22 mar Rowson’s characterization of Montraville is more nuanced than it initially seems
"What am I about? . Though I cannot marry Charlotte, I cannot be villain enough to forsake her, nor must I dare to trifle with the heart of Julia Franklin. I will return this box . which has been the source of so much uneasiness already, and in the evening pay a visit to my poor melancholy Charlotte, and endeavour to forget this fascinating Julia."
In Chapter I, the young captain appears to be a dashing womanizer with no regard for the consequences of his actions. While before, Montraville proclaimed himself someone who "never think[s] of the future" (4), he is now determined to treat Charlotte as honorably as possible, even though he can't marry her. Montraville's good intentions add a layer of complexity to his character while also enhancing the realism of the story, since few young women would voluntarily elope with a man who was obviously evil and did not care for them.
“That I loved my seducer is but too true! yet powerful as that passion is when operating in a young heart glowing with sensibility, it never would have conquered my affection to you, my beloved parents, had I not been encouraged, nay, urged to take the fatally imprudent step, by one of my own sex, who, under the mask of friendship, drew me on to ruin.”