1. Reviews of my Rough Draft
Manuscript Title: A Father’s Misfortune: Incest and The Power of Sympathy
Recommendation:
Accept _____
Revise and resubmit X
Reject _____
Evaluation: Please consider the overall effectiveness of the essay and how well it suits the conference forum (described above). Here you will highlight the specific strengths of the argument and areas for revision.
The essay is effective in discussing an identity crisis in the early Republic: that of class distinctions. It does this by looking at the role of incest in The Power of Sympathy. It is an unconventional take on incest—that it is the result of fragmentation and not the cause and that it is the symbol of an undefined social structure. There are appropriate critical sources that support assertions.
Specific Suggestions for Revision: Please describe specific points in the essay that will benefit from revision and make suggestions about how to undertake that activity. Pay particular attention to the clarity, specificity, and strength with which the argument is advanced; the demonstrated knowledge of the text and period; the distinction between the writer’s views and those of other scholars; the development of each point of argument with textual evidence; areas in which the argument lacks cohesiveness, evidence, or precision; and the contribution of this argument to the field. Please note broad areas in which the niceties of grammar, syntax, style of written expression, or MLA citation style need attention.
Watch out for verb-tense shifts, always talk about the plot in the present tense and try to be more clear in the section on blurred class distinctions—are they blurred in the early Republic or nonexistent? Also, a little more textual evidence in the section about Ophelia would strengthen the essay. Other than that, this is an insightful and interesting essay and I am interested to see what people do with it in the class discussion.
Date sent to Reader: 18 November 2008 Date due: 26 November 2008
Date Returned: 26 November 2008
Reader's Signature: Eric Fershtman
Manuscript Title: “A Father’s Misfortune: Incest and The Power of Sympathy” by Will Ambros
Recommendation:
Accept _____
Revise and resubmit __X___
Reject _____
Evaluation: Please consider the overall effectiveness of the essay and how well it suits the conference forum (described above). Here you will highlight the specific strengths of the argument and areas for revision.
The essay provides an effective argument backed up by credible sources. The author provides much evidence from the text, but may err on the side of too much plot summary.
Specific Suggestions for Revision: Please describe specific points in the essay that will benefit from revision and make suggestions about how to undertake that activity. Pay particular attention to the clarity, specificity, and strength with which the argument is advanced; the demonstrated knowledge of the text and period; the distinction between the writer’s views and those of other scholars; the development of each point of argument with textual evidence; areas in which the argument lacks cohesiveness, evidence, or precision; and the contribution of this argument to the field. Please note broad areas in which the niceties of grammar, syntax, style of written expression, or MLA citation style need attention.
Perhaps an expansion on the issue of class differences would be helpful, as well as general sentence structure issues. The opening is a little weak, and could stand some beefing up (for example, avoiding saying “I will discuss in this essay”). But other than that, this is an essay worth discussing.
Date sent to Reader: 26 November 2008 Date due: 26 November 2008
Date Returned: _________________
Reader's Signature _______Mike Hicks_______________________________________
2. Brief Description of Number of Drafts Written
When I write a draft, I constantly read it and reread it as I'm writing it, editing and adding to it as I go along. My drafts are more puzzles than papers, with different parts written and later cut and pasted into an order that seems worthy of a paper. This said, the draft that I submitted to the class was nearly my final, as I refused to turn in something that wasn't as close to perfect as I could make it. I did heed the advice of the reviews sent to me and edited my paper accordingly, but I really wrote only one true draft and proceeded to edit it as recommended by my peers.
3. Annotated Bibliography
-Barnes, Elizabeth. "Natural and National Unions: Incest and Sympathy in the Early Republic." Incest and the Literary Imagination. 138-155. Gainesville, FL: UP of Florida, 2002. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 16 Nov. 2008
While I only quoted this chapter of the book within my piece, the entire chapter regarding “The Fall of the Fathers” was important to my work, as it opened my eyes to the troubles of the family/class structure. I thoroughly noted of many parts in this book. The main argument within this piece is that the use of incest within the novels was a direct commentary of the state of the union, so to say. These were troubled times, according to Barnes.
