Restrictive Autonomy

As Albert Einstein so eloquently once said “common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen”. Adolescence is a time to grow and develop both physically and mentally. It is a transition state from childhood purity to adulthood corruption. A common theme throughout recent history has been to “protect the children”.  This theme has been formed as a result of the correlation between the undeveloped brain of an adolescent and a sense of vulnerability. “Protecting the children” is an idea that can be projected to the word autonomy. Autonomy in this context meaning the amount of freedom designated to adolescent to promote or deter a sense of privilege and individualism. As seen in the best-selling American novel, Charlotte Temple, the circumstances and immense freedom Charlotte is given ultimately lead to her demise.

At the time of publication, the word “teenager” was not a defined term. It was not until the end of World War II where teenagers became a marketable demographic during the post-war economy. Yet, the novel Charlotte Temple invokes a sense of responsibility and pity on the reader directed towards the protagonist Charlotte that is undeniable. Autonomy in this novel is a proxy for lack of perceived choice for Charlotte and other characters in the book.  The reader cannot help but feel sorry for Charlotte after time and time again she breaks conventional wisdom and follows her naive judgements or succumbs to social pressures. One example of this is Charlotte’s early interactions with Montraville. Shortly after inserting himself into Charlotte’s life, Montraville proposes that Charlotte and he get married and move to America. After going back and forth about it for a while, Charlotte eventually agrees to go through with it. This is a momentous change for Charlotte since she is moving away from everything familiar to her, including her family. She even remarks on page 39, “Oh! My dear forsaken parents!” (Charlotte Temple) when she returns to Montraville to refuse his offers. She fails to stand her ground on this argument with him and succumbs to his direction and will. This leaves the reader with a sense of sadness towards Charlotte since she was so explicit on not wanting to leave with Montraville but he was able to play into her emotions and manipulatively convince her otherwise.

Through his actions and words, Montraville also demonstrates a lack of autonomy in this novel. To Montraville there are two main aspects that limit his autonomy as a character. These are the army and his view on marriage. Both aspects are linked to his family which have a massive impact on how he lives his life and what values he holds. Through the description of Montraville’s family, the narrator makes it clear that he is from a rich family, and public perception of their family is paramount. Throughout the father’s monologue, his father approves of him joining the army and states that he is willing to support him in anyway. The father tells Montraville to “remember, therefore, your success in life depends entirely on yourself” (“Charlotte Temple”, 32). However, there is one limiting factor to his father’s support. This limiting factor is the understanding that Montraville will not get married to someone who is poorer than he is. His father says that “if, on the contrary, you rush into a precipitate union with a girl of little or no fortune, take the poor creature a comfortable home and kind friends, and plunge her into all the evils a narrow income and increasing family can inflict, I will leave you to enjoy the blessed fruits of your rashness” (“Charlotte Temple”, 32). The idea of only being able to marry within his socioeconomic bracket comes into play later in the novel when he pursues Charlotte well knowing that she does not come from a family of wealth and prosperity. This tension created between Montraville and his family’s wishes creates friction in the novel and demonstrate a perceived lack of autonomy.

To conclude, the author uses autonomy in this novel to highlight social pressures and guide the reader to side with the protagonist. At the time of publication this story allowed readers to sympathize or empathize with the struggles of an adolescent. Today, this book still holds applications and allows a modern audience to gain insight to some of the social pressures and social norms of the time.

Rowson, Susanna. “Charlotte Temple: a Tale of Truth : Rowson, Mrs., 1762-1824 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, New York, E. Duyckinck, 1 Jan. 1970, archive.org/details/charlottetemplet00rowsrich/page/38/mode/2up.

-Solomon Heisey