With the exception of the knowing, highly moralistic asides, Rowson writes as an anonymous, detached narrator in the third person omniscient, making frequent use of dialog to advance the story. Characters have frequent bouts of conscience, whose moral logic and deductions are traced through their minds at length. The Preface acknowledges that the novel as a literary form is not yet highly accepted, but she does not write for fame. Rather, she wants to keep people from making dreadful mistakes.
Charlotte Temple