Marse Chan: Analysis of Major Characters
"Marse Chan: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate relationships and diverse personalities within a Southern setting during the Civil War. Central to the narrative is Marse Chan, a young gentleman and captain who embodies loyalty to both his family and state. His unrequited love for Anne Chamberlin, marked by a tragic duel with her father, highlights themes of honor and reconciliation, despite her eventual rejection of him before he goes to war. Anne, portrayed as beautiful yet proud, ultimately holds affection for Marse Chan, leading to her burial beside him after her death.
The character of Sam, Marse Chan's devoted servant, represents the complex dynamics of master-servant relationships, often romanticized in Southern literature. Other key figures include Mr. Channing, Marse Chan's father, and Colonel Chamberlin, Anne's father, whose political rivalry ignites a familial feud. Additionally, the narrative weaves in characters like Maria, a slave entangled in legal disputes due to her sale, and Mr. Ronny, a lieutenant who confronts Marse Chan over disrespectful remarks. Through these characters, the story delves into themes of loyalty, social hierarchy, and the personal impacts of the Civil War, inviting deeper reflection on the era's cultural complexities.
Marse Chan: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Thomas Nelson Page
First published: 1884 (collected in In Ole Virginia, 1887)
Genre: Short fiction
Locale: Virginia
Plot: Regional
Time: Civil War period
Marse Chan, a young Virginia gentleman, loyal to his family and to his state in the Civil War, during which he becomes a captain. His love for Anne never ceases, even though she rejects him following the duel with her father. He is killed leading a regimental charge. When he dies, he has next to his heart the letter of penitence and love that Anne wrote after her father agreed not to stand any longer between the lovers.
Anne Chamberlin, his pretty sweetheart, sorrel-haired and dark-eyed. Proud and unforgiving after her father's duel, she rejects Marse Chan's attempt at reconciliation before he leaves for the war. Her heart and thoughts remain with him, and when she dies not long before the fall of Richmond, she is buried next to Marse Chan.
Sam, Marse Chan's servant, a slave given to Mr. Channing's baby son to be his lifetime body servant. He is Marse Chan's boyhood playmate, his idolizing servant at college and during the war, and the driver who takes his body home for burial. Sam is the prototype of the loyal slave in romantic Southern fiction who regards his relationship to his master not as bondage but as loving service to a kindly and wholly admirable superior.
Mr. Channing, Marse Chan's father, a plantation owner and, like his son, a model Southern gentleman.
Colonel Chamberlin, Anne's father, the owner of a neighboring plantation. A Democrat, he is angered at being defeated in a Congressional election won by Mr. Channing, a Whig. The colonel's hurt pride causes the feud that separates the two families.
Maria, a slave sold by Colonel Chamberlin and bought by Mr. Channing. The purchase of Maria and several other slaves leads to two lawsuits by the colonel, who loses both of them. Humiliated in a duel with Marse Chan over his insulting remarks about Mr. Channing, he holds a grudge until he hears of Marse Chan's defense of the Chamberlin name in a fight with Ronny.
Mrs. Channing, Mr. Channing's wife.
Mr. Ronny, a lieutenant under Marse Chan, who knocks him down for making improper remarks about Anne and her father.
Ham Fisher, a black carriage driver rescued from a burning barn by Mr. Channing, who is permanently blinded as a result.
Miss Lucy Chamberlin, Colonel Chamberlin's sister and housekeeper.
Mr. Hall, a schoolmaster.