-Dalke, Anne. "Original Vice: The Political Implications of Incest in the Early American Novel." Early American Literature 23.2 (1988): 188-201. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 16 Nov. 2008
This piece talks further about the family and argues mainly that the father is directly responsible for many of the fallacies of the family. It noted much on incest, but rather than look at simply the effects of incest on the class, it dove into the fact that the fathers were most to blame for the actions of their children. It seemed as if this piece took incest a little more personal, and that incest, while the fathers fault, destroyed a lot within the early American novel.
4. Index Cards were submitted physically in class.
5. Presentation Handout was submitted physically in class.
6. Research Project Inventory
I can't seem to find my inventory, though I know I submitted it. I understand, though, if you have to mark me off for not including it in my portfolio. I apologize.
7. Rhetorical Analysis
The Power of Sympathy: A Rhetorical Analysis
The Power of Sympathy contains a fantastic array of front matter, including a preface, a dedication, and a frontispiece. This front matter is arranged beginning with the intricate frontispiece, followed by an elaborate title page and dedication and, finally, the preface. Each of these items allow us a bit of insight into the intentions of the author and the potential path of the novel.
While there is no conclusive evidence on the title page of a targeted audience, within the dedication the author states that he intends for this novel to be read by the “Young Ladies of United Columbia”. He also notes that he is but a friend and humble servant, and that by writing this novel he hopes to expose to these women the “fatal consequences of seduction; [and] to inspire the Female Mind with a principle sense of Self Complacency”. The use of various fonts and capitalization techniques within the dedication also help to stir up the emotion and excitement that the author seems to have in regards to the subject of this novel. The vivid frontispiece, depicting the death of Ophelia, a character I have yet to encounter in the novel, also actively stimulates the readers’ imagination. The illustration portrays a grimacing woman, Ophelia, sprawled in an elaborate sitting room and apparently dying in the arms of an older woman while an older gentleman looks on in horror. This seems to assist the author in portraying the consequences of succumbing to seduction, as well as his intentions of saving women from the wretchedness of seduction. Later on, in the preface, the author also states that he intends to reveal the advantages of female education.
While I have only read the first twelve letters of this novel, it seems as if the author is writing towards young, middle-class, American women, and at times the author makes obvious his belief that some of these women were naïve and susceptible to “immoderate reading”(57), which in turn leads to “disgustful pedantry”(57). When considering the introductory material and the amount of the novel read thus far, I assume that there is to be at least one female character that succumbs to the call of seduction, and that her demise may perhaps be intended to serve as at least one example of the horrors associated with seduction. Also, while barely a quarter through the novel, we have been introduced to a multitude of characters, most of them seeming to be women. It must also be noted that the character Harriot is tied to both Mr. and Miss Harrington, though it seems as if neither Harrington realizes that Harriot, Mr. Harrington’s love interest, is a close friend of Miss Harrington’s. This may indicated that an interesting plot twist is in store.
While the novel will obviously be the most useful tool in analyzing the author and his intentions, the significant amount of front matter preceding this story help to grant to the reader some idea as to what is to be expected, as well as what to look forward to.
8. Preliminary Bibliography
Search Terms:
-Early American Novels
-The Power of Sympathy
-Mourning in Early America
-Education in Early America
-Seduction in Early American Novels
Arner, Robert D. "Sentiment and Sensibility: The Role of Emotion and William Hill Brown's The Power of Sympathy." Studies in American Fiction 1 (1973): 121-132. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Barnes, Elizabeth. "Natural and National Unions: Incest and Sympathy in the Early Republic." Incest and the Literary Imagination. 138-155. Gainesville, FL: UP of Florida, 2002. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Barnes, Elizabeth. "Affecting Relations: Pedagogy, Patriarchy, and the Politics of Sympathy." American Literary History 8.4 (Winter 1996): 597-614. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Brückner, Martin. The Geographic Revolution in Early America: Maps, Literacy, and National Identity Chapel Hill, NC: U of North Carolina P, 2006. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Byers, John R., Jr. "A Letter of William Hill Brown's." American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 49.4 (Jan. 1978): 606-611. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Court, Franklin E. The Scottish Connection: The Rise of English Literary Study in Early America Syracuse, NY: Syracuse UP, 2001. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Coffin, Margaret M. Death in Early America: The History and Folklore of Customs and Superstitions of Early Medicine, Funerals, Burials and Mourning New York: Nelson, 1976. