American Woman, American Girl

Where to begin?!
Is Ann Carson the woman in The Guess Who song or the girl in Tom Petty's?
Of course, I love this narrative because we now have a female perspective to include in our semester-long dialogue concerning counterfeiters in early America, and I happen to be female.
Ann Carson, or her ghostwriter, is "well read." In her early years, Ann spends much of her time with Nathaniel Hutton who "became the director of my studies, which were the most improper a girl my age could pursue, being chiefly confined to novels, plays, and poetry, all calculated to inflame the imagination, counteract the operations of reason, and fill the mind with ideas too refined and fastidious for real life. Heroes floated before my mind's eye, dressed in all the glowing colours the poet's fancy could portray; and love seemed the only deity worthy a place in my heart" (49). Oh, Ann. This relationship seems to be Ann's first in which she must "sell" validation. I mean that Ann knows her "friendship" with Hutton is not clearly legitimate to her society. Following this relationship, Ann becomes more practiced, or simply more calloused, in blurring the lines of social convention. Interestingly, she seeks the knowledge that Hutton brings to her through literature, and not his "lovemaking." Later, when the reader is introduced to the many other gentleman with whom Ann interacts, they are judged based on the value of their "conversation." Although Ann attributes her many intrigues to the failings of love and satisfaction in marriage, one might argue that much of her intrigue stems from her desire and need for intellectual stimulation. Enter stage right: The impact of early American print culture on the American Woman. As a student of literature, I am, of course, opposed to the notion that reading can pollute the mind. However, Ann's aforementioned statement does hold some truth. Literacy rates are increasing. People can more easily access books and other print media. Women's roles are changing. Furthermore, Ann has a keen sense of what, to her, is "American." She tries to explain her rebellion against Captain Carson: "To this kind of conduct, I never could or would, bend. I was an American; a land of liberty had given me birth; my father had been his commanding officer; I felt myself his equal, and pride interdicted my submitting to his caprices" (82). Considering all of this information, how could Ann, in good conscience continue to live in suppressed silence? How could Ann accept her "fortune" and still be a good "American"? Ann's nationalistic sensibilities are not limited to her romantic escapades. Ann makes several remarks concerning the "law." Clearly, Ann understands the difference between "law" and "justice." Both Tufts and Burroughs make these distinctions also.
An amusing contrast: Much like Tufts and Burroughs, Ann has multiple unconventional affairs. Tufts often expresses his appreciation for women in terms of form, or body. Burroughs, in his own subverted way, does this also. Ann is not guiltless in this (remember Major Dunn from page 153, the man with brawn and no brain), but she clearly demonstrates her valuation of other characteristics in man: courage, bravery, honesty, pride and honor, qualities related to her opinion of a good American. However, none of her men quite emulate all, or even more than a few, of these qualities (Daddy issues anyone?).
Anyway, the next couple of weeks should be fun.