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 42-48Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Letter 42 Summary: “To Mr. Charles Deighton”
Major Sanford writes to Charles Deighton of his success in breaking up Eliza and Mr. Boyer, and of his near escape from falling completely in love with Eliza. Sanford, who claims to have “no conscience,” does not care to take things further with Eliza now that he has revenged himself upon her friends.
Boyer’s sudden discovery of Sanford and Eliza in the arbor was fortunate for the major. He watches Boyer leave from a neighbor’s house.
He calls on Eliza the next day. She is unwilling to hear about anything concerning the affair. Sanford informs her that he will be leaving for the south for several months in order to repair his fortunes. Sanford tells Deighton, in confidence, that the purpose of this trip is “occasioned by the prospect of speculation” (96)
Letter 43 Summary: “To Miss Eliza Wharton”
Mrs. Richman sends her condolences to Eliza over the end of her relationship with Boyer. Eliza has been “resigned […] to solitude and dejection” (96). She encourages Eliza that she can still expect happiness, and that “[o]ur greatest mistakes may teach lessons which will be useful through life” (97). Mrs. Richman invites Eliza back to her home.
Nancy Laurence is now engaged to Mr. Laiton, who Mrs. Richman views as a “mere fortune hunter” (98).
Letter 44 Summary: “To Mrs. Lucy Sumner”
Eliza writes that she is incredibly depressed. She notes that losing Boyer has taught her “that we know not the value of a blessing but by deprivation” (98). She would write to him, but she knows he has irrevocably severed ties with her.
Her misfortunes are the talk of the town, and she wishes to leave home.
Letter 45 Summary: “To the Same”
Eliza returns to New Haven, but not even the presence of her friends can alleviate her sadness. Her former amusements “have lost their charms” (99).
Mrs. Richman convinces Eliza to write to Mr. Boyer, if only to relieve her mind.
Eliza wonders if Sanford has been neglecting her on purpose, though losing him would not hurt as much as losing Boyer did. Twelve months have passed since Sanford’s departure, and the only news of him is a rumor that he is engaged.
Letter 46 Summary: “To the Rev. J. Boyer”
Eliza writes to Boyer to inform him of her changed ways. She deeply repents of her past behavior and wishes to atone somehow. Eliza asserts that she did love Boyer, and loves him even more now. She entreats him to “rekindle the latent flame” of their love (102).
Letter 47 Summary: “To Miss Eliza Wharton”
Reverend Boyer is surprised to receive Eliza’s letter.
Boyer reminds her that he views his former feelings for her as misplaced, focused on virtues that he now does not believe she had. He claims to have “vanquished […] every tender passion” and given himself over completely to his religion (103).
Mr. Boyer is soon to be married to Maria Selby, Mr. T. Selby’s sister. Eliza’s letter has come too late; if she ever had a chance at all, it’s gone. Despite this, Boyer does “sincerely rejoice” that Eliza’s “mind has regained its native strength and beauty” (104). He is happy to be considered her friend.
He wishes her a happy future and hopes she will find a good man to marry.
Letter 48 Summary: “To Mrs. Lucy Sumner”
In her next letter, Eliza laments, “I am undone!” (105). She encloses a copy of the two preceding letters to illustrate her situation. She regrets writing to the reverend; doing so, she believes, will give him “the power of triumphing in [her] distress” (105).
Mrs. Wharton is unable to sooth Eliza. Eliza feigns happiness in her presence and tries to “appear as cheerful as possible in her company” though her “heart is ready to burst with grief” (106).
Eliza wishes to invite her friend, Julia Granby, to stay with her. Unequal to the task of writing to her, Eliza asks if Lucy can do it for her.
Letters 42-48 Analysis
This section of Foster’s novel is marked by absence and reevaluation. If Boyer’s rejection of Eliza marks a climax in their relationship, then the arc that starts with Letter 43 marks the start of actions that push Eliza toward Major Sanford. However, at this point, Eliza is without a suitor. Sanford leaves for at least a year, one of the few demarcations of the length of time that passes in the novel. Isolation and a deepening melancholy cause Eliza to reflect on all that has happened, and she concludes that she did, indeed, love Mr. Boyer and that she took his honor, virtue, and social merits for granted. Boyer was not only a good friend and an eligible suitor, he was also very good to Eliza, which she did not recognize due to her love of wealth and social status. The duration of Sanford’s absence makes it easier to determine the length of time that has passed since Boyer denounced Eliza. A year or more at least have passed, and Boyer, unlike Eliza, has moved on.
Eliza’s letter to Mr. Boyer reveals that she has finally matured somewhat. It is franker and more direct than any form of communication Eliza has yet produced. The letter is Eliza’s way of “[c]asting off the veil of dissimulation” and is a “sacrifice of female reserve” (101-02). “Dissimulation” and “female reserve” define Eliza’s character up until Boyer leaves her. Were she honest and open, she might have salvaged their relationship. Boyer, however, views her conduct as “artifice and dissimulation” (103). His love for her was “governed by reason, and had a nobler objective in view, than mere sensual gratification” (103). Through strength of faith and mind, Boyer erases his feelings for Eliza. He is now engaged to Maria Selby, a woman whose virtues align with his own; however, he earnestly wishes for Eliza’s wellbeing and continued reformed conduct.
Rejection is mental torment for Eliza. She tells Lucy, “I blame not Mr. Boyer. He has acted nobly. I approve of his conduct, though it operates my ruin!” (105). Though she claims not to resent Boyer, she also laments, “I have given him the power of triumphing in my distress” (105). This means that, to some extent, Eliza views Boyer as vengeful, though this may be her own conscience reprimanding her.