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Dalke, Anne. "Original Vice: The Political Implications of Incest in the Early American Novel." Early American Literature 23.2 (1988): 188-201. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Davidson, Cathy N. "The Power of Sympathy Reconsidered: William Hill Brown as Literary Craftsman." Early American Literature 10 (1975): 14-29. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Dillon, Elizabeth Maddock. "The Original American Novel, or, the American Origin of the Novel." A Companion to the Eighteenth-Century English Novel and Culture. 235-260. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Ellis, Milton. "The Author of the First American Novel." American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 4.4 (Jan. 1933): 359-368. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Evans, Gareth. "Rakes, Coquettes and Republican Patriarchs: Class, Gender and Nation in Early American Sentimental Fiction." Canadian Review of American Studies/Revue Canadienne d'Etudes Americaines 25.3 (1995): 41-62. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Henderson, Desirée. "The Imperfect Dead: Mourning Women in Eighteenth-Century Oratory and Fiction." Early American Literature 39.3 (2004): 487-509. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Jarenski, Shelly. "The Voice of the Preceptress: Female Education in and as the Seduction Novel." Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 37.1 (Spring 2004): 59-68. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Stocks, Claire. "Acts of Cultural Identification: Tim O'Brien's July, July." European Journal of American Culture 25.3 (2006): 173-188. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Tennenhouse, Leonard. "Libertine America." Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 11.3 (1999-2000 Fall 1999): 1-28. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Vietto, Angela. "Inscribing Manhood and Enacting Womanhood in the Early Republic." Feminist Interventions in Early American Studies. 253-266. Tuscaloosa, AL: U of Alabama P, 2006. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
Young, Philip. "'First American Novel': The Power of Sympathy, in Place." College Literature 11.2 (Spring 1984): 115-124. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 13 Oct. 2008
9. Abstract
Dalke, Anne. "Original Vice: The Political Implications of Incest in the Early American Novel." Early American Literature 23.2 (1988): 188-201. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 22 Oct. 2008 .
In this article, Anne Dalke speaks of incest and its purpose within some early American novels. According to Dalke, incest, or potential unconscious incest, as was our case, was used for a reason, not simply as a meaningless plot twist within the story. Dalke states that a few early American authors used “a story of thwarted love to express, obliquely, deep anxiety about ease of social movement” (188).
Throughout the piece, Dalke reiterates and seeks to prove her idea that “the earliest American novelists expressed no literal fear of widespread incest, but rather a fear of the dreadful condition incest symbolizes: the absence of a well defined social system” (188). Dalke felt that the use of incest helped the authors reveal the blurring of class lines that seemed to be occurring in the new Republic of America. While she mentions a few other novels, she focuses often on The Power of Sympathy, mainly because of the various incestuous storylines that are found within. She notes a few similarities between the various incest novels, as well. Some of these examples include the lack of a mother figure to the usual well-to-do male figure, or brother, the domineering father who is usually the main criminal, and the sister figure being in a lower class than most, and her inability to raise herself out of that class. According to Dalke, in the new America, it was not unusual for a male figure to seek a mate outside of his class, including within classes lower than his. This meant that the father figure that bears and attempts to hide an illegitimate daughter in a sense opens the door for an incestuous encounter to occur with his usually legitimate son, as his illegitimate daughter most likely will fall into a class lower than his own. Another of Dalke’s observations was the fact that the majority of the father figures in these incestuous situations think more of the consequences they will face rather than those that their children will face. All of these observations and points lead to a broader understanding of the symbolic use of incest within our novel.
I believe that this article is tremendously eye opening, because it offers an insight into an issue that might have slightly been overlooked. When considering all of Dalke’s points, a deeper meaning was understood. Simply put, each of her arguments work. It was easily seen that incest was a convenient tool used by Brown to further reveal the dangers and consequences of seduction. The points she made regarding the selfishness of the father figure and the suffering of the children were most important, as they truly revealed the warped nature of the social structure within the American society at the time. Originally, I felt it strange and all too familiar that the two children both passed away due to their inability to love each other how they pleased. It was only after I read this article that I began to see that their deaths were merely tools used to reveal the deeper meaning beneath the novel. America, at the time, was growing, evolving, and simply trying to find a method to live by.
