays well off of Marlow's contrasting actions towards women. Goldsmith seems to denounce the modesty that limits Marlow and proclaim that in the end his impudence is what won him a wife.