ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how Charlotte Doyle begins in a colonized position without the ability to define her own gender and progresses to her role as a strong female character who defines herself and dominates others. Charlotte’s role as a strong female protagonist is important since it allows her, rather than the male characters on the Seahawk with her, to determine her own gender identity. Charlotte’s life as it was lived could be perceived differently by someone else, thus making her tale one representation of the voyage. Charlotte’s institutionalization into male ideas of womanhood began during her time at Barrington School for Better Girls, where she learned “penman-ship, spelling, and the ancient authors of morality”. Charlotte, who has been colonized by society and her education, is colonized by these men because they seek to use her for their own needs as well, which was common in the political situation between Europe and the Middle East when Said coined the term “Orientalism.”.
