Charlotte Temple

Captain Eldridge tells Mr. Temple up front that his story, which follows in the next chapter, is so sad that it has the capacity to "wring [the] heart." And yet he chooses to tell it, even though it will be painful to remember, because of the hope this new friendship with Mr. Temple offers him. Captain Eldridge's story is indeed very sad. It involves betrayal, financial ruin, imprisonment, and the loss of his son and his wife. But he is right to be hopeful about his new connection with Mr. Temple. This connection eventually leads to his release from prison, and to his daughter's happy marriage. Charlotte, Captain Eldridge's granddaughter, is the ultimate personification of his hope for the future.

The long flashback and Mr. Eldridge's story nested within it give Charlotte's story layers of emotional depth. She spends most of the novel very isolated. But because Rowson has offered the reader this telescopic view into Charlotte's family history, the reader has the sense that everything happening to Charlotte, and all her choices, has a rippling effect on the entire family and its story about itself. This is a family with a great deal to lose because it has already recovered from great losses. While Rowson could have set this backstory up before describing her initial encounter with Montraville, the choice to deliver it as a flashback adds suspense and stakes. As the reader gets to know the Temples, their idyllic marriage, and the family trauma it has healed from, it is already painfully clear that Charlotte's seduction lies on the horizon.

It looks bad for Charlotte that she is in bed with Belcour. Even by today's standards, it is understandable (if hypocritical) for Montraville to be upset that his lover seems to be cheating on him with his best friend. Montraville may be planning to leave Charlotte for Julia Franklin, but he is still technically in a relationship with her and has in fact been berating himself for his own infidelity. By the standards of the late 18th century, Charlotte's behavior looks even worse. Rowson's novel responds to the constricting double standards surrounding women's sexuality. Rowson does not suggest that those double-standards are going anywhere; in fact, she urges young women to pay close attention to them and not to step too far out of line. Still, Rowson has spent the entire novel trying to make Charlotte's extramarital affair seem, if not acceptable, at least understandable. Charlotte's story is supposed to be a cautionary tale and also a lesson in compassion. But if Charlotte has jumped from Montraville and into Belcour's arms, she seems not to be learning from her "mistakes."

By using a flashback instead of explaining from the beginning how Belcour engineered this entire situation to hurt Charlotte and Montraville, Rowson demonstrates the problem with snap judgments. The reader, along with Montraville, is startled and maybe even disappointed at the end of Chapter 23 by Charlotte's choice to sleep with Belcour. The flashback forces the reader to realize that sometimes people assess a situation before knowing all the facts. In this case, Charlotte made no such choice at all. As the scene goes on, past Montraville's hasty departure, Belcour orders the servant to hold Charlotte's mail so that she can't get in touch with Montraville or anyone else. It becomes ever clearer that Charlotte is in fact not a wrongdoer, but a victim in this entire scheme. This realization teaches the reader to reserve judgment and practice as much compassion as possible before condemning someone.