Mike Hicks - Abstract

Mike Hicks

AML 4101

Dr. Lisa Logan

20 October 2008

Forcey, Blythe. “Charlotte Temple and the End of Epistolarity.” American Literature: A

Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 63 (1991): 225-41.

Among fellow seduction novels such as The Power of Sympathy and The Coquette, Susanna Rowson’s bestseller Charlotte Temple appears to be an anomaly: a tale of seduction not written in the then-popular epistolary form. However, as Blythe Forcey explains in her article “Charlotte Temple and the End of Epistolarity,” written correspondence remains a fundamental aspect of the text and the novel illuminates both the reasons for the form’s popularity and its imminent demise.

Forcey begins by providing her main thesis: that the epistolary could not survive because “…it fell victim to the same forces of seduction and betrayal that its heroines were unable to avoid.” Thus, she contends, a traditional plot and a unifying narrative voice effectively rendered the epistolary obsolete. As the birth of the American novel cannot be separated from the birth of the nation itself, Forcey describes in detail the burgeoning population of the New World, contending that the literary conventions of the Old World had to be adapted to fit with the audience of the new. It is at this point that Forcey introduces her first argument for the death of the epistolary novel. Going to great lengths to describe the “motherly” nature of the narrator in protecting the purity of her audience, Forcey takes the position that the lack of support from this “narrative guidance” made the epistolary novel’s transition into America unsuccessful. The epistolary novel works on the assumption that the audience will understand the meaning and purpose of the work without assistance from an outside narrator. As the epistolary operates from several different points of view, the reader can sympathize with whomever they so choose. Thus, it became imperative—given the rapid urbanization and growing audiences—that boundaries be set in place to let an author’s audience know precisely what character to sympathize with. Forcey’s position then is that letters, “so open to misreading and abuse themselves,” are simply not enough to tell the tale of a young girl subjected to the “same sort of misinterpretation and misrepresentation.”

At this point in the article Forcey begins to analyze the plot of Charlotte Temple and establishes the author’s narrative interventions as almost an act of censorship, providing examples of the narrator refraining from displaying the text of a letter and making self-conscious efforts to realign the interpretations of the reader. Here (specifically regarding the omission of a letter) Forcey establishes another major point: that the inclusion of said letters causes an unintended identification with the villain. Quoting from Wayne Booth, Forcey says that “in any novel, ‘a prolonged intimate view of a character works against our capacity for judgment.’” Thus, the narration in Charlotte Temple serves three purposes according to Forcey: intervention to protect the character of Charlotte, intervention to protect the chastity and perceptions of the reader, and to provide digressions of advice to enrich the lives of her audience.

The totality of analysis that Forcey provides leads to the view that the narration in Charlotte Temple provides an “authoritative, unifying voice which gives structure and guidance to the reader.” This is something, significantly, that the epistolary novel lacks. Forcey points out that once Charlotte gives herself to Montraville, she can no longer direct her own writings. Thus, without the intervention of a narrator, Charlotte’s character remains obscured.

Finally, Forcey writes about the many French and multilingual characters in the novel, stating that those who wanted to survive in the evolving and increasingly foreign-influenced America would be forced to create “new and imaginative ways to communicate effectively with each other and the world” for which the narrated novel could serve this purpose. Forcey ends by stating that the American audience continued to favor the narrated novel after Charlotte Temple and that this new narrative style marked the beginning of a powerful new force in American literature.

This article works primarily due to the historical and sociological contexts Forcey places it in. She uses the novel Charlotte Temple as a metaphor for the death of the epistolary novel—noting several occasions within the piece where characters are denied access to letters and incapable of writing them themselves. She utilizes the words of several scholars, yet fails to provide more insight outside of the novel itself. More historical references to past epistolary novels could have given the article greater context. Her notion that the epistolary novel is seemingly incapable of providing a singular, unified viewpoint is interesting and perhaps accurate, and her opinion that modern readers interpret the epistolary with their own preconceived notions is certainly not without merit. Although this article does not address The Power of Sympathy, it provides important context and background to the form of the epistolary novel, as well as insights into its demise, which is something I am interested in addressing for a significant portion of my project. I found Forcey’s argument to be successful, by and large, having provided me with important insights regarding the form of the novel I’m currently researching. I’d recommend this article for students either studying the epistolary form or the seduction novel itself, as it provides historical context, textual interpretation, and educated suppositions to provide insight into this rarely-used style.

