There are many scenes which play parallel or mirror scenes in Catharine Maria Sedgwick’s Hope Leslie. The use of echo scenes plays a large part in the flow and foreshadowing of the novel. Through use of these scenes, Sedgwick is able to incorporate a degree of anticipation while encouraging the reader to make historical, biblical, and social connections to the events as they unfold.
The novel begins with the tale of love lost due to the meddling of Alice Fletcher’s father, Sir William. In fact, “Sir William perceived their growing attachment and exulted in it” (4). The scene plays out that the lovers who are originally thrust together by Sir William are then forced apart. In Volume I, Mr. Downing suggests that Everell should wed Ester; here he says “I have already taken the first steps towards bringing about so desirable an end” (97). Much like the scene which takes place between Alice and her father, Ester is thrust into a situation with Everell because of her father. Had Ester’s father not encourage the relationship to foster by inviting Everell to his house, it is possible that Ester’s life would take a very different turn; use of these parallel scenes, helps readers to notice the citizenship status of unmarried women. Both Alice and Ester’s futures are shown as being entirely dependent on the decisions made by their fathers.
Another parallel scene Sedgwick demonstrates is far less obvious. Rosa, a young girl under-cover, warns Hope Leslie of her master’s deceitful ways. Here she says “Promise me you will not love my master. Do not believe him, though he pledge the word of a true knight always to love you” (110). In a similar scene, Jennet, a house-maid overhears a conversation between Everell and an accomplice and runs to tell Sir Philip Garner of this great secret. The use of characters such as Rosa and Jennet as a means for establishing a social gossip network are a tool Sedgwick shows great mastery of.
