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''The Female Marine, or The Adventures of Lucy Brewer'', was first published in 1815 as a series of pamphlets sold in Boston. The series is the supposedly autobiographical account of Lucy Brewer, although controversy has surrounded the true authorship of the story as some believe it was in fact written by Nathaniel Hill Wright. ==Plot summary== First Part: The Narrative of Lucy Brewer〔Brewer, Lucy, and Eliza B. Webb. The Female Marine, Or, Adventures of Miss Lucy Brewer: A Native of Plymouth County, Mass. Boston: s.n., 1817. Print.〕 Sixteen-year-old Louisa Lucy Brewer lives the life of a farm girl in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She falls in love with a boy named Henry and becomes pregnant soon after. Henry’s refusal to marry Lucy leads her to the city of Boston, which was then perceived as a port city of bustling opportunity. Lucy travels to Boston looking for a chambermaid job with better wages. She is led into West Boston, known as “Negro Hill” at the time. After her baby dies during childbirth, Lucy is duped into a life of prostitution and struggles in a cycle of seductions and betrayals. Lucy speaks of the people and incidents she has seen during her three years working in “Negro Hill.” In 1812, she meets a first lieutenant of a privateer, who mentions in a conversation with Lucy that if he were a woman, he would disguise himself as a man and “rove about and see the world” just like Revolutionary war veteran Miss Sampson who disguised herself as Robert Shurtliff (70). Reluctant to return home to her parents or stay in the brothel, Lucy escapes by joining the Marine Corps to patriotically fight in the War of 1812. Dressing as a man and taking the name George Baker, Lucy disguises herself to go aboard the frigate U.S.S. Constitution. For the three years that she serves and fights in naval battles against the British, Lucy keeps her gender a complete secret. Afterward, Lucy chooses to return to her parent’s home after leaving six years prior. She transitions back into her life at Plymouth as a woman, traditionally marrying and living the rest of her life. She marries a man named Charles West. Lucy confesses that her reason for writing this story and revealing her double life stems from her desire to dissuade young girls from listening to the “voice of love, unless sanctioned by paternal approbation, and to resist the impulse of inclination, when it runs counter to the precepts of religion and virtue” (76). Second Part: Continuation of Narrative Lucy officially reveals her true identity at the beginning of Part Two, and briefly provides an overview of the events told in Part One. After resettling at her parent’s farm, Lucy leaves again for Newport, Rhode Island, disguised as a man. On the carriage that she took to Newport, Lucy finds herself in an altercation; as a disguised man, Lucy notices two men who purposely speak condescendingly towards a woman in the inn that the carriage's passengers temporarily stop at. Lucy, as George Baker, threatens to duel the men in a gunfight. Three weeks after Lucy's arrival in the city, the woman from the inn invites Lucy for dinner due to her honorable actions on the carriage ride. Lucy learns that the woman belongs to a wealthy family in New York City. After leaving New York and arriving in Providence, Rhode Island, Lucy visits the brothel that had once tricked her. Inquiring about herself to the owner of the brothel, Lucy learns about the brothel owner's true thoughts; she at least expected Lucy to thank her for the 'services' and shelter she was given. This leads into Lucy’s digression where she tells a story of a young man who was deceived by a prostitute and fell ill to disease, warning the reader to not engage in these areas of the city. Lucy ends this second part with a lengthy piece of advice, warning her young readers about the consequences of intercourse with prostitutes, and the loss of young potential that results from this. She warns for the innocent and the inexperienced to fight against their temptations. Third Part: An Awful Beacon Lucy once again returns to her parent’s farm where she wishes to live the remainder of her life as a woman in the countryside. This third part of her story is presented in a series of epistolary correspondences among Lucy, William, and Mr. Charles West. A son of a tradesman in the community by the name of William confesses his love for Lucy before he leaves the countryside for business. Soon after, Mr. Charles West contacts Lucy via letters and explains how he discovered her story through her publication of "The Adventures of Lucy Brewer." Lucy learns that Mr. West is the sister of the woman whose house she visited in New York City. Stuck with the task of choosing between two men, Lucy learns that William is killed in a boat accident on his way to Boston. After returning from Boston, Mr. West asks Benjamin Brewer (Lucy's father) for her hand in marriage; Lucy marries Mr. West. Ending her story with "A Farewell Address to the Youths of my Native State," Lucy once again warns against the vice and debauchery that youth will be most susceptible to. She accentuates her point with a story of a girl named Mariad who she knew during her days at the brothel. Lucy hopes that her "moral reflections" will serve as a beacon to guide other young people. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Female Marine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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