The Coquette Essay -- Literary Analysis, Hannah Webster Foster

The teaser, written by Hannah Webster Foster in 1797, chronicles the life of an affluent woman in the 18th century. There atomic number 18 a few themes that are presented throughout the whole novel correspondence, sexual freedom, and ideal womanhood. Elizabeth Whitman has been an icon of American history since the 19th century because of her bravery and contempt for the caged position of women in society. It is state that the tombstone of Elizabeth Whitman is a popular tourist attraction her grave was a popular destination for New England travelers, who beat paths to the far corner of Danverss superannuated South Cemetery through the entire nineteenth century. (Waterman)The Coquette was loosely based on the story of Elizabeth Whitman, born in 1752 and dead in 1788. Women were typically not objects of novels because women were not deemed important by society, therefore it is surprising when a novel about a woman becomes very popular among the general public. The Coquette was adver tised as a dime novel in the late 17 and early 1800s but come the turn of the 21st century, it is one of the nigh 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 using themes from the original letter 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 examine the original letters. This is why correspondence is so important 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 may be better to die than to become without the love of your life. Works CitedCastiglione, Balclesar. The Book 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. Early American Literature (2011) 541-563.Wenska Jr., Walter P. The Coquette AND THE American DREAM OF FREEDOM. Early American Literature (1977) 243-256.