Mrs. Beauchamp: A Kind Villain?
"But surely her mind is not depraved. The goodness of her heart
is depicted in her ingenuous countenance."
....
"Charlotte caught the word pity. "And am I already fallen so low?" said she.
A sigh escaped her, and a tear was ready to start…” (48)
mrs. beauchamp's role in charlotte's
demise
WHO WAS MRS. BEAUCHAMP?
Charlotte first encounters Mrs. Beauchamp on her voyage to America. She turns out to be the daughter of the rich officer La Rue seduces, and takes pity on Charlotte the moment she learns that she is accompanied by her seducer. Still, she remains to be a seemingly sincere and generous woman who extends her friendship to the young girl and offers her companionship when she falls into her new, depressing life.
The reader is instantly aware of Mrs. Beauchamp's benevolent nature from the way Rowson describes her as "mild and engaging," yet her role in the story remains slightly confusing (48). Even after meeting her, Charlotte still ends up meeting with her bitter end, even with her help. And so, what was she sent to do?
One of her purposes could be that she was sent as another model of an "ideal" female character, similarly to Mrs. Temple. She is described as a pleasant character who leads a peaceful life, and feels for Charlotte's suffering and eventually act as her friend and “savior,” but she was not always there for her when she needed her.
In fact, her role in the story could have been a way of displaying how intention vastly differs from action. The following quote (1) illustrates how Beauchamp wills to "save" Charlotte and "snatch" her away from her fate, yet shows hesitation due to her fear of "the sneer of contempt and ridicule..
Perhaps Charlotte would have been saved if Mrs. Beauchamp initially reached out to her and stopped Montraville from taking her away, yet she only ends up helping her once they are out of sight - not in front of a crowd on a ship but in her secluded garden.
Despite the fact that Mrs. Beauchamp knows that helping her was the right thing to do, she is so worried about what others might think of her association with a seemingly immoral woman that she does not take any action when she first meets her. Her hesitation due to the fear of receiving mockery from others only shows how she might have valued "saving face" more than helping Charlotte.
quote 1:
"Would to heaven I could snatch her from so hard a fate," said she; "but the merciless world has barred the doors of compassion against a poor weak girl...[and] incurs the sneer of contempt and ridicule, for an action in which even angels are said to rejoice" (56)
BUT WAS IT SOLELY HER FAULT?
Even though she hesitated to help Charlotte at first, Mrs. Beauchamp's fear of receiving scorn from others may actually be justified. This hesitation is a result of a restrictive society that prevents women from acting the way they want and speaking up, and so they have to remain “well-behaved” in order to maintain their good name and not be the subject of scorn and judgement. They are also not meant to associate with those with "loose" morals, despite the fact that they were clearly the victims in those situations.
"She Should've Known Better" by Tarvin (2017) examines the notion of expectations of men vs women during the time at which this novel was written, noting the fluidity of the first compared to the latter. Women more often blamed for what they have done, while the "sympathy" aspect of an incident is directed to a man.
In fact, in this situation, Charlotte was most likely seen as the siren that seduced poor Montraville with her sinfulness. And so despite the fact that Beauchamp directs her compassion towards Charlotte, she does end up singling her out as an "object" of pity and in a way, pinning the blame onto her.
Situations like this are also prevalent nowadays, where women are usually given the blame for the wrong doings of others and, unfortunately, many girls hesitate to act and speak out too because society could condemn them for it. Like Mrs. Beauchamp (quote 2), they probably do wish to console and speak up, yet this fear of taking action prevents them from doing so.
There are other contemporary occurrences that demonstrate that the act of speaking and defending the victims may in fact lead to a change being made. For instance, the recent incident that urged thousands of voices to speak up was the story of Noura Hussein, a Sudanese teenager who was sentenced to death after killing her "husband" in order defend herself from his attempts of raping her. Many people are standing up for her and attempting to make a difference, which illustrates how people's actions can save a life.
quote 2:
"The longer Mrs. Beauchamp was a witness to the solitary life Charlotte led, the more she wished to speak to her, and often as she saw her cheek s wet with the tears of anguish, she would say—"Dear sufferer, how gladly would I pour into your heart the balm of consolation, were it not for the fear of derision."” (56)
- Rowson, Susanna. Charlotte Temple. 1794. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011.
- Tarvin, Delanie. "“She Should Have Known Better”." America's Problematic Sex Life, Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS), 10 Feb. 2017, blogs.lt.vt.edu/delanietarvin/2017/02/10/she-should-have-known-better/.
- Embury-Dennis, Tom. "Noura Hussein: Sudanese teenager sentenced to death for 'killing husband after he raped her' should be pardoned, say campaigners." Independent, [UK], 11 May 2018, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/noura-hussein-sudan-teenage-girl-kill-husband-rape-murder-pardon-death-penalty-a8347041.html.
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