“The Coquette,” is a story of virtue, but also a story of caution. A Reverend calls upon Young Eliza Wharton. He has hopes to marry her. The reader sees through a cast of characters various representations of virtue, immoral behavior, and even what it means to be naïve. Eventually we see what it means to be coquettish may just be a young girl trying to find her way.
Eliza Warton is the young protagonist of Hannah Webster Foster’s, “The Coquette.” She has all the beauty, grace, and charm of a woman in that era. Expected to marry like a woman of her age, however, she has greater ambitions, and is not ready to settle down. She likes her freedom, but feels herself coerced by one Mr. Boyer. During the time Eliza lives in, she knows marriage is necessary for a young woman, and Mr. Boyer presents the safest options for her. Unfortunately, Eliza is careless and brash; she finds herself unable to resist flirting with the Major, and Mr. Boyer refuses to marry her after learning of this. Understanding she has ruined her chances of a life she had begun to want, Eliza becomes terribly distraught, even depressed, and tries to decide what to do with herself and the rest of her days. In her vulnerable state, the Major manages to seduce her, and Eliza allows herself to be led away from her family after learning she is pregnant. She dies alone in a tavern, unmarried, and perceived without morals or virtue by her friends and family. In reality, however, she was just a young girl, and a representation of how naïve youth really can be.
Another strong character in the book is Major Sanford. While Eliza comes to represent everything a woman should not be during her time, and everything that will befall a young woman who defies virtue and morals, Major Sanford will come to represent all that is a temptation, lust, and danger. He is, after all, the individual that led Eliza astray from the Reverend Boyer, impregnated her out of wedlock, and left her to die alone in a tavern. Prior to this, however, Major Sanford is considered dashing and handsome. It is part of the reason Eliza finds him difficult to resist. Unfortunately, because she is so young, she misses the fact that he is manipulative and cunning, two characteristics he uses only for evil. He never wants to marry Eliza. As far as the reader knows, he does now want to marry anybody. He simply wants Eliza around as a toy, because she is aesthetically pleasing. The other characters in the novel, Eliza notwithstanding, appear to know he is a man of ill repute, but he does not care until Eliza’s death when he understands the full consequences of his actions. He feels grief and despair, though the reader is never sure if it is his wife, or his fortune that he longs for . He is the representative of all things truly terrible and corrupt in the world.
In sum, “The Coquette,” is about virtue and morals, or lack thereof. Many characters throughout the story represent how to be virtuous and moral. They continuously steer Eliza, the protagonist, in a good direction that will suit her needs the best in the future. Her mother, best friend, and first suitor, for example, are all representations of what it is to be virtuous. She appears to be the representations of a lack of morals, but is really a mirror image of youth and naivety. The real lack of morals is seen in the Major, who flirts with a young girl he does not intend to love, and then leaves her alone to die in a tavern. In truth, the story is one of caution, rather than virtue.
Works Cited
Webster Foster, Hannah. The Coquette. Boston: Penguin, 1987. Print.
