# Lucy Eldridge — Charlotte Temple character guide

> Lucy Eldridge in Charlotte Temple by Susanna Haswell Rowson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lucy, Eldridge, the little Lucy

**First appearance:** 0004-volume-i-ii-domestic-concerns

## Snapshot

A poor but virtuous young woman who wins Mr. Temple's heart and becomes the mother of the novel's doomed heroine, Charlotte.

## Who they are

Lucy Eldridge is the daughter of the ruined Mr. Eldridge, and her marriage to the worthy Mr. Temple is the novel's model of love rewarded by constancy rather than fortune. As Charlotte's mother, she stands at the head of the family whose peace Charlotte's elopement will shatter, and her later devotion to her granddaughter shows grief transformed into care. Her virtue is the standard against which Charlotte's fall is measured, and the tenderness she represents is what the story keeps trying to recover.

## Relationships

### [Henry Temple](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/characters/henry_temple)

_family_

Lucy Eldridge is Henry Temple's mother and Charlotte's grandmother, representing the older generation's sorrow.

### [Henry Temple](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/characters/henry_temple)

_family_

Lucy Eldridge is Henry Temple's mother and Charlotte's grandmother, representing the older generation's sorrow.

### [Henry Temple](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/characters/henry_temple)

_family_

Lucy Eldridge is Henry Temple's mother and Charlotte's grandmother, representing the older generation's sorrow.

## In the story

### [II: Domestic Concerns](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-ii-domestic-concerns)

The devoted daughter of Captain Eldridge, depicted as a lovely but sorrowful young woman painting a fan mount in the prison apartment.

### [III: Unexpected Misfortunes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-iii-unexpected-misfortunes)

Mr. Eldridge's daughter; she is present at his bedside after his illness, dressed in mourning.

### [IV: Change of Fortune](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-iv-change-of-fortune)

Devoted daughter who supports her father through needlework and painting, refuses to leave him, and expresses gratitude to Temple.

### [Such Things Are](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-v-such-things-are)

The beloved of Henry Temple; she agrees to marry him and they retire to a cottage with her father.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/endnotes)

Mentioned as the mother of Charlotte Temple, brought together with Henry Temple by Blakeney.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/characters/lucy_eldridge
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/characters