10.2 Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette

The Coquette explores gender roles and societal expectations in early America. It follows Eliza Wharton as she navigates the strict norms for women's behavior, struggling between her desire for independence and the pressure to conform to traditional feminine roles.

Through an epistolary format, the novel delves into the consequences of female independence in a restrictive society. Eliza's pursuit of personal freedom leads to tragedy, highlighting the limited agency and opportunities available to women in late 18th-century America.

Societal Expectations and Gender Roles

Gender roles in early America

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• Novel depicts a society with strict expectations for women's behavior and roles
  • Expected to be virtuous, modest, and submissive
  • Marriage seen as primary goal and duty for women
• Eliza Wharton, the protagonist, struggles with constraints placed on her as a woman
  • Desires independence and freedom to make her own choices
  • Pursuit of personal happiness conflicts with societal norms and expectations
• Male characters embody traditional masculine roles
  • Rev. Boyer represents stable, respectable choice for Eliza (marriage, security)
  • Major Sanford represents allure of passion and freedom from societal constraints (excitement, independence)

Eliza Wharton's societal struggle

• Complex character grappling with own desires and societal expectations
  • Drawn to idea of life filled with passion and excitement (romance, adventure)
  • Recognizes importance of maintaining reputation and securing stable future through marriage (respectability, financial security)
• Vacillates between attraction to Major Sanford and sense of duty to conform to societal norms
  • Indecision and internal conflict reflect limited options for women in early American society (marriage vs. independence)
• Ultimate fate serves as cautionary tale about consequences of straying from prescribed path for women
  • Tragic end highlights societal punishment for prioritizing own desires over conformity (ostracism, ruin)

Narrative Style and Themes

Effectiveness of epistolary format

• Novel written as letters exchanged between characters
  • Allows deep exploration of characters' motivations, fears, and desires
  • Provides intimate glimpse into characters' minds and hearts
• Creates sense of immediacy and authenticity
  • Readers experience events and emotions as characters do, in real-time
  • Letters feel like genuine, private communications between characters (confidentiality, vulnerability)
• Allows for multiple perspectives on same events
  • Readers gain insight into how different characters interpret and react to situations
  • Multi-faceted approach adds depth and complexity to narrative (nuance, ambiguity)

Consequences of female independence

• Explores consequences faced by women who assert independence in restrictive society
  • Eliza's pursuit of personal freedom and happiness met with disapproval and punishment (criticism, rejection)
  • Story serves as warning about dangers of challenging societal norms (rebellion, nonconformity)
• Highlights limited agency and opportunities for women in early America
  • Women's lives largely defined by relationships to men (daughters, wives, mothers)
  • Eliza's attempts to assert own desires and make choices thwarted by men and societal expectations (control, oppression)
• Tragic ending underscores dire consequences for women who step outside bounds of acceptable behavior
  • Eliza's fall from grace and demise serve as powerful commentary on rigid gender roles and societal limitations placed on women in late 18th century (patriarchy, misogyny)