Charlotte Temple Inheritance

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Martha Beemer Dr. Baker ENGL 3350 13 October 2011 The Curse of Having an Inheritance Susanna Rowson’s novel Charlotte Temple, is considered the first American best-seller published in 1794 more than two hundred editions have been published in the United states. A sequel to this famous novel was later found by her husband in manuscript form originally titled, Charlotte’s Daughter or the Three Orphans which was later changed to Lucy Temple and published in 1828. Rowson demonstrates in this sequel that the family linage can be misunderstood or fabricated for a person’s financial benefit. This benefit in other words, an inheritance, can evolve into an unwanted obligation rather than a relief in financial stability. With the disbursement of…show more content…
She is penniless, and does not have an inheritance awaiting her when she marries. Aura has total independence and is not limited by any conditions she is free to be who she wants to be. Until, she meets Edward Ainslie who declares his love for Aura and eventually marries. She does not keep that independence long after her marriage. Aura falls into the typical marriage of that era where the woman’s status and economic freedom is dependent on the husband’s income and status. Aura had the most to lose because independence is something that is priceless. Rowson clearly shows how even penniless women can loss the most valuable part of herself to a…show more content…
At the very least Lucy still has her inheritance and can live a comfortable life without the worries of financial stress. Lucy Temple was written in a more modern style that is quicker and more coherent than Charlotte Temple. It seemed to be more vivid and detailed as well. This is most likely attributed to her living in England and being able to describe the surroundings and the people of England better. When she wrote Charlotte Temple she had never been to New York so her ability to describe the society was a little harder for Rowson. Lucy Temple is considered the sequel to Charlotte Temple. There are certain themes and characters that connect both novels but in style they are not quite the same. This is most likely due to her age and experience in life. Obviously it is easier to describe a country home and its surroundings easier since she had lived in England. Also in this era women were starting to have more freedoms and were learning about their legal rights when it came to inheritance and
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