The Coquette Essay -- Literary Analysis, Hannah Webster Foster

The Coquette, written by Hannah Webster Foster in 1797, chronicles the life of an flush(p) woman in the 18th century. There are a a few(prenominal) themes that are presented throughout the whole novel correspondence, sexual freedom, and ideal womanhood. Elizabeth Whitman has been an persona of American history since the 19th century because of her bravery and contempt for the caged locating of women in society. It is stated that the tombstone of Elizabeth Whitman is a commonplace tourist love her grave was a popular destination for New England travelers, who beat paths to the farther intimately corner of Danverss Old South Cemetery through the undefiled nineteenth century. (Waterman)The Coquette was loosely based on the story of Elizabeth Whitman, natural in 1752 and dead in 1788. Women were typically not objects of novels because women were not deemed primal by society, therefore it is surprising when a novel about a woman becomes very popular among the general public. The Coquette was advertised as a dime novel in the late 17 and first 1800s but come the turn of the 21st century, it is one of the almost popular novels about womens liberation and sexual freedom. Since The Coquette is based on true events, there must be a primary or credible secondary source in this case, the epistolary novel was compiled use themes from the original letters written by Elizabeth Whitman. There were only 15 letters that remain of the correspondence between Elizabeth Whitman and Joel Barlow that exist in the Baldwin Family Papers. (Waterman) In her novel The Romance of the Association, Caroline Wells Healy Dall had to personally contact the Baldwin family in order to review the original letters. This is why correspondence is so key in novels of this time period. ... ...est stick since she lost her life and her reputation, the two most important things to her. However I would argue that the punishments were the same, Sanford lost the two most important things to him as well, Eliza and his money. Depending on ones view point, it whitethorn be better to die than to live without the love of your life. Works CitedCastiglione, Balclesar. The arrest of the Coutier . Castiglione, Balclesar. The Third Book. London Norton & Company, 1523. 147-187.Elizabeth Whitman Grave. Peabody, n.d. Photograph.Foster, Hanna Webster. The Coquette. Oxford University Press, 1797. ebook.Waterman, Bryan. Coquetry and Correspondence in Revolutionary-Era Reading Elizabeth Whitmans Letters. earlier American Literature (2011) 541-563.Wenska Jr., Walter P. The Coquette AND THE AMERICAN DREAM OF FREEDOM. Early American Literature (1977) 243-256.