Selection Respondent: Shelly Childers

Susanna Rowson, Charlotte Temple

My presentation began with a few biographical facts about Susanna Rowson that I felt were important regarding her career as a writer. Rowson moved back and forth from England to America a few times in her life, which seemed to show she might not have led the most stable life. I am sure she desired stability following her husband's failure in business and their subsequent work in the theater. Rowson was required to maintain gainful employment, and she began a school in Boston. She was quite successful as an educator as well. Rowson wanted to warn young readers in the selection I chose, Charlotte: A Tale of Truth.

The passages I read were found on pages 375 and 378 of The Norton Anthology of American Literature (shorter 5^th edn.). On page 375, the narrator steps in to tell the readers that a young heart is not always the best judge of character. Charlotte is inexperienced in love, and as Amana soon pointed out, she should have read Charlotte Temple. Then, our character would not have experienced heartache and ruin at the expense of a charming and handsome soldier.

On page 378, I read the paragraph where LaRue observes Charlotte reading Montraville's letter, which she was not supposed to do without having first let her mother read the letter. Mrs. Temple could determine the genuine feelings of a man, but instead, I could just see Charlotte sighing with lovestruck eyes as she read the lines of an interested admirer, and a young soldier at that. My respondent, Shelly Childers, mentioned that her own daughter was in love for two days after being surrounded by uniformed young men at West Point. I thought this was important because it seems that, however misguided her thoughts were, Charlotte respected and trusted the attire of Montraville and Belcour.

My discussion questioned why Charlotte did something she knew was not right. Her parents, as we hear today, "taught her better than that." Why did she still opt to run off to America with Montraville, Mademoiselle LaRue, and Belcour? We all seemed to agree that each of the three characters played a role in seducing Charlotte. I thought the discussion went really well, and I must agree with Gwendolyn's first comment. She noted that Charlotte was young and did not have enough knowledge of the world to realize the situation she entered. Charlotte's actions also showed that, though scared, she was not fully aware of the consequences she would face.