“Is she a princess or only an American?”

When the beautiful American traveler Miss Francesca Van Buren Monroe is formally presented at the Gallery of the Kings, her friend and travel companion Penelope Hamilton is just as in awe of Francesca, wearing a white satin gown, pearls, and carrying a rose, as the rest of the room, where an observer even asks, “Is she a princess or only an American?” (113). While Francesca’s glamorous entrance surely reminded readers of Cinderella—another commoner mistaken for a princess—the question posed about Francesca’s identity also speaks to the repeated representation of identity as fluid in Kate Douglas Wiggin’s Penelope’s Progress (1897). As Penelope, Francesca, and their older friend Salemina travel throughout Scotland, they repeatedly discuss their national identities and reflect on how they take on aspects of the countries they visit. While Francesca argues that international marriages lead to the loss of two national identities, the novel seems to suggest that identity is more fluid and perhaps, signaling its Americanness, a “melting pot” (67).