The Coquette (1797)

This is a very interesting book, and Eliza is a very frustrating character. She is always asking for advice, but never heeds it. She is in her 30s but seems much younger due to her carefree attitude.

I read the preface after I finished, and was very surprised to learn who the character of Major Sanford represented. The seducer was identified as none other than Pierpont Edwards, son of the famous Rev. Jonathan Edwards! The book became much more interesting when I found that out.


Some quotes I highlighted (electronically, of course):

Eliza: "The heart of your friend is again besieged. Whether it will surrender to the assailants or not I am unable at present to determine. Sometimes I think of becoming a predestinarian, and submitting implicitly to fate, without any exercise of free will; but, as mine seems to be a wayward one, I would counteract the operations of it, if possible."

Mrs. Richman: "I do not think you [Eliza] seducible; nor was Richardson's Clarissa till she made herself the victim by her own indiscretion."

Mr. Selby: "I now joined in the general topic of conversation, which was politics; Mrs. Richman and Miss Wharton judiciously, yet modestly, bore a part; while the other ladies amused themselves with Major Sanford... General Richman at length observed that we had formed into parties. Major Sanford, upon, this, laid aside his book. Miss Lawrence simpered, and looked as if she was well pleased with being in a party with so fine a man; while her mother replied that she never meddled with politics. 'Miss Wharton and I,' said Mrs. Richman, 'must beg leave to differ from you, madam. We think ourselves interested in the welfare and prosperity of our country; and, consequently, claim the right of inquiring into those affairs which may conduce to or interfere with the common weal. We shall not be called to the senate or the field to assert its privileges and defend its rights, but we shall feel, for the honor and safety of our friends and connections who are thus employed. If the community flourish and enjoy health and freedom, shall we not share in the happy effects? If it be oppressed and disturbed, shall we not endure our proportion of the evil? Why, then, should the love of our country be a masculine passion only? Why should government, which involves the peace and order of the society of which we are a part, be wholly excluded from our observation?' Mrs. Lawrence made some slight reply, and waived the subject. The gentlemen applauded Mrs. Richman's sentiments as truly Roman, and, what was more, they said, truly republican."

Mr. Boyer, on not marrying Eliza: "The more I reflect on her temper and disposition, the more my gratitude is enlivened towards the wise Disposer of all events for enabling me to break asunder the snares of the deluder. I am convinced that the gayety and extravagance of her taste, the frivolous levity of her manners, disqualify her for the station in which I wished to have placed her."

Julia: "She [Eliza] then approached her mamma, fell upon her knees before her, and clasping her hand, said, in broken accents, 'O madam, can you forgive a wretch, who has forfeited your love, your kindness, and your compassion?' 'Surely, Eliza,' said she, 'you are not that being! No, it is impossible! But however great your transgression, be assured of my forgiveness, my compassion, and my continued love.' Saying this, she threw her arms about her daughter's neck, and affectionately kissed her. Eliza struggled from her embrace, and looking at her with wild despair, exclaimed, 'This is too much! O, this unmerited goodness is more than I can bear!'"

Julia: "...but, what was still dearer, the reputation and virtue? of the unfortunate Eliza have fallen victims at the shrine of libertinism. Detested be the epithet. Let it henceforth bear its true signature, and candor itself shall call it lust and brutality."

Eliza: "...for the sake of my sex in general, I wish it engraved upon every heart, that virtue alone, independent of the trappings of wealth, the parade of equipage, and the adulation of gallantry, can secure lasting felicity. From the melancholy story of Eliza Wharton let the American fair learn to reject with disdain every insinuation derogatory to their true dignity and honor. Let them despise and forever banish the man who can glory in the seduction of innocence and the ruin of reputation. To associate is to approve; to approve is to be betrayed." ( )

This was pretty good - a quick read and a much better experience than my recent run-ins with epistolary novels. The failures of Eliza Wharton reminded me slightly of Lily Bart from House of Mirth, who is one of my favorite fictional characters. I'd definitely recommend The Coquette for English lit nerds and fans of women writers/stories about the woes of women past (those types seem to go together quite a bit). ( )

I expect my parents got this as teachers of 19th centrury American literature; at the time, it was a rare book, but it has now become common in paperback and is mentioned in the American history survey I teach, due to the interest in women's history and women's literature.

This novel of a young coquette's ruin told in epistolary form and first published in 1797, is based on a true story. A vivacious and beautiful young woman, not quite ready to be harnessed with the marital yoke, is wooed by two very different men. Her subsequent choices will be her undoing in this moral story that was a hugely popular early novel here in the post-Revolutionary War era. ( )

One of the earliest American novels written by a woman. The prose isn't great, but for those interested in early American writing, I recommend it. ( )