Charlotte Temple and The Scarlet Letter

The first section of Charlotte Temple was intriguing and thought-provoking, as well as a surprisingly quick read. There were two passages I noted as particularly interesting, especially due to the way they portrayed or described the female characters. First, the poem on page 19 first caught my attention because of the phrasing used to describe Miss Weatherby. Specifically the lines, “born just to be amir’d and die; when gone, no one regrets its loss, or scare remembers that it was,” seemed harsh and uncaring (p. 19). Describing a woman as something to merely be admired for beauty and then forgotten seems to perpetuate the mindset that women should be valued for their appearance and nothing more.

            A second passage that caught my attention was on page 69 and described Charlotte’s situation after arriving in America as the “mistress” of Montraville. The passage compares Charlotte’s predicament to that of a married woman who “meets indifference” from her husband. The wife still retains many comforts that Charlotte does not, such as having friends and receiving some relief from their consolations. On the other hand, as a mistress Charlotte does not have access to such comforts. The passage specifically describes that Montraville “may leave her in a moment to shame and want; he may marry and forsake her for ever; and should he, she has no redress, no friendly, soothing companion to pour into her wounded mind the balm of consolation…she has disgraced her friends, forfeited the good opinion of the world, and undone herself…” (p. 69). The passage immediately reminded me of Hester Prynne’s predicament in The Scarlet Letter. I felt as though there were some similarities between the treatments of both women. Although the stories are different overall, both women are described as essentially disgraced and friendless as a result of a relationship with a man. Although Hester ultimately chose to take responsibility for her actions by refusing to admit her lover’s name and being outcast, whereas Charlotte was misled and influenced by Mademoiselle and Montraville, I still find the way both women are treated by society shocking. It seems as though Charlotte will always be pitied and cast out, just as Hester was, but that Montraville will not endure any societal repercussions. This caused me to wonder why women are disgraced in situations of adultery or sexual interactions outside marriage, but men are not. It may be a stretch, but to me that idea seems similar to the modern concept that women who sleep with numerous men are “sluts,” but men are expected to have sexual experiences with multiple women.