10. Proposal
Brotherly Love:
Incest in the early Republic
The use of incest within the early American novel has been regarded and studied by many a scholar, yet few seem to delve deep enough into the subject to find any real conclusions. Many regard the incest as merely a phenomena used by the author in order to either promote the plot further or to contribute to the moral lesson being imposed within the story. While both of these assumptions may indeed be correct, I have found that there is much more to incest than necessarily meets the eye. Anne Dalke, in her essay entitled “Original Vice: The Political Implications of Incest in the Early American Novel”, states that incest symbolizes “the absence of a well defined social system” and, through studies of my own, I have found that I thoroughly agree with her. While it may be easily overlooked, one cannot disregard the social dilemma that occurs outside of the incestuous relationship, and how this dilemma, in turn, seems to have a much more profound impact on the characters within the piece than the actual act of incest does itself. I intend to establish a grounded and rational argument detailing the severe effects incest has among all parties and relations involved.
As was previously stated, I intend to delve into the evolving social structure in pre-Revolutionary War America and explain how incest highlights the inconsistencies and fallacies that abound in this new Republic. While I intend to use both Anne Dalke’s “Original Vice: The Political Implications of Incest in the Early American Novel” as well as “Natural and National Unions: Incest and Sympathy in the Early Republic" by Elizabeth Barnes, I seek mainly to use my own findings and conclusions. When taking into consideration the arguments presented by both Dalke and Barnes, I found that I was able to fall deeper into the subtle chaos that was the American society, and I found that the use of incest in the early American novel seemed less to be a plot twist and more to be a clever tool used to identify the fragmenting within the society. I hope that as I define the effects of incest on the families of both incestuous lovers, as well as upon the society around, the reader can begin to realize the significance of such a literary tool and to further see the effects of incest outside of the two lovers.
There is very little existing criticism today that explores incest and its effects in Early America as the criticism that I hope to present to the conference. While some critics have begun to scratch the surface, few, if any, have spent as much time as intrigued as I have been in regards to the subtleties the use of incest holds. Upon reading my work, one will begin to see the consistent use of incest in early American literature as much more than it immediately seems, as a commentary on the larger issues facing the evolving Republic and the society it hoped to create. One cannot forget that America was beginning to revolutionize, and that the country would eventually change the world. It is no wonder that the society within the country would evolve just the same.
11. Rough Draft submitted to Professor
12. Final Paper
A Father’s Misfortune:
Incest and The Power of Sympathy
Published in 1789, William Hill Brown’s The Power of Sympathy tells a story of seduction, love lost, and turmoil. One of the most intriguing (and recurring) occurrences in the novel is that of incest. While Brown’s use of incest within the story may at first be seen as a means to display the treacheries of seduction, it has many other implications as well, especially in regards to the blurred class structure in place in America at the time. These implications also focus around the father figures of the new nation, whether they are familial fathers or social fathers, and they include commentary on the social and familial structures in the new Republic, and even go as far as to comment on nationality within the new nation.
Both Anne Dalke, in “Original Vice: Political Implications of Incest in the Early American Novel”, and Elizabeth Barnes, in “Natural and National Unions: Incest and Sympathy in the Early Republic”, agree that the use of incest within the early American novel meant much more than simply a means to display the monstrosities of seduction. For one, incest is used throughout The Power of Sympathy to display the problems with the American family structure at the time. In her essay, Dalke states that
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The family unit is not dissolved by incest, but is rather fragmented even before incest occurs. Indeed, it is precisely this fragmentation that leads to
the unwitting commission of the deed. With the mother absent, usually dead, only the father can hold together the disjointed community that is the early American fictional family. (188)
The father, while he may indeed mean well for his family, is not usually suited, or even capable, of holding his family together, as it is the father himself that is primarily responsible for the fragmentation of the family. There are many examples within The Power of Sympathy that can verify this claim, though only two are necessary to prove it.
