American Romanticism
Student-led Text-Objective Discussion 2008

Thursday 25 September: Jonathan Edwards, N 168-170 (introduction), 170-180 (Personal Narrative); Susanna Rowson, selections from Charlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth (web post)

Text objective discussion leader: Larry Finn

Relevant Objectives:

Objective 1a. Romantic Spirit or Ideology: To identify and criticize ideas or attitudes associated with Romanticism, such as desire and loss, rebellion, nostalgia, idealism, the gothic, the sublime, the individual in nature or separate from the masses.

Objective 2e. American Romanticism exposes competing or complementary dimensions of the American identity: is America a culture of sensory and material gratification or moral, spiritual, idealistic mission?

Susanna Rowson – Charlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth

About the author:

(source: http;//www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/rowson2.html)

·       Arrived to America in 1793, wrote Charlotte Temple in 1791. First American edition published in 1794.

·       Charlotte Temple was a “best-seller” in America – by 1812, estimated sales were 50,000.

The novel is, as Rowson states, “not merely the effusion of Fancy, but…a reality” (Preface). It is an object lesson to women, showing the dangers of love.

The amount of pining is overwhelming throughout the novel – the romantic notion of “desire and loss” is the basis for this story.  The decidedly corrupting force of love triumphs over respect for one’s family. Rowson chastises young love:

“When I think on the miseries that must rend the heart of a doating parent, when he sees the darling of his age at first seduced from his protection, and afterwards abandoned, by the very wretch whose promises of love decoyed her from the paternal roof – when he sees her poor and wretched, her bosom torn between remorse for her crime and love for her vile betrayer…I wish for power to extirpate those monsters of seduction from the earth.”

The object that is “love” is so overpowering, that it even physically destroys Charlotte Temple and her lover. Charlotte becomes miserable when she is with child and without her lover, that she wanders the streets, eventually contracting an illness and dying, destitute but eventually with her father at her side. Montraville suffers from “a dangerous illness and obstinate delirium” after witnessing Charlotte’s funeral.

Other equally “over the top” romances that I thought of when reading Charlotte Temple include Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

Larry’s Questions:

1)  What other aspects of romanticism are present throughout the novel?
 

2)  Could this novel be considered gothic? If so, what elements support this theory?
 

3)  What elements of objective 2e exist in this piece?

Jonathan Edwards: Personal Narrative

About the author:

(source: Norton)

·       In 1729, Edwards became a pastor in Northampton, succeeding his father.

·       Wrote since he was 11; was determined to perfect himself, and embraced education in theology.

·       A strong supporter of John Locke – we must be “moved” by religion.

Personal Narrative can hardly be considered an autobiography in the classic sense – more than anything, it is a chronology of his belief system. He has evolved over time in his practice of prayer.

His physical life was determined by his faith. He was weak in his faith and practices during college, and stated as a result of that, God seized him “with a pleurisy; in which he brought me nigh to the grave” (N 171).

To Edwards, the spiritual is very much a tangible commodity. Holiness, he describes, makes “the soul like a field or garden of God.” Furthermore, “the soul of a true Christian…appeared like such a little white flower…diffusing around a sweet fragrancy” (N 174).

“Delight” is a blanket term which Edwards uses to describe the physical and spiritual rolled up into one sensation. In excess, it can become sinful, as it is (as I interpreted) a use of the spiritual for personal gain.

Ultimately, Edwards chastises himself for his overall treatment of his faith throughout his life:

“I have vastly a greater sense of my universal, exceeding dependence on God’s grace and strength, and mere good pleasure…and have experienced more of an abhorrence of my own righteousness. The thought of any comfort or joy, arising in me on any consideration...or any of my performances or experiences, or any goodness of heart or life, is nauseous and detestable to me” (N 180).

Larry’s Questions:

1)  How does Objective 2e relate to the Narrative? Is the emphasis on a union of both material gratification and the spiritual, idealistic mission?
 

2)  Throughout the passage, “sweet” and various forms of the word are used many times. What does the word mean to Edwards?
 

3)  What romantic aspects does the reader witness throughout this piece (in relation to Objective 1a)?