Philanthropy - “Romance, Piety, Sensibility”
Rowson writes, "she (Lucy) frequently visited the cottages of the poor class of industrious peasants, and as her allowance for clothes and pocket money was liberal and her habits by no means expensive, she had many opportunities of relieving the distresses of some, and adding to the comforts of others…Aura Melville was therefore her usual associate and adviser in these visits of charity. Her bosom sympathized in their sufferings, and her judgment suggested the relief likely to be of most benefit." Lucy exhibits a philanthropic mindset for she devotes herself to the needy. Although she is a wealthy heiress, she does not ignore the plight of poor folks. Lucy is a sensible girl who depicts extraordinary humanity and love for the less fortunate. She focuses on the poor out of her own volition which infers that she is intrinsically inspired.
Orphanhood - “The Little Heiress, and the Master of the Mansion”
Rowson explains, “Lucy Blakeney had from her earliest infancy been under the protection of her maternal grandfather; her mother had ushered her into life at the expense of her own, and captain Blakeney of the navy, having been her godfather, she was baptized by the name of Blakeney in addition to her own family name.” Lucy is an archetypal orphan who does not experience an ordinary life with her parents for she is orphaned early in life. Her mother is a causality of maternal death considering that she succumbs, presumably to child-delivery related complications. Nevertheless, Lucy rises above a status of an orphan to be a sensible and intelligent human being.
