English 251: American Lit. (1600-1865)

INTRODUCTION + READING ASSIGNMENT + WRITING ASSIGNMENT

Assignment 14:
SUSANNA ROWSON (Part 1)

Not so very long ago, students rarely encountered women writers in courses covering American literature to 1865. Most probably assumed that there simply were no women writers in America before the 20th century. However, you have already seen that that assumption was mistaken. As you know from our work up to this assignment, America's first published poet was a woman (Anne Bradstreet), and so was the first published African-American poet (Phillis Wheatley). The novel that we're reading now, Charlotte: A Tale of Truth (better known under its later title, Charlotte Temple), was America's first bestseller, and it remained popular for over a hundred years. Women writers dominated popular fiction in America throughout the 19th century; an envious Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose books did not sell as well as those of female authors, wrote, "America is now wholly given over to a damned mob of scribbling women, and I should have no chance of success while the public taste is occupied with their trash." Hawthorne's contempt for women writers was echoed by male critics; although the works of women were popular, they were not considered to have lasting artistic value. This is why the students mentioned above would have read Hawthorne but not Rowson. Only recently have scholars returned to the works of writers like Rowson to give them their proper critical attention.

Not only were many of the most successful authors women, but so was the bulk of their readers. As you read Charlotte, you will notice that Rowson addresses her readers directly. She states in the first line of her preface that she is writing for "the young and the thoughtless of the fair sex" (851). She expects that older women may read the novel to see if it is proper reading material for their daughters and addresses such as reader as "my dear sober matron" (863). This concern over the morality of novels was widespread at the time Rowson was writing. Many people held that fiction was, at best, frivolous and, at worst, a corrupting influence on young and impressionable minds, especially those of young women, Rowson's target audience. These people held that fiction, as a product of the imagination, had little connection to real life and could fill young minds with lots of unrealistic and even immoral ideas. To shield their work against this sort of criticism, writers would insist that their stories were true (as Rowson does in her preface) and that their purpose was to provide a moral education for their young readers.

Rowson wrote Charlotte and published it in England in 1791 before she moved to America to work as an actress in Philadelphia in 1793. In 1794 the American edition of Charlotte was published and was an immediate success. Countless editions were published throughout the 19th century, and the novel enjoyed a cult popularity. Lovers of the book made tearful pilgrimages to a grave marked "Charlotte Temple" in New York's Trinity Cemetery. They attempted to verify Rowson's claim that the novel was based on a true story by identifying the real people and places behind the events in the novel. Only a few books--Uncle Tom's Cabin and Gone with the Wind are other examples--have generated such long-lasting devotion.

Reading Assignment

Susanna Rowson, Charlotte: A Tale of Truth, Ch. 1-17 (pp. 850-884).

Writing Assignment

Immediately after she introduces her heroine, Rowson shifts (in chapters 2-5) to a prolonged flashback which depicts the circumstances under which Charlotte's parents met and married. What are those circumstances? What do they tell us about Charlotte's parents' values? Why do you think Rowson gives us this background on the Temple family?
Rowson addresses the concerns of a "dear sober matron" who may be reading the book (863-864). What are the matron's concerns? How does Rowson respond to them?
What is Mademoiselle La Rue's background? Why does she plot to corrupt Charlotte?
In Ch. 7, Rowson speaks to "thoughtless daughters of folly" (867). What lessons does Rowson want these young women to learn from Charlotte's example? What values does she want her young readers to practice? How do those values compare to the ones Franklin established for himself in his program for self-improvement (577-578)?
Rowson compares the characters of Belcour and Montraville. Summarize that comparison.
What lesson does Charlotte learn from the engagement of La Rue and Crayton?

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