Saturday, February 20, 2010

I felt that Charlotte Temple was a bit entertaining and mostly instructive. As most lessons are learned the "hard way," Charlotte's was no exception. In an earlier British literature course we studied the religious allegories that were used to teach Christian values by way of a tale. In Charlotte Temple the lesson was to teach sound moral judgment to young men and women of the day. Although in over-dramatized form, the young men in the story suffered almost as much as the wayward Charlotte and her friend Miss La Rue. As we discussed in class, the moral, subservient women were rewarded and revered; the rebellious ones were doomed to a life of shame and ruin. When describing the virtuous parents of Charlotte as they begin their lives together, ". . .many years of uninterrupted felicity. Plenty, and her handmaid, Prudence, presided at their board, Hospitality stood at their gate, Peace smiled . . ." Well, know these two characters are not being set up for ruin, even when their wanton daughter goes astray. Even in their grieving, they are ethical and not bent on revenge.