Within the novel there is a story told regarding a character named Ophelia. In short, Ophelia is seduced and succumbs to the advances of her brother-in-law, Martin. Sometime later, Ophelia gives birth to a child, a child that is both the son and nephew of Martin. Once her father learns of the situation, “poor Ophelia receive[s] other punishment from the hand of a vindictive father than bare recrimination” (38). She asks her father for forgiveness, but her father refuses. To him, time deepened the wounds, rather than healed them. Ophelia, shamed beyond measure, poisons herself and dies. Upon finding his daughter dead, Ophelia’s father is “dumb with grief and astonishment” (40). While, in this case, the act of incest was not the fault of the father’s, the untimely death of his daughter and further fragmenting of his family was. Rather than forgive his daughter for her mistakes, he dwells upon the shame caused to both his family and his ego, and seeks to continuously shame Ophelia. He seems to view himself as more of a victim in this situation than his daughter, and he laments more on his shame and the shame that has
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befallen his family more than he does his daughter’s suffering. This overly self-conscious attitude directly leads to the further fragmenting of the family, rather than a resolution, and his irresponsibility and flawed parental actions eventually lead to his daughter’s suicide, a suicide that could have been entirely avoided, had he acted otherwise. Had it not been for the selfish pride of the father, the situation regarding his daughter and son-in-law may have eased or perhaps even been forgotten. Elizabeth Barnes comments on this type of tyrannical rule by quoting John Locke:
Imperiousness and Severity is but an ill way of treating men, who have reason of their own to guide them, unless you have a mind to make your children, when grown up, weary of you; and secretly to say within themselves, ‘When will you die, father?’ (143)
While Ophelia chose to kill herself rather than wait for her father to die, the effects of her fathers “Imperiousness and Severity” were one and the same. Anne Dalke states that “the loss of her father’s esteem, rather than the loss of her sister’s love, or even of her lover’s affection, most distresses the hapless Ophelia” (191).
Another example of the ill-suited father involves the main storyline in the novel, where we read a tale of the elder Mr. Harrington. Mr. Harrington is married, yet he begins an affair with Maria, a woman in a station lower than his own. This affair continues until Maria gives birth to a child, Harriot. It is at this point that Harrington abandons Maria to her own devices. Maria flees and is found by Mrs. Holmes, who cares for her until her death. Harriot grows up, and by chance begins to see the younger Mr. Harrington. While Harrington intends to seduce her, he is convinced of the evils of
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seduction and, in turn, falls in love with her. It is virtually the day before his wedding to Harriot that the younger Harrington finds out that the woman whom he desires to be his wife is actually his sister. Harriot eventually dies of grief, and Harrington kills himself in order to once more be united with Harriot.
In this case, the father is at fault for both the incestuous relationship and the death of both his son and his daughter, despite the fact that he did not act as harshly towards his children as Ophelia’s father did to her. His original neglect and irresponsibility, though, ultimately led to the death of his children. While some may argue that it was coincidence, that the encounter between the elder Harrington’s two children was mere chance, later works of American literature prove otherwise. The shortfalls of the father usually end up being more damaging to his children, which in turn leads to further pain on the father’s part. While it may have seemed as if the elder Harrington escaped almost unscathed from his adultery, punishment eventually proved to be unavoidable. While, in his letter to Mrs. Holmes after hearing the tragedy that occurred with his mistress, he apologizes and seems hurt, he still never retrieves and raises Harriot as his own daughter. His pride and ego seem to outweigh his rational judgment, and, despite seemingly realizing his mistake, continues to act as the flawed father.
Both the elder Harrington and Ophelia’s father prove to be criminals in regards to their families, as both were somewhat to blame for the deaths of their children. In Mr. Harrington’s case, though, the demise of the family began long before there was even much of a family to speak of. Unbeknownst to him, his adultery and disregard for the
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honor and respect necessary to begin and maintain a decent family would later haunt him as his family would begin to grow. As Dalke states,
Here the illicit sexual activity of the parent is roundly condemned as generally inappropriate for a new age, and as specific cause of his children’s woe. This early American father is not only prime sufferer in his children’s misfortune, but prime cause of their suffering as well. (193)
Both of these examples seem to reveal a warped family structure that was prevalent in early America, as it appears that a simple act of misplaced love could destroy an entire family. The use of incest in The Power of Sympathy, though, also seemed to comment on the social structure of the times. At the time of publication, this novel was only a few years younger than the American Revolutionary War, so it is safe to say that the social structure of the new republic was fairly new and perhaps constantly evolving. In a newly independent country, the class structure was in need of tremendous change, according to Brown.
Anne Dalke declares that incest symbolizes the “absence of a well defined social system” and that authors such as William Hill Brown “used a story of thwarted love to express, obliquely, deep anxiety about ease of social movement” (188). Brown reveals to the readers, through his use of incest, the need for clear boundaries in social and economic classes, if even the need for classes themselves. Brown simply implies that responsibilities needed to be realized by the classes that existed. While the novel reveals the supposed treacheries of seduction, it also reveals the treacheries of a society with blurred class lines, in which members of each class could easily frolic within classes
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outside of their own. Both the Harrington’s subtly display this need for a more vivid, responsible class structure.
