Charlotte Temple Washington Tree

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The apple might not fall far from the tree, but that will not keep it from growing two legs to run away. Perhaps the tree is very emotionally supportive and provides a comfortable home life for the apple, so it feels justified in leaving because it knows it can return home and the tree will be there with open branches. Or maybe the tree is overpowering and disapproving, so the apple sticks around, spending its life trying to impress. Family matters are similar in Susanna Rowson’s Charlotte Temple and Henry James’ Washington Square, as it is one of the driving forces for the actions of our heroines. The fates of Charlotte and Catherine are greatly influenced by their home lives; the vast difference in family leads to difference in conclusion. …show more content…

The narration of Charlotte Temple is told through a sentimental voice, at times explicitly calling for the reader to sympathize with Charlotte and to see her as an example of how not to fall in lust. This makes it difficult to feel any lack of emotion, as the reader has no choice but to feel something for this poor creature. Once even, words are placed directly into the mouth of the reader, leaving them even less power in deciding what to think of the story, “‘Bless my heart,’ cries my young, volatile reader, ‘I shall never have patience to get through these volumes, there are so many ahs! and ohs! so much fainting, tears, and distress, I am sick to death of the subject’” (Rowson 108).The narrator takes on a maternal role; with careful consideration she narrates, telling the reader how they should be digesting the text- always with sympathy. This third person narration does not allow for Charlotte to have her own voice; sure, the reader may gather some insight on her inner workings through dialogue and her choices, but she does not tell her own

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