Charlotte Smith's epistolary novel address many significant social and gender problems.Smith not only offers reasoning against the mistreatment of women and the oppression of the poor, but with the backdrop of the French Revolution she is able to address the full extent of aristocratic corruption as well. After piecing together the arguments that Smith proposes I found, what I believe to be, the main argument of her text. The root of the issues confronted seems to be the sense of entitlement.
I suppose it could be argued that the latter assertion was not in fact the central idea that Smith was attempting to undermine. One could argue that despite all of the issues she address, that women are actually her main focus. But I believe an argument such as that would be a injustice to Smith's work and would neglect or even undermine the more serious and broader problems that she addresses.
There are several examples of how entitled people use their power irresponsibly littered throughout the novel. I found the first example, a some what subtle example in comparison to the ones to come, was the way Waverly is portrayed. All of his life everything has been handed to him, he is naive and gullible. Next we find a stronger example from the retelling of Desmond's impression of Bethel's kin. Miss Fairfax's overall snooty characterization and later on her very open and intense dislike of the poor are quite distasteful. Geraldine's husband is an extremely disturbing character, he not only abuses his position as a husband and father, but as a Lord as well. In his own words he doesn't "care a curse for their damned politics"(174). Of course there are many other examples of power abusing people made by Smith, but there are also examples of people in power who are not so corrupt.
Smith uses the story of Geraldine to attack a much bigger problem that of just gender roles or class. Her attack on entitlement is an attack on human character as a whole. To be handed positions of power instead of earning it leads to corruption and a lack of empathy. Only through hard work can the full positive potential of a ruler be attained, whether that ruler be of an estate, a country, or a household.
Youtube video I found that doesn't deal with the French Revolution, but a funny short clip about the symptoms of entitlement.
"The Danger of Entitlement" Part 1
How does Smith's characterization of people in positions in power effect her argument? In what ways?How did you perceive these arguments? Strong/Weak?
What could she could have done differently to have a stronger influence on her readers?
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