52 pages • 1 hour read
Susanna RowsonCharlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1791A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Literary Context: American Sentimentalism
Sentimentalism was an American literary movement that took place during the late 1700s and early 1800s. Sentimental literature, which was partly inspired by popular British novels in the 18th century, incorporated traditional Christian values and idealized domesticity. Many sentimental novels feature young female protagonists who experience challenges to their morality. Such novels were written to evoke emotional responses, and they emphasized relevant issues in society. Sentimental literature is associated with American female authors, including Rowson, Harriet Beech Stowe, and Susan B. Warner, although several male authors contributed to the literary movement, such as Walt Whitman (Samuels, Shirley. “Sentimentalism and Domestic Fiction.” Oxford Biographies, 2022).
Charlotte Temple meets many of the benchmarks of American Sentimentalist literature. The protagonist is a 15-year-old upper-middle-class girl who is faced with a moral choice—follow the man she loves to the United States and get married, or break from Montraville and remain obedient and loyal to her family. Charlotte’s dilemma is complicated by the presence of Mademoiselle La Rue, who encourages Charlotte to elope. Charlotte’s parents represent ideal domesticity; Mr. Temple secured the love of Lucy through generously freeing her father, and they live a modest, happy life. Charlotte’s and Mademoiselle La Rue’s outcomes demonstrate the consequences of immoral choices. While Mademoiselle La Rue is portrayed as a villain and as the cause of Charlotte’s untimely death, Charlotte’s character arc is acts as a warning and reveals social dangers. She is presented from a sympathetic perspective and ultimately finds forgiveness because she maintained her sense of morality despite her scandalous circumstances.
Cultural Context: 18th-Century Gender Roles in Elite White Society
Social conditions for elite white women in the late 1700s were similar in England and the United States. In both countries, women had few rights and were considered inferior to men. Elite white girls, who were dependent on their fathers, were expected to marry and become dependent on their husbands. Prospective husbands were expected to seek approval from a young woman’s father before marriage, and fathers commonly supplied a dowry, or a sum of money. Women did have the right to live independently, and they could rent or own property and obtain work in certain industries to support themselves. Equal inheritance laws in the newly founded United States also ensured that daughters received a portion of their deceased parents’ assets, rather than the inheritance passing only to the eldest son, as was the practice in England (Salmon, Marylynn. “The Legal Status of Women, 1776-1830.” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History). In order to be considered respectable, elite women had to uphold traditional Christian values.
Charlotte is constrained by her social circumstances, which contributes to her suffering. Because of the strict norms regarding marriage, she is convinced that a traditional marriage with Montraville is impossible; he does not have enough money and is leaving for war, so Mr. Temple likely would have forbidden their relationship. Mademoiselle La Rue uses Charlotte’s fear of social retribution to ensure Charlotte’s secrecy and to isolate her from people like Madame Du Pont who could have offered sound advice and assistance. Once Charlotte leaves England, her social status declines. She is rejected by the elite women in the United States, and her sense of morality keeps her from socializing with women who openly lived against social norms. While she has the right to own property and work, Charlotte has no property and lacks the knowledge or skills to obtain work because she has been raised to depend on men—her father and her future husband. Rowson criticizes these strict traditional social norms through Charlotte’s story by implying that, if society had been more tolerant of errant but repentant young women, she might have survived.
