French Revolution

Until I read the introduction, I didn't really realize that Romance of the Forest takes place during the French Revolution since, especially compared to Desmond, it is hardly mentioned at all and there is very little political commentary. Instead, the novel focuses more on the landscape and suspense. This could be because gothic novels mainly "reaffirmed the familiar values and customs of English society". This seemed to hold true, as Adeline was mainly in trouble as the orphan with no real family. When she was safe La Lac insisted that she think of him as a father and that he would treat her as one of his own children. He was also introduced as a particularly loving father to his own two children. The villain of the novel, the Marquis, in his countless crimes, betrayed his own family and when he found he had no hope in the trial was consumed with guilt. Finally, when Adeline found out who her parents were, she was overcome with emotion, and conveniently she inherited her family's wealth that allowed her to marry Theodore instead of a richer suitor. Overall, I prefer this kind of commentary since it's hard to relate to the politics of over 200 years ago, but relating to the characters made me more interested in the commentary.