Abstract!

William Ambros
AML 4101
Dr. Lisa Logan
23 October 2008

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
Ambros 2
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.

My Revised Bibliography

William Ambros
AML 4101
Dr. Lisa Logan
12 October 2008


Works Cited: The Power of Sympathy

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 .

Get me out of here

Having been down in Miami all weekend for my father's birthday, I looked forward to returning to Orlando today. 'Twas not to be. Instead my brother's car broke down, and I am now sitting in an Econo-Lodge in Ft. Pierce. We got a ride from a tow truck, whose driver informed us of the dangers of hooker and blow, and told us which parts of town to avoid - helpful information. So after ordering a pizza and discovering that there is, in fact, an internet connection in this motel, I thought "What a perfect time to blog about The Power of Sympathy. So now I sit, listening to the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas, and pontificating on the seduction novel. I have, admittedly, not gotten too far into the book, but I hope to be done with the novel by the end of the week (this, combined with Hope Leslie and my French midterm, seems poised to eat up my week, reading-wise). Being a creative writing major, I'm always more interested in the form and writing techniques of a novel than, say, any "lit theory" aspects. So I've become interested in the form of this novel - the epistolary - which seems to be one of the major literary techniques in the early days of the novel. Of course, this has somewhat died out, with few exceptions ("The Color Purple" and the oh-so popular with hipster kids "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" being notable recent examples.) So for my research I primarily focused my attention on learning about this form - why it was used, why it fell out of widespread use, and how it evolved with the advent of computer technology. E-mail and instant message novels have become somewhat popular among young adult novels. I'm guessing it works well for youth novels... I don't think IMs would serve Don DeLillo novels well, but you never know...

Well it has been an incredibly long day, and my day tomorrow will certainly be unpleasant as well - unfortunately I'm gonna have to miss all my classes. I'm hoping to be back in town by the afternoon/early evening. I'll post more regarding my feelings on the actual text soon - so far I'm enjoying it, more than Charlotte Temple and The Coquette.

- Mike Hicks

I work too much...

Hello all!

I just got off of a grueling night at work and I'm exhausted. But if anyone wants to go out and eat somewhere awesome, head over to the Ruby Tuesday on University and ask for Will. He's by far their best server.

Anywho, I just wanted to post a quick update as to what's going on with myself and this novel of ours. I have finished reading it, and I must say that I truly enjoyed it, and I'm not just saying that. I have a hard copy of it, included in a two-for-one with The Coquette, so it's not too far fetched to claim that they both resemble each other, in a way. They're both seduction novels, obviously, and they're both written in the letter format, or whatever you'd like to call it. Honestly, though, I liked POS much more than The Coquette. One thing that I thought was kind of unique was the fact that the main narrators of this novel were men, while in The Coquette our main narrators were women. When I think of seduction novels, I think of romance, and when I think of romance, I think of women and romance novels. I'm in no way trying to be sexist, it's just that I thought that the creation of a seduction text written mainly from the males perspective was a simple yet intriguing idea.

I have composed a bibliography, and I could have sworn that I had posted my rhetorical analysis, but it seems that I posted it elsewhere. I'll post both up tomorrow after work (I work all day. ugh.).

I'm off to sleep. More posts to come shortly.
be well everyone.

-w

Rhetorica Analysis

So I'm finally catching up on the blogging. It's sinking in on how to use the site, can get a little confusing navigating around, but it's coming together. Here is my rhetorical analysis. I think we are suppose to put all our analysis's together and come up with 1 for the group right? Let me know if anyone concurs.

