Comparing The Coquette And The Awakening

Women at the end of both the 18th and 19th centuries had very little say in what happened in their lives. Particularly, this became true in the area of romantic relationships and marriage. Eliza from The Coquette and Edna from The Awakening both face dilemmas in this area as a single and married woman respectively. Although each dies a tragic death, they demonstrate a shift in the moral fiber of society not to occur for many years. These women challenge their era’s standards about relational morality and personal autonomy through making independent choices based on their emotions. In the late 18th century, the world ran under a heavily patriarchal system. Women mattered to society solely based on their attachment to men and ability to …show more content…
She only sought a brief respite before returning to society’s mold. Evidence for this presents itself in her grief and despair once Mr. Boyer has abandoned her. While she lingers in her depression after both men have left, her melancholy truly begins while Major Sanford remains, even though she retained her attraction towards him. Mr. Boyer represented the standard to which she held internally, her family and friends externally. Without the option to eventually conform, she recognizes her loss of freedom, even as Major Sanford remains available for a time. Her revolt, though significant, does not endure. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, woman had made little progress. Over one hundred years later, women still held a subordinate role to men and lacked the power to make decisions about their own futures (Case). The courtship system still endured, patriarchy governed all aspects of life, particularly marriage, and the majority adopted puritanism as the standard of life. Women had started to develop ideas of their own individuality, but such theories often became labeled as some form of mental illness (Clark 343). Into such a similar climate comes Edna