Ormond, the First Twelve Chapters

In "Ormond" by Charles Brockden Brown, there are moments where the character of Constantia is alluded to having more than platonic affection towards other women. There are a few moments within the first twelve chapters that I want to discuss.

First is a smaller example. One of these allusions is that every time Constantia's handmaiden is referred to, she is written as belonging to Constantia. This detail was small enough that I didn't notice it at first, but by the third time Lucy was mentioned, I realized that her name was always preceded by belonging, somehow, to Constantia. For example, "The attention of her Lucy was sufficient to this end..." (page 81) and later "...enlivened by no companion but her father and her faithful Lucy." (99). This could be read simply as Lucy belonging to Constantia because she serves her and Mr. Dudley, but not once is she referred to as the maid or as Constantia's ward. The affection in which the possessive "her" provides is more than just some familiar, friendly affection, but rather evokes the idea that Constantia's love for Lucy is more than what their proximity could create.

A moment that stands out far above the rest is a part in chapter eight when Constantia is attempting to sell her lute and notices someone else who is visiting the musical repository at the same time. The first line we get about this mysterious woman is that her "person and face instantly arrested the attention of Constantia." (97) which is a line that grabbed my attention in of itself. How often would someone interested only in the opposite sex be so enraptured by someone of the same sex? On the next page, Constantia examines the woman using language to describe her in a way that suggests she is attracted to her. She notices that this woman's "...complexion testified the influence of a torrid son; but the darkness veiled, without obscuring, the glowing tints of her cheek." (98). The woman has "...polished cheek and the mutability of muscle which belonged to woman, but the genius conspicuous in her aspect was heroic and contemplative." (98). Constantia sees characteristics in this strange woman that are usually used to describe men (heroic/contemplative) as well as a feminine beauty. This woman is also described as evoking more emotions of reverence than of love, yet in making that clarification, Brown is letting us know that emotions of love between Constantia and this woman could have been an option.

The most striking moment in this brief meeting between Constantia and this unnamed woman is when Brown informs us that if this woman had been described as nobler with a "complexion less uniform and delicate" (98) the description would be of Constantia herself. The resemblance between these two women evokes the idea that like attract like and how we are often attracted to people who emulate the better qualities in ourselves.

Whether or not these two examples were written for the sake of giving Constantia an attraction to women on purpose is something that remains to be seen the further into the novel I read. As it stands, these moments point to Constantia being attracted to women, with the only moments of doubt provided by the narrator and not herself.