Christian Perez
AML 4101.0m01
Prof. Lisa Logan
October 3, 2008
Rhetorical Analysis: The Power of Sympathy

The author, William Brown, opens up the novel with a short note to the women of “United Columbia”. In the opening page he states briefly that his novel is about the “fatal consequences of seduction”, and that he wishes to inspire the “Female Mind with a principle of self complacency, and promote the economy of human life.” He goes further on to describe his purpose for the novel in the following preface. Here he goes on to say how there are many novels women read that are simply for pleasure and have nothing to teach the reader. Brown warns the reader that the following novel explores some vices that women may deal with in their lives, and shows the consequences of such actions. In other words this may be a novel similar to “Charlotte Temple” in that it serves as a guide for women to see how seduction works.
The subject of the text is explained in the introduction and preface. Brown makes sure that the reader knows that the following letters have to do with seduction and the vices that it holds for women. The women of “United Columbia” are clearly written as the intended audience for the novel. The implied author is writing for the women of America.
The implied author assumes that his audience is still building itself. It is a new society that still needs to come up with its own morals and standards on how to behave in certain situations. It is then his job to show the women of America what could be the downfalls of letting oneself be seduced. Along with showing his audience a lesson, the implied author still wants to be entertaining. When he mentions in his preface how so many novels are entertaining but have nothing to learn from, I think it was a way to let the audience know that his story will not fall short of being both entertaining while promoting the advantages of female education.
The author wishes the audience to feel empowered by the purpose of the novel. He is promoting female education and wants women to know of the world around them and the dangers it may possess. He may be using the story to show the female audience how being educated may benefit their lives in society. The front matter of the novel appeals to the audience because it is short and direct. His purpose is stated clearly and the novels subject is touched upon. It gives the reader ample information about the novel.
But in being short, there is only a little pathos and ethos in the front matter. The author establishes his pathos by uses fear of seduction to catch the attention of the reader. His ethos comes from his tone of voice in the introduction and preface. The low level of formality in the introduction and preface give the author a father-like, patriarchal tone.
The front matter is set in order of the engraving, name and publisher’s information, a note to the young ladies of united Columbia, a preface, and then the actual first letter of the novel. The picture at the front of the novel is titled “The Story of Ophelia” and has a caption that I think says “O Fatal! Fatal Poison!”. The picture shows a younger woman on the dying on the floor, holding the hand of her maid as a man is coming into the room behind them. Right now after only the first two letters of the novel I have no idea how the picture will relate to the novel, but I am sure that it is an engraving of an actual scene in the story.
So far I think the novel is going to be very similar to “The Coquette” and “Charlotte Temple”. Similar to “The Coquette”, the novel is in the form of letters between people that will tell the different sides of the story. The front engraving makes me think that this novel may be a little more dramatic than the rest though. With the mentioning of Shakespeare’s Ophelia, it might suggest that the main character could be a little crazy, and with the caption under the photo, I can only imagine who is going to take the poison to commit suicide, sounds almost a little Romeo and Juliet too me.

Preliminary Bibliography

Christian Perez
Preliminary Bibliography

So we are suppose to be showing our preliminary bibliography on here, I think i got this right. I know how to use Academic Premier most, so I used that database to make the most of my research. I found some entries on Sympathy and Seduction, but never found too much on the actual book. Here is what I have. I hope we can share resources. My key words I used were: Power of Sympathy, The
Seduction Novel of the early nation
Seduction Novel
Seduction in Literature
Women in nineteenth century literature

Work Cited

Catherine, Kerrison. "The Novel as Teacher: Learning to be Female in the Early America South."
Journal of Southern History 69.3 (Aug. 2003): 513. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UCF Library, Orlando, FL. 14 Oct. 2008 http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=10529736&site=ehost-live.

Anderson, Jill E., and Anya Jabour.. "Women, Revolution, and the Novels of the 1790s/The Seduction Novel of the Early Nation (Book)." Journal of the Early Republic 22.2 (Summer2002 2002): 309. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UCF Library, Orlando, FL. 14 Oct. 2008 http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7488994&site=ehost-live.

Nelson, Dana D. "WOMEN AND GENDER IN THE STATE OF SYMPATHY." Feminist Studies 28.1 (Spring2002 2002): 175. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UCF Library, Orlando, FL. 14 Oct. 2008 http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6721185&site=ehost-live.


