The Coquette
Write a brief essay of 500 words [not including the passage you're examining] that analyzes a brief moment in The Coquette. Your goal is to demonstrate through close analysis of the text's language how the text tells us something about one of the novel's major preoccupations. You will select ONE of the following questions for your paper to address:
1) Find a moment where we see sympathy or sensibility in the novel--what does this passage say about the novel's approach to sympathy/sensibility?
2) Find a moment where we see a view/opinion about marriage in the novel (any aspect of marriage)--what does this passage reveal about the novel's consideration of marriage as a social institution?
3) Find a moment where might we read the novel in terms of politics--how does the passage help us see the ways that the novel thinks of marriage/sociability/relationships as resembling politics or offering political models?
4) Where do we see attempts to reinforce or complicate gender norms in the novel? Select a passage that helps you unpack a specific attitude towards or about gender in the novel.
5) Pick a character besides Eliza and analyze their function or role in the narrative by examining a representative passage that contributes to their characterization.
Sample Solution
In The Coquette, Eliza Wharton is constantly torn between her feelings for the two suitors in her life: Major Peter Sanford and Reverend Boyer. After Boyer’s untimely death, Eliza experiences a sense of guilt and regret over the way she treated him—a feeling which reveals the novel's exploration of sympathy and sensibility. In one particular scene, Sanford confronts Eliza about his suspicions that she has feelings for Boyer even after his death. In response to this accusation, we see Eliza’s emotions come to the surface as she breaks down into tears - “The mortifying truth flashed upon her mind; She hung her head with conscious shame… Her tears burst forth with increasing violence” (Hawthorne). This passage illustrates how deeply connected Eliza feels towards Boyer despite his absence. As well as conveying an intense emotion within its language—the imagery of a ‘conscious shame,' along with vivid descriptors such as 'increasing violence'— it provides insight into the role that sympathy plays within the novel.
By showing us how sympathetic Eliza is towards an absent lover, Hawthorne highlights the power of compassion- something which serves as one of The Coquette's central preoccupations. Despite being caught up in a world where propriety ruled over true sentimentality, we can see from this moment how important it is for characters like Eliza to be able to express their innermost feelings rather than feel bound by societal standards or expectations- showcasing Hawthorne’s exploration of sympathy throughout The Coquette.
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