The Coquette

The first three letters of the novel serve to introduce the reader to Eliza Wharton and her youthful disposition. Eliza is an attractive, intelligent young woman with an independent disposition that sets her at odds against female gender roles of her era. In post-revolution America, women were excluded from the general ethos of independence and freedom that occupied the soul of the country. They were still very much dependent upon the men in their lives, under the custody of their father until they were given to the care of a husband. Eliza’s father, a clergyman, and therefore a strong force of religious and patriarchal dominance, is dead. So, too, is Mr. Haly, her intended fiancée. Eliza is therefore in a unique state: the lack of fatherly direction, deemed necessary in a largely religious—if not puritanical—society, allows for a greater independence for Eliza than most women of her age could expect to experience. 

Mr. Boyer’s introduction into Eliza’s life is something of a final chance for Eliza to avoid going wayward. Boyer, like Mr. Wharton and Mr. Haly, is a preacher at the beginning of his career. Like many characters in the novel, Boyer tends to function as a moral compass that Eliza seems to lack. He is the antidote to Eliza’s inclination to participate in “those pleasures which youth and innocence afford” (13). It is important to note that Eliza means no innuendo in stating this; she is referring to events such as parties, balls, museum visits, and trips to the theatre. Marriage at this time was a mark of maturity. It was an introduction to a more sober, insular way of life in which the husband and wife formed a self-sustaining unit. Marriage with a clergyman would be doubly so. Eliza is intelligent and socially aware enough to realize this. In a point in her life where she has never known such freedom, and may never know so much again, she wishes to experience as much as possible while still uncommitted.