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THE COQUETTE

CHARACTERS
by Jennifer Svarverd

There are three main characters in “The Coquette”, along with several other important supporting characters.

Eliza Wharton
The first main character is Eliza Wharton. Eliza is a young girl who was recently engaged, before her fiancé died. She comes from a fairly wealthy family, but has no large inheritance of her own, and is used to parties and a fun social life. She is a very flirty and lively person. Eliza is known as the Coquette, which we would call a flirt today, and hers is the story that the book is telling. Eliza loves to have every guy’s attention. She is a very free individual who is scared of the bindings marriage will put on her, and therefore does not want to get married anytime soon. Eliza constantly asks for the opinions her closest friends and family, but tends to throw their advice out the window. In general, Eliza wants to continue to be free to flirt with all the men, and does not want to take on the responsibilities and ties of marriage.

Major Peter Sanford
The second main character is Major Peter Sanford. Sanford is a poorer man who is looking for a rich heiress to marry. He is a male version of a coquette. Sanford likes to seduce and woo the women around him with no intention of furthering the relationship. He feels that if he can’t have something, then no one can have it. He is a very tricky person and pursues things that he has been told he can not have. Many people do not like the nature of Major Sanford and they do not trust him, for good reason.

Revered J. Boyer
The third and final main character is Reverend J. Boyer. Boyer is a fairly wealthy minister who has asked Eliza to marry him. He is a very honest and understanding man. Boyer also has a lot of patience. He is very trustworthy, and in turn tries to trust the people around him. Boyer is a much liked character. All of the other characters in the book like and trust Boyer. Although Boyer is very patient, he also has a lot of self confidence and pride. He does not stand for the person he has professed his love to, to continually flirt with another man. Boyer appears to be a very down to earth, sensible person.

Along with the three main characters, there are several other supporting characters that take part in the letter writing and story line.

Lucy Freeman-Sumner
The first, and most prominent, is Lucy Freeman, who becomes Lucy Sumner later in the book. Lucy is Eliza’s closest friend and correspondent. She is a very honest person, and frequently tells Eliza exactly what she thinks and feels about a situation. Lucy seems to want Eliza to find security as she herself later does by marrying. Lucy is not as free spirited as Eliza, but it is apparent that she cares for her well being and she is truly sincere.

Mr. T. Selby
Another supporting character is Mr. T. Selby. Selby is the friend of Boyer. He is very honest towards his friend, and does not want to see Boyer hurt in anyway. Selby questions Boyer’s love for Eliza several times throughout the book, because he sees the way she flirts with other men, particularly Major Sanford. Selby is a very loyal friend who has the best interest of Boyer in his heart.

General and Mrs. Richman
More supporting characters are the Richmans. General Richman and Mrs. Richman are the people that Eliza is living with throughout the first half of the book. Mrs. Richman is Eliza’s cousin. Both the Richmans, though Mrs. Richman more than General Richman, give Eliza advice on both Sanford and Boyer. Neither like Sanford, but both urge Eliza to accept Reverend Boyer.

Mrs. M. Wharton
Another minor character is Mrs. M. Wharton, Eliza’s mother. M. Wharton is a very caring mother, and she wants to see her daughter taken care of. Mrs. Wharton tries to give her daughter advice, which Eliza does not take again.

Charles Deighton
The final minor character is Charles Deighton. Deighton does not actually write any letters, but he is the only correspondent of Peter Sanford. The letters to Deighton are the way that we see the true thoughts and feelings of Major Sanford.

PLOT SUMMARY
by Krystle Johns

Elizabeth Wharton or as most people refer to her as Eliza is a young vibrant woman who has quite a difficult and some what complicated love life. At the beginning of the novel Eliza is set to marry Mr. Haly, but unfortunately he passes away. While Eliza is somewhat saddened she is also somewhat relived, due to the fact that she didn’t want to marry him in the first place. During a stay with General Richman she first encounters Reverend J. Boyer who spikes her curiosity. Mrs. Richman encourages Eliza to see if Boyer is a good match for her, but Eliza enjoys her single life too much to think about settling down. When Boyer starts to have feelings for Eliza, Major Peter Sanford steps in to the picture. Sanford requests Eliza’s hand for a ball and she gladly accepts. This is where the love triangle really starts to heat up. Boyer starts to fall in love with Eliza but she doesn’t feel the same way. While Eliza likes his company she is somewhat bored with him. On the other hand there is Major Sanford whose elegant social life style fascinates Eliza. This lifestyle does not sit well with Eliza’s friends and family. Eliza chooses to ignore her family and friends advice and continues to be "coquettish". As both Boyer and Sanford continue to get closer to Eliza they grow jealous of each other. Eliza tries to break off her relationship with Sanford before returning home with Boyer. This action is made difficult when Sanford pursues Eliza and follows her. Eliza fails to refuse Sanford’s company from this point on. Jealousy is easier to see in Boyer who eventually breaks things off with Eliza. He tells her as a friend that she should stay away from Sanford because he is bad news. The book leaves the reader to wonder what will happen next.

