Rowson's novel strikes a note of caution as it warns young girls to take heed of Charlotte's fate and avoid it. But Rowson is never prudish in her moralizing; rather, she suggests that women must take care in a dangerous world, where they are vulnerable sexually, socially, and even legally, to a social construct that promulgates gender inequity.
References and Suggested Readings
Davidson, Cathy N. Introduction. Charlotte Temple. By Susanna Rowson. Ed. Cathy N. Davidson. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. xi-xxxiii.
———. Introduction. Charlotte Temple. By Susanna Rowson. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Rpt. of Charlotte: A Tale of Truth. 1794.
Warhol, Robyn R., and Eve M. Lynch. “Susanna Rowson.” An Encyclopedia of British Women Writers. Ed. Paul Schlueter and Jane Schlueter. Revised and Expanded ed. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998.
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