Character Development

Unlike Madison, I enjoyed the fast-paced plot of The Romance of the Forest, mainly because the rapid plot progression allows for noticeable character development throughout the novel. In Sense and Sensibility, Austen reveals secrets about her morally questionable characters, Willoughby and Edward, but creates little change in her protagonists. Radcliffe's villains also have secrets, but unlike Austen, Radcliffe demonstrates change in many of her characters, not just the bad ones. For example, Adeline learns that she cannot trust everyone, as she immediately did with the La Mottes. Upon her second rescue (by Theodore), she reflects, "again she was going to claim the bounty of strangers -- again going to encounter the uncertainty of their kindness" (174). Similarly, La Motte transforms from a "cruel enemy" to a man sincerely concerned with Adeline's well-being (234). No longer a powerless servant, La Motte decides to face the Marquis' wrath and help Adeline escape.