Worksheet for Feb. 23

Read Cohen, Chapters 8-13

1) Examine Cohen's use of Anne Royall's The Black Book in Chapter 8. According to Cohen, what are the limitations of this piece of travel literature as a source on life in the 1820s?

2) Why does Cohen believe Royall's book to be particularly important for understanding Helen Jewett's life?

3) How would this source have been useful even if Anne Royall had never met Dorcas Doyen?

4) In Chapter 10, Cohen evaluates incomplete and contradictory evidence in order to determine who deflowered Dorcas Doyen. What sources does she use in considering each of the following suspects? Which evidence seems the most powerful to Cohen?

* Harlow Spaulding

* Frederick A. Fuller

* Nathan Weston, Jr.

* "Sumner"

* Judge Weston

5) In Chapters 11-13, Cohen painstakingly examines the letters of George Marston, Helen Jewett, and Richard Robinson. What is she looking for in these letters? Based on your reading of these chapters (and not from reading ahead!), what reason do you think she has for examining the letters so closely?