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Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Charlotte Temple, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Temptation and Vice
Regret, Guilt, and Shame
Deceit and Manipulation
Kindness, Compassion, and Forgiveness
Honor, Reputation, and Social Status
Wealth, Poverty, and Happiness
Summary
Analysis
The narrative jumps back in time to follow Mr. Temple—Charlotte’s father—as a young man. Mr. Temple’s father was a wealthy man, though not so wealthy that he deserved to act as proud and vain as he did. All of Mr. Temple’s siblings married in order to secure wealth or status, and he saw how this choice brought them no happiness at all. He therefore decided to lead a modest life off of his small inheritance, which would allow him to marry for love instead of money.
A major concern for many of the characters in Charlotte Temple is whether or not they’re wealthy. The men in the novel who don’t have much money hope to secure wealth and social status by marrying rich women, whose families will give them a dowry of land or money. Mr. Temple, however, is an exception, since he cares more about happiness and genuine love than money or social status. Of course, he doesn’t have to worry too much about money, since he comes from a moderately well-off family. Still, though, his heartfelt ideas about marrying for love instead of money make him stand out among his greedy peers.
Themes
Although he isn’t exorbitantly rich, Mr. Temple is an incredibly generous man who likes to help people in need. One day, his friend tells him about Captain Eldridge, a respectable man who needs help. Mr. Temple asks to meet Eldridge right away, so his friend takes him to the Fleet Prison, where Eldridge lives in a depressingly small room. When Mr. Temple enters, he’s struck by the sad state of the room, but he also notices right away that Captain Eldridge is a dignified man who doesn’t deserve to live in such terrible conditions. He’s also struck by the beauty and composure of Eldridge’s daughter, Lucy, who sits beside the old man.
The Fleet Prison was a famous prison in London. It included a debtors’ prison, where people unable to repay various debts were sent until they came up with the money, either by completing hard labor or by soliciting someone else to repay whatever they owed. Mr. Temple’s eager willingness to meet Eldridge in the debtors’ prison suggests that he’ll gladly help people in need, perhaps by paying off a stranger’s debt.
Themes
Captain Eldridge says he isn’t ashamed to be in the Fleet Prison because he knows he did nothing wrong. Still, he’s extremely humbled to receive such respectable visitors. He’s in prison because he was unable to repay a hefty debt owed to a cruel creditor, but before he tells Mr. Temple the story, he asks Lucy to leave—he doesn’t want to rehash the painful story in front of her, so he tells her to go enjoy the outdoors and that he’ll see her at the usual time the following day.
Themes
Literary Devices
