Today I wanted to give my thoughts on identity. When I started middle school I began an introspective journey most teenagers embark on. I lived in my head for most of middle school and high school. I was always thinking and worrying about really nothing at all. I was always looking for a way to … Continue reading You Are →

https://open.spotify.com/track/0CaBBQsaAiRHhiLmzi7ZRp?si=YStrNrhqTUOIiZ7vZjY1mA PSA: This blog is to be read while listening to “Two of Us” by The Beatles This blog is dedicated to the 1.5 (physical) years of friendship between Lewis Blake and George Haddonfield.  Although seemingly unlikely, this relationship between Lewis and George actually makes a lot of sense.  Aside from their love for The … Continue reading The Mood(board)s of Friendship →

Susan Rowson’s novel Charlotte Temple is one of the most renowned stories not in our modern day, but of all time. Having been published in 1791, as you can probably guess novels weren’t very popular at this time. Possibly one of the most impressive things about the novel that when it was released it was America’s first … Continue reading The Clear Vision of Wealth and Emotion in Charlotte Temple →

Susanna Rowson’s Charlotte Temple aggravated the late eighteenth century nation’s anxiety over its own claims to virtue in the popularized revolutions against the patriarchal authority in England. The supposed tale of truth appealed to the general public’s cultural obsession over seduction tales, or stories of young, naive girls who would be seduced away from their … Continue reading Charlotte Temple’s True Killer →

When I was reading “The Lowell Offering,” I was quite intrigued by the countless stories of the young women working in the factories. Their childhoods look so different from the one that I experienced because they were basically thrown into the adult world as soon as they were of working age. In addition, there was … Continue reading Keeping up with the GrLs →

By: Linda Jiang Being autonomous doesn't necessarily mean being in control but being in control is autonomous. In the novel Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson, the main character becomes an individual that's easily controlled by others. Like many protagonists, Charlotte is a beautiful and naive heroine whose life becomes a tragedy because of villains. And the villains … Continue reading Absence of Power and Control in Charlotte Temple →

By Maggie Packard Susanna Rowsan uses the theme of power and control in Charlotte Temple to confront those who use their power as a way to control those without it, just as Belcour, La Rue, and Montraville use their power to determine the fate of the naïve Charlotte. La Rue uses her influence over the … Continue reading Manipulating Power and Control in Charlotte Temple →

Susanna Rowson’s Charlotte Temple exemplifies the blurred line of expectation and responsibility placed on those who transition from their girlhood, especially early on. The novel argues for the balance between an individual’s coming of age and the burdens of adulthood. We anecdotally learn the consequences and bear the guilt for placing too much expectation on … Continue reading The Balance of Growing →

Savannah Sowell Although there is no one meaningful way to define the modern period of adolescence, I have chosen to treat it as a time in which children learn how to be adults and begin to transition into being fully formed, functional members of society, specifically by being given opportunities to exercise their agency and … Continue reading Reason and Autonomy in Charlotte Temple →

Discussions concerning adolescence, are always about the books; the character’s adolescence and coming of age. What about the authors? The author’s coming of age is left out of the discussion, unless it has a significant effect on the narrative. The topic switches when the writers are young. Working in Lowell Massachusetts, established a new role … Continue reading Whose in Control? →