Ready Reference Treatise: The Coquette

By Raja Sharma

“The Coquette” by Hannah Webster Foster was first published in 1797. When it was first published the author remained anonymous.

The story is also titled “The History of Eliza Wharton.” It is an epistolary novel. The novel was finally published under the author’s name only in 1856, sixteen years after the death of Hannah Webster Foster’s death.

It proved to be one of the best novels of its time. Between 1824 and 1828, the novel was reprinted eight times. It was an unparallel success for any novel at that time.

The novel presents a fictionalized account of the death of a socially elite Connecticut woman. Her death had been much publicized. She died after giving birth to a stillborn, illegitimate child at a roadside tavern.

Ready Reference Treatise: The Coquette
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Mar 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311290083

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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Ready Reference Treatise: The Coquette

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: The Coquette

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

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Chapter One: Introduction

The Coquette by Hannah Webster Foster was first published in 1797. When it was first published the author remained anonymous.

The story is also titled The History of Eliza Wharton. It is an epistolary novel. The novel was finally published under the author’s name only in 1856, sixteen years after the death of Hannah Webster Foster’s death.

It proved to be one of the best novels of its time. Between 1824 and 1828, the novel was reprinted eight times. It was an unparallel success for any novel at that time.

The novel presents a fictionalized account of the death of a socially elite Connecticut woman. Her death had been much publicized. She died after giving birth to a stillborn, illegitimate child at a roadside tavern.

Through this story, Foster tries to show the social conditions which lead to the downfall of an educated and wealthy woman who was socially adept.

A fictionalized account of the much-publicized death of a socially elite Connecticut woman after giving birth to a stillborn, illegitimate child at a roadside tavern, Foster’s novel highlights the social conditions that lead to the downfall of an otherwise well-educated and socially adept woman.

The story of the novel is based on the true story of Elizabeth Whitman. This woman’s true story had been published by The Salem Mercury on 29th of July, 1788. The story had been written by Captain Goodhue, who was the landlord of Bell Tavern.

According to the story, the woman was from a respectable family but she fell into unavoidable circumstances and eventually delivered an illegitimate child and died soon after the childbirth at the tavern.

The story became very popular and clergymen, in particular, got much interested in it. They used the story to preach against immorality and deviations from traditional gender norms and roles.

Foster, through her novel, tried to show to the world that women were punished or had to suffer for such acts but men engaged in such activities and demonic behavior were rarely held accountable. The author has very skillfully fictionalized the true story of that woman.

By the end of the 19th century, thirteen editions of the novel had been published. Only in 1866, people came to lean that Foster was the author of The Coquette.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

The novel is written in epistolary form. The story of the novel begins with Eliza Wharton. As the story opens, it transpires that she is spending time with her married friends, General and Mrs. Richman.

Young, smart, and beautiful Eliza Wharton is also a little flirtatious. She had been engaged to a man she did not love but recently she has been freed form that engagement. The man died of illness.

Eliza writes letters to her friend Lucy Freeman. Her friend gets married soon and becomes Mrs. Sumner. She informs Mrs. Sumner about her charming and interesting engagements with the Richmans and the other people in the neighborhood.

She writes that she has caught the attention of two men, Mr. Boyer and Major Stanford. Mr. Boyer is a respectable man who he going to be a reverend very soon. Major Stanford is a very dashing man who has the reputation of being a libertine.

Mr. Boyer seems to be more