# Class and Money in Charlotte Temple

> Theme guide for Charlotte Temple by Susanna Haswell Rowson.

The book explores how social class and financial status dictate characters' choices and fates, from Mr. Temple's rejection of aristocratic marriage to Charlotte's poverty and dependence.

## Where it surfaces

- [II: Domestic Concerns](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-ii-domestic-concerns): Mr. Temple rejects the aristocratic tradition of marrying for wealth and status, choosing instead to live modestly and marry for love, while Captain Eldridge's imprisonment for debt highlights the precariousness of financial misfortune.
- [IV: Change of Fortune](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-iv-change-of-fortune): Temple's willingness to mortgage his fortune to relieve Eldridge contrasts with his father's emphasis on marrying for wealth and status.
- [Such Things Are](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-v-such-things-are): Miss Weatherby's wealth and social status drive the plot, as her fortune tempts the Earl and contrasts with Temple's choice of modest happiness with Lucy.
- [VIII: Domestic Pleasures Planned](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-viii-domestic-pleasures-planned): The planned celebration—a collation of fruit and sweetmeats in an alcove—reflects the comfortable middle-class domestic sphere.
- [X: When We Have Excited Curiosity, It Is but an Act of Good Nature to Gratify It](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-x-when-we-have-excited-curiosity-it-is-but-an-act-of-good-nature-to-gratify-it): Montraville's father warns against marrying a woman without fortune, and Montraville's inquiry into Charlotte's dowry underscores the centrality of financial considerations in marriage.
- [XVI: Necessary Digression](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-xvi-necessary-digression): La Rue's calculated pursuit of Colonel Crayton's fortune and the promise of a settlement highlight the economic motivations behind romantic liaisons.
- [A Wedding](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-i-xvii-a-wedding): La Rue's marriage to Crayton represents a strategic social climb, while Charlotte's lack of protection and status leaves her vulnerable to contempt and abandonment.
- [XXVIII: A Trifling Retrospect](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-ii-xxviii-a-trifling-retrospect): Mrs. Crayton's rise to wealth and status despite her immoral conduct critiques the role of fortune and class in determining social standing.
- [XXIX: We Go Forward Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-ii-xxix-we-go-forward-again): The farmer's wife's demand for rent and her contempt for Charlotte highlight the harsh intersection of poverty and social judgment.
- [XXX: “Friendship a Name”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/volume-ii-xxx-friendship-a-name): Charlotte's poverty and lack of resources force her to beg for charity from Mrs. Crayton, highlighting the class divide and the precariousness of women without means.
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/chapters/endnotes): Endnotes discuss the wealth and social standing of figures like Colonel Blakeney and the Montrésor family, as well as the financial implications of inheritances.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/themes/class_and_money
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/charlotte_temple_se/themes