Throughout Romance of the Forest, I found myself always forgetting that this was a novel about French characters set in France. Though geographically located in France, there seemed to be little that struck me as culturally French; in fact, the families seemed thoroughly English to me in their responses and interactions with one another. The moments when I most recalled the location was when they discussed bandatti, the trial in Paris, and descriptions of Provence and Nice. These moments, however, seemed like very forced reminders, for the author and her readers, that the actions were located in a foreign land. I wonder: what would the effect have been if Romance had been set in England? Would it have lost its foreign mystery? Would it have seemed too close to home to be probable? In Desmond, it was very clear that Charlotte Smith used the French political moment to comment on her historical context, and by reflection, English government. Could Radcliffe have had any greater meaning behind the setting?
Additionally, at the end of the novel, I enjoyed seeing everyone end happily ever after...except for Louis. Theodore and Louis seemed very similar to me, and yet Louis simply never received Adeline's love. His love "yeilded...to the powers of love and necessity", becoming platonic (363). Louis's rejection makes me wonder if Radcliffe chose to show punishment of the father through the rejection of the son, or perhaps wanted to suggest that Louis, as La Motte's son, would have a greater tendency towards his father's sin, and therefore would not deserve Adeline.
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