The Coquette By Hannah Webster Foster Analysis

The Coquette by Hannah Webster Foster advances the reader’s understanding of the term ‘coquette’ by simultaneously showing the vulnerabilities and exceptional strengths of the main character, Eliza Wharton. The term coquette, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is defined as “a woman (more or less young), who uses arts to gain the admiration and affection of men, merely for the gratification of vanity or from a desire of conquest, and without any intention of responding to the feelings aroused”. Foster shows the reader the intimate details of the life of a young woman who has been given the title ‘coquette’, allowing the reader to become not only more familiar with the term itself, but to also have a feeling of being personally invested …show more content…
Wenska, Jr., “The Coquette and the American Dream of Freedom”, relates Eliza Wharton’s experiences with those of all women in the new world. Wenska states, [the novel] “raised in 1797, at the very beginning of our national experience, the question of freedom, its meaning and its limits, in a new land newly dedicated to births of new freedoms” (p. 244). Wenska also states, “her experience tests the proposition that here in America a man might be free” (p. 246). Wenska’s use of the term ‘man’ here is deliberate. During the late 1700s and through the1800s, when “The Coquette” was extremely popular, women were viewed as being subpar to men in every aspect of daily life. The newfound freedoms of the New World did not apply to women. Where a man could be considered a ‘rake’, the male counterpart to a ‘coquette’, he was able to be redeemed and accepted into society as a decent man simply by getting married. In “The Coquette” Eliza quotes an 18th-century adage in Letter XXVI to her dear friend Miss Lucy Freeman, “a reformed rake makes the best husband” (p. 846).Wenska also states, “Eliza is considerably more than a put-upon sentimental heroine” (p. 245). Hannah Webster Foster uses the likeability of Eliza to push the idea of a woman being more than a label given to her by her peers and to make the reader question the fact that if a rake can be reformed, why not a …show more content…
Such a derogatory term is used with lightheartedness by Eliza’s friends, with vengeance by Eliza’s favored suitor, and with spitefulness by Eliza’s semi-acquaintance, Mr. Selby. Eliza is bombarded with the opinions and accusations of everyone around her, whether they are family, friend, or complete stranger. Despite all this, Eliza maintains her independence, her dire search for freedom and happiness, and her silent hope that even someone like herself, a coquette, can be