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.