The Coquette Analysis

Published near the very end of the eighteenth century, The Coquette by Hannah Webster Foster became a prime example and warning of the shortcomings associated with being overly flirtatious. In this novel, Eliza Wharton has recently recovered from grieving the death of her husband - a man who was supposedly forced upon her by her parents. In an attempt to enjoy the new-found freedom of her life, Eliza spends time flirting with the many men that she meets at social gatherings, though she does not have any sincere feelings for them; this is in fact the very definition of a coquette. Two of the men whose attention she attracts in particular are Reverend Boyer (whose feelings are genuine) and Major Peter Sanford (who is playing the same coquettish