THEMES
by Kristina Conley

The Coquette was written as a book to teach others. The teaching has been portrayed through the many experiences that Eliza and the ones she loves go through during a time period where feelings for others were often disregarded when it came to marriage. There are many themes throughout the Coquette that have to do with messages of learning experiences.
One theme found in the Coquette is morality and ethics. Eliza consistently breaks the ethics of the community and her family with every different “date” that she goes on and every flirting experience she partakes in. Eliza also disregards the understanding of the role of women in society.
The life of a woman is very clear in the time that this book was written. Women were supposed to get married, settle down, and care for the home and for the family. Also, women are supposed to remain virgins until marriage. The breaking of this chastity is seen as a huge deal and makes it so the woman that broke the chastity will not be so much sought after in terms of marriage.
In the Coquette, Eliza seems to be a rebel in this aspect, wanting to live her life how she chooses. Eliza seems to follow the rules of society in her own way. Her actions and words in and behind the stage of the world portray Eliza to be two-faced. She pretends, in public, to be depressed when her fiancé dies, yet, it is clear that she is somewhat relieved when he dies. This free spirit of hers seems to be kept in a box in the every day life of society.
Love is another theme that is common to the Coquette. Eliza clearly loves Major Sanford, but is unable to pursue her feelings because of his past. There is also a love that is evident in Eliza’s family and friends as she is regularly asking for advice from them and they are very willing to tell her what they think.
The themes in the Coquette seem to add to the book’s plot. They tie in the feelings of Eliza and family together and the themes run deep, adding emotion to the story line. The experiences that Eliza and her friends and family go through in this story unravel many lessons that are included within the books themes.

CONFLICTS
By Kristen McCafferty

There are many conflicts in Hannah Foster’s the Coquette. They all surround a love triangle between Eliza Wharton, Major Sanford, and Reverend J. Boyer. With her heart and her brain conflicting through the story Eliza starts to see both men. Through a series of letters between her best friend Lucy Freeman the story unravels. You have her friends and family telling her what a womanizer Major Sanford is and how perfect Rev. J. Boyer is for her. When Eliza finally does listen to advice and tries to break things off with Major Sanford he wont take no for an answer, Thus causing problems between Eliza and her cousins Mr. And Mrs. Richman, with whom she is staying. Eliza finds both men very attractive but she’s more interested and has more fun with Major Sanford. Eliza finds Rev. J. Boyer kind of dull. She doesn’t have as much fun with him but he’s the safer choice. So who is Eliza going to choose, the dull Rev. J. Boyer or the womanizing Major Sanford?

PREDICTIONS
By Keyana Abild

There are certain traits that each of the men have that are appealing in different ways to Eliza. She mentions how much easier it would be if she could just find a guy with those specific traits combined. I think she would rather be with Boyer, especially since her family and friends, whose opinions she greatly considers, like Boyer better and would rather Eliza be with him also. One thing Eliza does not like about Boyer is that he keeps pressing her about marriage which she keeps telling him she is not looking for at the moment. As for Major Sanford, I think she really likes him also, however, she tried to push him out of her life because of his bad past with other women and because her friends don’t like him as much. But there is still that excitement in Major Sanford’s personality that Eliza really likes. I think she also likes Major Sanford because he has not said anything about marriage/commitment. The fear that everyone has about Eliza being with Major Sanford is that she will end up like all the other women he has been with. But then again, there is always that place where you wonder, ‘what if this time is different’. I think Eliza will take this thought and run with it especially since Mr. Boyer broke it off with her saying, “I bid a last farewell to these fond hopes, and leave you for ever!” (84). Therefore, I think Eliza will get together with Major Sanford but that he will end up treating her like the women in his past, ruining her reputation and leaving Eliza stranded and having no man to go to. When this happens I think she will try and go back to Boyer who will not take her in, having already moved on with his life.

WRITING STYLE
By Jessica Toews

The Coquette, written by Hannah W. Foster, is arranged as a series of letters which are sent to and from each of the characters. The compilation of these letters uncovers personal outlooks on the issues at hand. Readers of this book experience dramatic irony as details of events are uncovered along the story line. The letters give clearer insight on the situations at hand, giving understanding of each character’s motives behind each encounter between them. The writing style is antiquated, and the formality of it conveys an image of the formality of the society at the time and the social and moral standard to which young men and women were expected to adhere. This style of writing and language has changed over the past few centuries as American English has moved toward more informal prose.

American novels were derived from British seduction novels had didactic qualities which educated young ladies about the consequences of immoral or unethical behavior and to warn them against such choices. Novels became highly popular among women by the time The Coquette was written, but some used the educational idea behind novels to justify the publication of them. The novel’s purpose was originally, however, to teach young ladies how to behave by showing them what not to do.

WORKS CITED

“Hannah W. Foster”. http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/heath/syllabuild/iguide/foster.h.... May 12, 2007.

Freibert, Lucy M. and Barbara A. White. Hidden Hands: An Anthology of American Woman Writers, 1790-1870. Rutgers University Press, 1985. New Brunswick, NJ.

Foster, Hannah W. The Coquette. Oxford University Press, 1797. New York, NY. http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/foster/coquette/coquette.html