100 pages • 3 hours read
Hannah Webster FosterThe Coquette
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1797A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Letters 10-13Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Letter 10 Summary: “To the Same”
Eliza receives Major Sanford, and the two have a pleasant conversation, but it is one she realizes is designed to lower her guard. Thinking to be rid of the Major, Eliza goes to dinner at the estate of some neighbors—Mr. Laurence, his wife, and daughter—only to find Sanford is in attendance as well.
Though she remains skeptical of the man, she cannot help but to be attracted to him: his charms, appearance, and status all contrive to “strew the path of life with flowers” (22).
Letter 11 Summary: “To Mr. Charles Deighton”
Major Sanford reveals his side of the preceding events. Eliza was correct in thinking that his attentions to her were calculated. However, Sanford’s appearance at Mr. Lawrence’s estate was not a coincidence; he is a friend of the family.
Sanford affirms that Eliza “would make an excellent wife” but only plans to marry “from a necessity of mending [his] fortune” (23). Otherwise, the rakish major wishes to “keep out of the noose” of matrimony (23). This is the first indication that Sanford’s high social status is at risk due to his lifestyle. Despite this attitude, he declares that he means Eliza no harm—if he can help it.
Letter 12 Summary: “To Miss Lucy Freeman”
Eliza’s next letter to her friend Lucy finds her conflicted in her feelings toward Major Sanford and Mr. Boyer. She is reluctant to choose between the two men because, as she phrases it, “Marriage is the tomb of friendship” (24). Mrs. Richman again encourages Eliza to pick Boyer: her friends greatly condone the union.
Boyer comes to visit. Based on his behavior, Eliza recognizes that he is indeed in love with her. As they stroll through the garden, he confesses, but Eliza meets his advances with uncertainty. He asks her to think it over, and she agrees to do so; however, she does not wish to see him again until the following Monday, and does not wish to act without first soliciting Lucy’s advice.
Letter 13 Summary: “To Miss Eliza Wharton”
In response to Eliza’s previous letter, Lucy replies that she does not wish to influence her friend’s judgment. However, she identifies Sanford as a rake and contends that choosing Mr. Boyer as her future husband would allow Eliza to “lead down the dance of life with regularity” (25-26). Despite Eliza’s ambitions of living a fashionable life in high society, Lucy attempts to ground her: Boyer is a good option and will provide her a solid foundation for life. She urges Eliza to “lay aside those coquettish airs” and act with “sincerity of the heart” (26)In response to Eliza’s previous letter, Lucy replies that she does not wish to influence her friend’s judgment. However, she identifies Sanford as a rake and contends that choosing Mr. Boyer as her future husband would allow Eliza to “lead down the dance of life with regularity” (25-26). Despite Eliza’s ambitions of living a fashionable life in high society, Lucy attempts to ground her: Boyer is a good option and will provide her a solid foundation for life. She urges Eliza to “lay aside those coquettish airs” and act with “sincerity of the heart” (26)
Letters 10-13 Analysis
Doubt continues to grow concerning Major Sanford. For one thing, it is revealed that his pomp and gallantry is merely a façade; his life of dissipation—an archaic use of the word that is related to debauchery and excessive spending of money—has left him in financial jeopardy. Rather than changing his ways, Sanford’s profligate nature leads him to plot and scheme ways to restore fortune while still living the decadent life of a libertine. Though Foster does not state it directly, the fact that Sanford means to enjoy Eliza’s company without recourse to marriage means he plans to use her sexually. Because a woman’s value at this time was largely determined by her honor and virtue—aka virginity and chastity—this puts Eliza at incredible risk both socially and morally. Ironically, Eliza and Sanford share a similar negative sentiment toward marriage. Eliza sees it as the end of friendships; Sanford sees it as an impediment to his morally-loose behavior. Perhaps this shared, anachronistic view of marriage is appealing to Eliza, for she immediately breaks her resolution to cut off his advances.
As Mr. Boyer makes more advances, Eliza responds with more uncertainty. Mrs. Richman and Lucy both encourage her to accept Mr. Boyer’s offers of engagement, because he would make a stable, honorable husband. But the presence of Major Sanford in her life functions as an escape valve. If she can hold off the cognitive dissonance, Eliza can freely enjoy the social pleasures that Sanford brings into her life. However, by not outright rejecting Mr. Boyer, he is encouraged; in fact, Eliza’s friends begin to view them as all but engaged. This will cause problems as Eliza’s evasiveness and indecision begin to try Boyer’s patience