Kalikoff, Beth. "THE FALLING WOMAN IN THREE VICTORIAN NOVELS." Studies in the Novel 19.3 (Fall87 1987): 357. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UCF Library, Orlando, FL. 14 Oct. 2008 http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7118325&site=ehost-live


Lerner, Gerda. "SINGLE WOMEN IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY SOCIETY: PIONEERS OR DEVIANTS?." Reviews in American History 15.1 (1987): 94-100. America: History & Life. EBSCO. UCF Library, Orlando, FL. 15 Oct. 2008. http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=A000274667.01&site=ehost-live.


Elliot, Emory. "American writers of the early republic." Dictionary of literary biography 371985 374. Biography Index. UCF Library, Orlando, FL. 14 Oct 2008. http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.26.

Preliminary Bibliography - Mike Hicks

Mike Hicks

The Power of Sympathy

10/13/08

Barnes, Elizabeth. “Affecting Relations: Pedagogy, Patriarchy, and the Politics of

Sympathy.” American Literary History 8 (1996): 597-614.

Davidson, Cathy N. “The Power of Sympathy Reconsidered: William Hill Brown as

Literary Craftsman.” Early American Literature (Amherst, MA) 10 (1975):

14-29.

Ellis, Milton. “The Author of the First American Novel.” American Literature: A Journal

Of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 4 (1933): 359-68.

Evans, Gareth. “Rakes, Coquettes and Republican Patriarchs: Class, Gender and Nation

in Early American Sentimental Fiction.” Canadian Review of American Studies

25 (1995): 41-62.

Forcey, Blythe. “Charlotte Temple and the End of Epistolarity.” American Literature: A

Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 63 (1991): 225-41.

Henderson, Desiree. “The Imperfect Dead: Mourning Women in Eighteenth-Century

Oratory and Fiction.” Early American Literature 39 (2004): 487-509.

Kempner, Brandon. “Epistolary Culture and American Literature.” Diss. Pennsylvania

State U, 2006.

Keskinen, Mikko. “E-pistolarity and E-loquence: Sylvia Brownrigg’s The Metaphysical

Touch as a Novel of Letters and Voices in the Age of E-Mail Communication.”

Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 45 (2004): 383-404.

Wabayashi, Makiko. “Imagining Solitude: Epistolarity in the Novels of the Early

Republic.” Diss. State U of New York at Buffalo, 2003.

Walser, Richard. “Boston’s Reception of the First American Novel.” Early American

Literature 17 (1982): 65-74.

My Preliminary Bib. (We are supposed to post this right?)

Amanda Dickson
AML4101
Lisa Logan
13 October 2008
Preliminary Bibliography

Anderson, Jill E. The Seduction Novel of the Early Nation: A Call for Socio-Political Reform. Journal of the Early Republic. Vol. 22. No. 2, pp. 309-312. (1999). 13 October 2008.http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=A000522966.01&site=ehost-live

Barnes, Elizabeth Lee. Revolution in Feeling: The Politics of Seduction in American Sentimental Fiction, 1789-1856. Dissertation Abstracts International. Vol. 52 No. 11 (1992). 13 October 2008. http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http:// search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=A000350232.01&site=ehost-live

Chalus ,Elaine. Elite Women, Social Politics, and the Political World of Late Eighteenth-Century England The Historical Journal, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 669-697. (Sep., 2000). 13 October 2008. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3020974

Henderson, Desiree. The Imperfect Dead: Mourning Women in Eighteenth Century Oratory and Fiction. Early American Literature. Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 487-509. (2004). 13 October 2008. http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=A000562649.01&site=ehost-live

Hunt, Lester H. Sentiment and Sympathy. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 62, No. 4: (2004). pp. 339-354. 13 October 2008. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1559229

Klein, Lawrence E. Politeness and the Interpretation of the British Eighteenth Century. The Historical Journal, Vol. 45, No. 4pp. 869-898. (Dec., 2002). 13 October 2008. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3133532

Laughlin-Schultz, Bonnie. How did Susanna Rowsen and Other Reformers Promote Higher Education as an Anecdote to Women’s Sexual Vulnerability. Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000. Vol. 11.No. 2 (2007). 13 October 2008. http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=A800031458.01&site=ehost-live

Testing post

Testing the Post button

I went to the newspaper archives on campus and found "The Boston Gazette and Daily Journal" dated from 1870-1890, somewhere in there. Anyway I didn't find anything on the scandal but it was full of political current events that would have been relevant to Brown. I didn't get a chance to print any (left my ID card at home) but after doing further research I found a more specific date for the suicide of Fanny Apthorp (the girl on which this novel is based). She killed herself in August of 1788. So my plan is to go back and search for this as well as print some of the articles that relay important political breakthroughs. I have a scanner so I can post them once I get my hands on them.

