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American Lit.

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Charlotte Temple is a novel about the seduction of an innocent English girl and the down fall of those who betrayed her. It tells how Charlotte’s innocence prevents her from seeing the true evil intentions of Mademoiselle La Rue and the evil nature of Belcour. Her naïve and innocence also prevents her to think rationally when it came to love and Montraville. Throughout the novel, there are many aspects of this story that makes it uniquely American. The American dream, importance of education and religion and the fact that nature always win are some of the qualities that makes a novel American. All these American qualities are introduced and presented in this tale of Charlotte Temple. Many immigrants risk their lives by crossing the treacherous ocean to come to America in hopes to pursue the American dream for themselves and their future generations. To obtain the American dream of success, fame, status and fortune, some are even willing to achieve it at any cost. In the novel of Charlotte Temple, there are many examples where the characters are willing to pursue this dream even if it means to do evil. Montraville is a prime example of someone who came to America in hopes of achieving the American dream. He was a soldier from England that came to America in hopes to further advance his career as a soldier. Not long after Montraville arrives to New York with Charlotte, he meets a Miss Julia Franklin. Though Montraville himself comes from a wealthy family, he was told by his father that unless he has succeeded in his career and was able to provide for his wife and children, never to think of marrying. And that “If, indeed, a woman, whose fortune is sufficient to preserve you in that state of independence I would teach you to prize, should generously bestow herself on a young soldier, whose chief hope of future prosperity depended on his success in the field--if such a woman should offer--every barrier is removed, and I should rejoice in an union which would promise so much felicity” ( Rowson 32). With this thought in mind, Montraville never really intended to marry Charlotte. Julia Franklin, however, fitted the criteria in which Montraville’s father was willing to accept the union even if his son has not fully obtained success. After meeting the young Miss Franklin who was the only child of a wealthy man, and also willing to follow a young soldier, Montraville soon forgot about the innocent Charlotte who he seduced from her friends and family. He left Charlotte heart broken and pregnant in order to achieve his goal of the American dream. Another character of the story that left their native land to come to America to chase the American dream is Mademoiselle La Rue. Her dream of adventure and opportunity is the reason that she left her life behind in England and decided to follow Belcour on the journey to America. Though she soon realized on the ship ride that Belcour has no real intentions of marrying her, she was not discouraged or saddened by this revelation. She already had her eyes set on Colonel Crayton. In order to gain the affection of Colonel Crayton and to achieve her dream of status and fortune, Mademoiselle La Rue came up with an elaborate lie and told the Colonel that she herself was seduced from her friends and family by Belcour in promise of marriage and was later betrayed by Belcour. Being the amiable man that Crayton was, he fell for the evil Mademoiselle La Rue and soon promised her marriage along with fortune. After her marriage to the Colonel and enjoying her status and fortune, she heard the dire state that Charlotte had fallen into. Though Mademoiselle was in a much better place at the moment in every which way, she felt no sympathy towards the young girl who she helped lure from the comfort of her family back in England. When Charlotte was kicked out of cottage and had no where to go, she went to the now Mrs. Crayton thinking that her old school teacher Mademoiselle would be sure to help her. But once arriving to the Crayton’s residence, Mrs. Crayton refused to help the poor abandoned Charlotte and pretended to not know her in fear that if she were to help Charlotte, Colonel Crayton would find out about his wife’s involvement of the poor girl’s misfortune. To save herself from any danger of revealing her wickedness, Mrs. Crayton turned Charlotte away in the middle of winter. Charlotte’s trusted school teacher, Mademoiselle La Rue, achieved her American dream at the expense of Charlotte misery and misfortune. Religion is another reason that makes this novel uniquely American. Though religion is not outwardly presented in the chapters of this novel, it is still present. When Montraville first set eyes on the young and innocent Charlotte Temple, unsure of how to contact her, he went to her school in Chichester in hopes of maybe running into her. While Montraville approached the school grounds and was looking onto the house where Charlotte resided, Susanna Rowson compared Charlotte to a guarded Hesperian fruit. The Hesperian fruit is another representation of the forbidden fruit, the forbidden apple in the Biblical story of Adam and Eve. Though Montraville knows that it is best not to pursue the beautiful Charlotte because he has no true intentions of any future with her, he is still tempted to take a bite out of the apple like Eve ends up doing. Another reference to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, where

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