Dalke states that “theoretically, in the flexible social arrangements of this new republic, a man could choose his sexual partner from any class” (188). The elder Harrington sinks far below his own social level and discovers a willing mistress seeking to raise her station in life. He selfishly seduces and impregnates her, regardless of the wife he has in his own station. Upon realizing the existence of a future child, he abandons his mistress. The consequences of his actions are later revealed through the actions of his son, the younger Mr. Harrington, after he falls in love with his sister Harriot, the elder Harrington’s bastard child. These events seem to signify Brown’s belief for the need of a clearly defined and responsible class structure, as the events that he writes of would not have occurred had a class structure of the sort been in place. While it is understandable that the republic of America is evolving, it does not mean that a blurred society was readily acceptable. As Dalke mentions, “the characters of these novels long…for a benevolent, protective upper class, for a clearly defined and clearly responsible social structure that will minimize the effects of misbehavior and the disruption it causes” (189). While incest revealed the need for a protective and responsible familial father, it also seems to reveal the need for a protective and responsible social father.
Even before we realize that incest has occurred in the novel, the younger Harrington engages in a speech regarding the nature of the class structure in America and its potential to destroy society itself. At a party, Harriot overhears someone regard her as a “mechanick’s daughter” in a scornful fashion, and she immediately exits the room. At
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this point, Harrington declares that “inequality among mankind is a foe to our happiness” and that “such is the fate of the human race, one order of men lords it over another; but upon what grounds its right is founded I can never yet be satisfied” (Letter XVII). While Harrington is at first an “upper-class seducer”, he eventually evolves into a “republican suitor converted to a belief in the American ideal of mobility” (Dalke, 196).
Harrington, as well as Brown, believes in the notion that the flexible and blurred class structure of early America was an intensely flawed and problematic construct. As was previously stated, Harrington mentions the idea of American mobility, or a classless society in which there was little, if any, social differences. A society of this sort would mean that there would not be any issue with marrying a mate in a class outside of one’s own, as there would be no blatant classes to look outside of. Brown seems to be echoing an idea that the Founding Fathers would later attempt to regulate themselves, an idea of a new society in which equality and freedom are available to all citizens, regardless of social standing. Elizabeth Barnes mentions the idea of comparing Britain to a bad parent, much like Ophelia’s father, and that the lack of equality between Britain and the colonies was alike to the inequalities thrust upon the children by a domineering father. The use of incest in the novel reveals the problems with the family structure in early America, which in turn lead the reader to realize the problem with the social and class structures of the era. These ideas can finally lead the reader to realize that equality was necessary for a proper society to function well, and that that was exactly what Britain sought not to offer the colonists. As Harrington states, “a democratical [society is] better than any other kind of government; and were I a Lycurgus no distinction of rank should be found in my
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commonwealth” (Letter XVII). Simply put, the use of incest in the novel could be deciphered as a clever way of commenting on the need for true equality within the new republic.
Brown’s use of incest in The Power of Sympathy, as well as many other American writers’ use of incest, clearly displays the need for a thorough reform in the growing American society. By simply writing a story of two tragic lovers, Brown managed to reveal to his readers the inconsistencies of the father figure in the early republic, whether it is the familial, social, or national father figure. These flawed father figures, if left unchanged, could lead to the demise of the republic that the early Americans fought so hard to establish. Dalke may state it best when she declares that Brown “approved established patterns of familial and social deference and responsibility” and that he did so “by inversion, in [his] display of the dreadful consequences of neglecting such obligations” (200).
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Works Cited
Barnes, Elizabeth. "Natural and National Unions: Incest and Sympathy in the Early Republic." Incest and the Literary Imagination. 138-155. Gainesville, FL: UP of Florida, 2002. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 16 Nov. 2008
Brown, William Hill. The Power of Sympathy. New York: Penguin Books. 1996.
Dalke, Anne. "Original Vice: The Political Implications of Incest in the Early American Novel." Early American Literature 23.2 (1988): 188-201. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. University of Central Florida Library, Orlando, Fl. 16 Nov. 2008
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