The Coquette

Eliza writes to her mother from Lucy Sumner’s new home in Boston. Because of the limited duration of her visit, they have been entertaining guests by day and touring attractions in town in the evenings. Mr. Boyer gives Eliza a serious talk about her “taste for dissipation” (73). She worries that she and Boyer are too different at heart to be happy together.

Meanwhile, Eliza runs into Major Sanford almost everywhere she goes in Boston.

Reverend Boyer laments that Mr. Selby’s suspicions of Eliza’s coquettishness may be correct. In New Haven and Hartford, Eliza’s cordiality and friendly reception of Boyer caused him to hope for marriage, but her behavior reversed soon after. 

Boyer consents to go with Eliza to Boston after Lucy’s wedding. He uses this opportunity to discover her intentions toward him. She does want to marry him, but is not able to tell when she will be ready. 

As Eliza recounted in her last letter, Boyer gave her a talking to about “her mistaken ideas of pleasure” (76). He chides her about Major Sanford, which mortifies her. Despite this, the two make up. Eliza promises to prepare to comply with his wishes. Boyer is completely in love with her and is willing to give in to her caprices.

Boyer expects to have his and Eliza’s engagement fixed by the time he next writes Mr. Selby.

Instead of the happy engagement he expected, Mr. Boyer breaks off ties with Eliza. Boyer says that his “reason assumes its empire, and triumphs over the arts of a finished coquette” (77). 

At Mrs. Wharton’s house, Boyer waits for Eliza. When she arrives, she is escorted by Major Sanford. When Boyer tries to have a serious talk with her, she renews her uncertainty about their union. 

Mr. Boyer chastises her, warning her not to test his patience or risk her virtue. She wishes for more time. Boyer asks her plainly to choose between he and Sanford and gives her until the next morning to decide. 

When he is received, it is evident Eliza has been crying. Boyer decides not to press the subject, and the two visit a friend. 

Mr. Boyer visits a friend that evening. The friend intimates that the neighborhood gossip is that Eliza and Major Sanford have formed a connection. Eliza’s reputation has been badly damaged by her association with a libertine like Sanford. People in town speculate whether she and Sanford will marry, or if the rake will merely add “her name to the black catalogue of deluded wretches, whom he had already ruined” (80). 

The next morning, Boyer visits Mrs. Wharton’s house, determined to get answers. While they wait for Eliza, he and Mrs. Wharton discuss her behavior, which Mrs. Wharton deems “mysterious” (80). The maid says Eliza is indisposed, having not slept well, and Mr. Boyer leaves. When he returns, he is told Eliza has gone for a walk in the garden and does not wish to be disturbed. 

Suspicious, Mr. Boyer goes out into the garden to find Eliza and Major Sanford together. Outraged, and not wanting to act out of character, Boyer decides to leave. He attempts to explain the situation to Mrs. Wharton but is unable. Eliza enters, equally distressed. She attempts to explain her conduct, but Mr. Boyer refuses to listen, as he has had enough of being led on. 

He apologizes to Mrs. Wharton, whom he had looked forward to taking care of as his mother-in-law. He is unable to say anything else to Eliza. 

Boyer’s anger turns to sadness that evening. After some tears and self-reflection, he is able to begin “erasing [Eliza’s] image” from his heart (82). He determines that her nature was opposed to his, and that providence has led him away from being ensnared. 

Boyer encloses a copy of his farewell letter to Eliza in his letter to Mr. Selby. In order to be the master of his passions, he chooses to write rather than bid her farewell in person.

He attempts to warn her, as a friend, about the danger she faces from courting Major Sanford, and announces that he renounces his former hopes of a happy life with her. He begs her to avoid Sanford and to show prudence in her conduct, decorum, and manner of dress. He claims to point her faults out so that she “may consider their nature and effects, and renounce them” (85). 

Boyer does not wish to hear her response to this letter, but he would like to hear that she changes her ways. He prays that she makes it through this trial with her virtue unscathed.

This letter, the longest in the novel, gives an account of the events described in Mr. Boyer’s last letter from Eliza’s perspective. 

Major Sanford’s presence in her hometown has relieved the “dull, old fashioned sobriety which formerly prevailed” (86). She notes that, while other may view him as “rather licentious,” she cannot find flagrant fault with Sanford’s behavior. 

Mrs. Wharton does not approve of her positive reception of Sanford. Eliza, however, wishes to enjoy society before entering the reclusive life of a preacher’s wife. She does not tell her mother that Sanford “entertains me with the lover’s theme; or, at least, that I listen to it” (86-87). Sanford urges her not to marry Mr. Boyer, yet he conceals his intentions from her. 

Eliza tells Sanford that if he does not openly declare his intentions, she will again break off contact with him and marry Boyer. He begs her to retract her words and to trust that his secrecy possesses honorable motives. Eliza consents and promises to keep him updated on her relationship with Boyer. 

Eliza admits to Lucy that she does not know how to rid herself of Sanford. 

Sanford invites her to ride with him, and she agrees, knowing that Boyer will be back in town soon and she will not be able to enjoy such entertainment. 

On Tuesday afternoon, when Sanford drops her off, Eliza finds Boyer waiting for her. Boyer wants to know her response: when will she marry him? But Eliza remains uncertain. Boyer accuses Sanford of robbing him of “the affection which he had supposed his due” (88). He warns her that she must break off her relationship with one of them. Boyer asks her to give him a response in the morning.

Eliza does not sleep. From her window, she sees Sanford’s carriage riding away. He visited Mrs. Wharton, and, because she favors Boyer, she did not tell Eliza. She reproaches her mother, saying that she “wished her not to interfere, except by her advice,” which causes Mrs. Wharton to cry (88). Mrs. Wharton goes over the pros and cons of each suitor yet again, causing Eliza to cry in embarrassment. Boyer enters at this point. Rather than pushing for her response, he endeavors to cheer her up, which Eliza appreciates. 

When she returns that evening, she discovers that her mother withheld a letter from Sanford. Mrs. Wharton reluctantly hands it over. Because Mrs. Wharton did not let him see her the previous day, Sanford believes Eliza has chosen Mr. Boyer. He asks to meet her in the garden at a time of her choosing. Eliza decides not to see Boyer until she speaks with Sanford. 

On Thursday morning, Eliza wonders what fate has in store for her. She has “nearly determined” to “give Mr. Boyer the Preference, and with him to tread the future round of life” (91). Boyer arrives, but Eliza says she is indisposed. At one o’clock, Mrs. Wharton comes to check on her. She tells her she will take a walk in the garden later to help her feel better. 

At the appointed time, Eliza goes to meet Major Sanford in the garden. When he appears, she is suddenly conscious of the impropriety of their meetings. He tells her that as soon as she breaks things off with Boyer, he will tell her his true intentions. 

Mr. Boyer arrives, and the three are left in momentary shock. He returns to the house. Eliza flees Sanford; she says, “I will go and try to retrieve my character” (92). 

In the house, Boyer is agitated and Mrs. Wharton is weeping. Boyer will not hear Eliza’s explanation. He accuses her of “treating him ill, of rendering him the dupe of coquetting artifice” (92). She admits that there was “too much reason in support of his accusations” for her to refute them, even if she was given a chance (93). Eliza is unable to defend herself. Boyer takes his leave. When she realizes that he has actually renounced her, she faints. 

Eliza feels ashamed to discuss these events with her mother, though doing so alleviates her distress. She receives Mr. Boyer’s farewell letter.