Davidson's Comments on the book

Hey you guys!
I was looking through Davidson's Revolution and the Word and I found that all of chapter five and some of chapter six is dedicated to our book. She even goes into detail about the publisher's personal background. Its really helpful. I also found out from Davidson that this book is based on a real scandal. I am going to the library later to look through old newspaper articles from Boston that published in the same year. Hopefully I'll find something about the actual events the book is based on. I'll post whatever I find.
See you guys in class,
Amanda

Mike Hicks
Dr. Lisa Logan
AML 4101
6 October 2008

A Rhetorical Analysis of William Hill Brown’s The Power of Sympathy

William Hill Brown’s historically significant work The Power of Sympathy—considered by many to be the first American novel—can be analyzed, like any other work, on its text alone. However, this would ignore the great insights that could be achieved by merely analyzing the front matter of the original 1789 book. What may at first seem like a superficial task in fact provides useful information regarding the text as a whole.

One of the most important queries answered by an analysis of the front matter of the work is the question of what demographic the novel was written for (or for whom it appealed most greatly to). The dedication that prefaces the novel makes abundantly clear that the novel was written for—or at the very least marketed to—the “young ladies of Columbia” as a cautionary tale regarding the fatal consequences of “seduction” (not an uncommon theme in this time period). After this dedication, Brown includes a brief preface in which he acknowledges the contempt held by many people for the novel as a form of literary expression, yet insists that it is necessary to expose the “consequences of seduction” as well as the “advantages of female education.” These are well-meaning notions to be sure, but raise questions on whether the work is feminist (pushing for female education) or not (seemingly pushing the idea of weakness and the ease of victimization of women).

Before these articles are encountered by the reader, a vivid and melodramatic depiction of a young woman’s demise (complete with the caption “O Fatal! Fatal Poison!”) presents itself on the very first page. The woman is identified as “Ophelia” and, prior to reading the work, it is perhaps excusable that the reader would be reminded of a certain other famous Ophelia in literature, also a tragic figure. Given the fame and respect that Hamlet had, it seems unlikely that the name is merely a coincidence. On the very next page the reader finds the title page, which contains a short poem regarding virtue, further driving Brown’s purpose of writing into the reader’s head.

Of course, novels (and all art for that matter) are not merely about the noble intentions that Brown has triumphantly—and somewhat pompously—declared in the opening pages of his novel. They are, after all, a money-making enterprise. It is only fitting then that the opening pages (as well as the first few letters in the epistolary novel) smack of sensationalism and sentimentalism. One is immediately encountered with images of death and promises of scandalous and salacious reading material for impressionable female readers (“SEDUCTION”). Thus, an average 18^th century reader (female or not) could very well have looked at this novel as the equivalent of a 1930’s gangster film—that is, the controversy and “smuttiness” of the work is overlooked as long as there is a moral message in the end. Although they were much less inclined to admit it nearly 220 years ago, sex sells, and always will.

Love is also a huge seller—the first 20 pages of the novel are filled with letters (not unlike the earlier Charlotte Temple) detailing characters’ plans to woo, be wooed, and admonitions from others to avoid wooing and being wooed. Grand odes to love and joy are presented (and subsequently mocked) which seem to go hand-in-hand with the emergence of romanticism in the Western world. Only further reading will indicate how much weight these themes will achieve through the rest of the text.

Amanda's Analysis

Amanda Dickson
AML4101

The Power of Sympathy: An Analysis of Front Matter.

