The Power of Sympathy

The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature (1789) is an 18th-century American sentimental novel written in epistolary form by William Hill Brown, widely considered to be the first American novel. The novel was published by Isaiah Thomas in Boston on January 21, 1789, and sold at the price of nine shillings.The Power of Sympathy was Brown's first novel. The characters' struggles illustrate the dangers of seduction and the pitfalls of giving in to one's passions, while advocating the moral education of women and the use of rational thinking as ways to prevent the consequences of such actions.

The novel mirrors a local New England scandal involving Brown's neighbor Perez Morton's seduction of Fanny Apthorp; Apthorp was Morton's sister-in-law. Apthorp became pregnant and committed suicide, but Morton was not legally punished. The scandal was widely known, so most readers were able to quickly identify the "real" story behind the fiction: "in every essential, Brown's story is an indictment of Morton and an exoneration of Fanny Apthorp", with "Martin" and "Ophelia" representing Morton and Apthorp, respectively.

A century after William Hill Brown's death in 1793, Arthur Bayley, editor of The Bostonian, published a serial publication of The Power of Sympathy, attributing the work to Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton of Boston, a poet, the wife of Perez Morton and sister of Frances Apthorp. Through much of the 19th century, the author was believed to be female.

The opening letters between Harrington and Worthy reveal that Harrington has fallen for Harriot, despite the reservations of his father. Harriot resists Harrington's initial advances, as he intends to make her his mistress; readers also find that Worthy encourages Harrington to abandon his licentious motives in favor of properly courting Harriot. However, when Harrington and Harriot become engaged, Mrs. Holmes becomes alarmed and exposes a deep family secret to Myra: Harriot is in fact Harrington and Myra’s illegitimate sister. Mr. Harrington's one time affair with Maria Fawcet resulted in Harriot's birth, which had to be kept a secret to maintain the family’s honor. Thus, Eliza’s mother-in-law, the late Mrs. Holmes, took Maria, Thomas and Harriot into her home. After Maria’s death, Harriot was raised by a family friend, Mrs. Francis.

Upon receiving the news of this family secret, Harriot and Harrington are devastated, as their relationship is incestuous and thus forbidden. Harriot falls into a grief-stricken consumption, a condition now referred to as tuberculosis, from which she is unable to recover. Harrington spirals into a deep depression and commits suicide after learning of Harriot's death.

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