English 2130-25H: American Literature
Discussion Questions: Susanna Rowson, Charlotte Temple
GENERAL QUESTIONS:
1) Now that you are “trained” in reading fairy tales (of the classical sort), let’s start connecting them to works of American literature. Before thinking of the novel as a specific reflection of its time (the post-Revolutionary period of the very new United States, i.e. the 1790s), let’s reflect on its specific use of fairy tale motives.
a) Which specific themes/motives that you are familiar with from our classic fairy tales (as well as others you know) does this novel use or rework?
b) Describe the characters! What qualities, virtues, dangers, flaws, fears, etc. do they have and/or represent? Can you find parallels to well-known fairy tale characters?
=> Make a list or chart!
2) How does the very strongly present author/narrator function? Describe her voice and agenda? Why do you think this device is there (it reminds a bit of Charles Perault’s moralizing at the end of his fairy tales, doesn’t it?).
3) What do you think the author/narrator wants readers (different kind of readers—young women and girls, mothers, men, the country…) to take away from or learn from this tale? Why do you think it was so successful (it was THE biggest bestseller in America—in the fiction category—until Uncle Tom’s Cabinin the 1850s)?
4) What do you think of the book’s obvious sentimentalism? How does it function and what does it try to do? What kind of values does it reflect? Do you associate those with the Revolutionary/Early National period?
5) What does this book say about American culture in the 1790s (i.e. right after the founding of the country)? Why, in particular, seems the fate of women (their virtue or downfall) so important? What does the book say about
- women’s education?
- women’s role in society?
- the relationship between genders?
- ideal and imperfect men?
6) Do you think the book is critical or supportive of an American social system in the late 18th century, where women (of any color or age) were barred from voting, holding property (with few exceptions), living on their own without ruining their reputation, and, most importantly, gaining an education or training beyond domestic and ornamental skills (such as music and art)?
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
Note: I came up with the section titles below; thus, look for the corresponding chapter numbers in the book.
The Preface
Which fears, concerns, and issues does the preface address?
What public concerns about novel writing and reading does the preface reflect?
How does it deal with or deflect those concerns?
Analyze the title!
The Boarding School: The Pitfalls of Female Education (ch. 1, 6)
What’s wrong with the place of Charlotte’s education? How is it supposed to educate young women, but what really happens there? Are there any wolves luring young “redcaps” from the straight path?
Charlotte’s Parents: A School for Virtue? Or, the Rewards of Sentimentalism (ch. 2-5)?
Why do you think we get all this background about Charlotte’s father and mother? What ideals does this section divulge? Are there any double-standards, though, between men and women, especially their ability to follow their heart?
La Rue, Or, the Road to Seduction (chapters 6-12)
Consider all the factors here that lead to Charlotte’s fall! Who has culpability for what happens to her? Primarily others (like debauched French women…) or Charlotte herself?
Feel my Pain: Transgression and Parental Suffering (chapters 13 and 14)
Why do we need to hear so much about the suffering of Charlotte’s parents?
The “Passage” to America, or the End of Innocence (chapters 15-17)
What reallyhappens on the passage to America—on the boat? What happens symbolically? Compare this journey to America to the stereotypical immigrant story! What do they usually come for and what does Charlotte come for?
“Charlotte the Harlot?” Or, The Fallen Woman (Chapter 18, 22)
What are the factors in Charlotte’s ultimate fall?
Julia Franklin, or the “perfect” woman (chapter 19)
What makes Julia Franklin so perfect?
Mr. and Mrs. Beauchamp, the “perfect” couple? (chapter 20)
Belcour and Montraville: Sympathy for the Devil? (chapter 23-25)
So, who is the real villain of this story??? Who is really worse? We will literally take votes here!
The Power of Sympathy (or Charity?) (chapters 28-end)
Is this a good/happy ending—in any way? Is there any salvation—for Charlotte, her father, for Montraville?What does this “resolution” leave us with?