The function of eighteenth century front matter is much like the modern book jacket. If you were to look at the modern novel it would most likely be jacketed in a paper covering with an illustration that represents some key thematic aspect of the novel, a short biography of the author would follow on the front inside of the jacket; towards the back on the inside pocket we might find selected critique of the novel in which accredited sources praise the work, and finally on the back cover a brief synopsis of the story. The eighteenth century novel functions in much the same way, addressing the concerns of the reader immediately in hopes to alleviate any doubt that the reader might have had in purchasing the novel. These concerns being, will I like this novel? Does it appeal to me specifically? What is it about? Is it good? These concerns inevitably break down into the question of audience and authorship.
In the The Power of Sympathy the very first page is an illustration of a young lady fallen into the arms of an older lady, while behind them in a doorway, lurks a older gentleman. I will come back to this illustration after a brief analysis of the title page, but what must be initially recognized is the similarity of this to modern novel, a picture being the first representation of the book. Also, this alludes to the author’s knowledge of the influence and immediacy of visual elements.
The title page, immediately following the illustration, is a compilation of information revealing who produced the novel (author and publisher information) and what was produced (plot synopsis and intention). The title states “The Power of Sympathy and The Triumph of nature” followed by “founded in truth” and then a short poem:

Fain would he strew Life’s thorny Way with Flowers,
And Open in your views Elysian Bowers;
Catch the warm passions of the tender Youth,
And win the Mind to Sentiment and Truth. ***

*** Davidson asserts that this was most likely inserted by the publisher and not the author.

Davidson states in Revolution and the Word that “As a reading directive for a new and as yet unsophisticated audience, all this represents a complex and comprehensive authorial program indeed. We have in the promise, the text as truth and, in the poem, the text as flower, as vision, as vicarious pleasure, and as, at best, a way to truth” (161). Let it be noted that Davidson is relaying this information in the chapter entitled “Commodity and Communication: The First American Novel” and this passage is under the sub-chapter “Selling the First American Novel”. This is no doubt evidence that the front matter is designed to sell the novel, and in turn we are literally looking at an artifact of eighteenth century capitalism.
The next thing the reader would see after the title page is what the database calls “miscellaneous front matter”. It is in this section that Brown directly addresses whom he considers to be his audience. “To the young ladies of United Columbia, these volumes intend to represent the specious causes and explore the fatal consequences of SEDUCTION. To inspire the female mind with a principle of self-complacency and to promote the economy of human life, are inscribed with esteem and sincerity by their friend and humble author, William Hill Brown.”

As Davidson reflects on the intentions of the publisher she touches on the function of this particular message:

“The Power of Sympathy presented no such problems and would have appealed to [the publisher] Thomas as a prospective publishing project for several reasons. The book would be the “first” American novel and thus had a definite nationalistic potential; Its particular detail to female virtue and female education argued its social morality; It’s effective explanation of a current and rather lurid scandal gave it the potential for turning a profit. But it should also be noted that at least one consideration weighted heavily against it. The available evidence indicates that Thomas himself was suspicious of fiction” (160).

Therefore, if the suspicion of a then said “innovative author” (Davidson, 158) was aroused, then would not the traditional views of the public be equally, if not more so, subjected to criticism? However, Thomas did have many reasons to appreciate the text, as Davidson articulates. It seems that by mentioning all of the positive influence that the text can have on the mind of these young Columbian women, that Brown is making an ardent outcry of credibility to his public.
The illustration suddenly becomes more relevant after reading the front matter. It is a representation of the triangle that exists between reader, author, and society. The young lady fallen into the arms of the older lady is who Brown considers to be his audience, The older lady herself, embodying the wisdom of experience and the sympathy of the fallen, is Brown himself. His holding up of the fallen lady is synonymous with what he hopes his literature will do. And the older gentleman in the doorway is society, a male gentleman of course, is symbolically behind the situation as an observer, Ultimately reminding young ladies of the watchful eye of society and importance of reputation.

Brown, William Hill . The Power Of Sympathy. Boston: Thomas and Co., 1789. Early American Periodicals. EZProxy databases. University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida. 06 October 2008. < http://infoweb.newsbank.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu>

Davidson, Cathy N. Revolution and the Word. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Pp. 158-161.

PICTURES OF THE FRONT MATTER

I decided to post the pictures of the front matter to the blog so that as we are reading each others analysis' we can just scroll the blog and see what each other is referencing.

Will's Rhetorical Analysis of P.O.S.

Will Ambros

Dr. Lisa Logan

AML 4101: American Novel

30 September 2008

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.