Power And Dominance In The Coquette By Hannah W. Foster

State how marriage is presented in the stories, “Desiree’s Baby” and “The Story of an Hour.”

In Hannah W. Foster’s, The Coquette, Eliza Wharton is portrayed as a woman of status, above average intelligence and education, with a flirtatious nature. Though the author does not cast her in an antagonistic light, her manner is painted as foolish, flippant to 18th century social conventions, and lacking in forethought. As such, The Coquette should be viewed as a literary warning for young women of the day, especially those who may have shared undesirable attributes with Eliza. It is the novel’s intent, by way of Eliza’s thoughts and actions, to discourage young women from pursuing a fleeting and non-virtuous lifestyle. Through the novel, Foster acts as a moral guide to young women by persuading them to obey social conventions like entering into dutiful marriage, refraining from political and public

Hannah W. Foster’s The Coquette is a young woman’s path navigating the expectations of society while not surrendering her own wants and needs. Marriages, in the eighteenth century, are based on financial security and social rank, not love. Women, especially those who did not have a dowry, married a man of wealth and connections. The sad, tragic tale of Eliza Wharton validates the fact that defying expectations in the eighteenth century caused women to fall from grace.

Marriage is a sacred union; when the love of two people can stand the test of time. That is what is thought, but that ideal is not always the case. Some marriages end in divorce or a tragedy or something unique to a certain situation. In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, the marriage of Ethan and Zeena draws uncanny parallels to the authors own life and marriage; in that Edith Wharton had an affair, her marriage declined, and her husband had a mental illness.

The theme of matrimony in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue as well as in the Miller’s Tale does not fit in with traditional fourteenth-century culture. The characters in these two texts turn what is suppose to be a sacred unity into a promiscuous and taboo fantasy for pilgrims. The characters narrating these two tales promote the idea of what fourteenth-century canon law would define as adultery—to have had a third lover while married is the new societal trend for the characters in these tales. And so, marriage becomes a component to the larger fantasy of having a relationship with a character who is already in a marital bond, i.e., cuckolding is a fetish for Alisoun in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue as well as for Nicholas and Absolom in the Miller’s Tale. That is, Alisoun’s pursuit of her lover Jankin while being married, promotes the idea that having a third partner amplifies one’s sexual life, meanwhile, Nicholas’s and Absalom’s quarrel over (a different) Alison encourages the idea that engaging with a married someone enhances the gratification of adultery. In other words, marriage is not portrayed as a scared bond, but as a device to fulfill a pilgrim’s sexual fantasy; and, this new fantasy is what the pilgrims try to make a trend throughout England. Note that I will be using the name, “Alisoun,” to represent the wife from Bath, and I will be using the name, “Alison,” to portray the wife in the Miller’s Tale.

She actually wanted people to understand the way that women thought when not controlled entirely by a man and the reasons regarding the actions that they took. Men, according to her novel, did not really care about the emotional state of a woman, just as other countries did not really care about the United States. For a nation who claims to be wholly free, the idea of being under constant observation undermines the liberty they are trying to represent, just as a woman who is constantly being judged by the world for trying to be her own person (Richards). Love was not even a factor for women in the 1700s. A woman is supposed to be married by 18, yet if you flirt with a man, your reputation is ruined and you are basically a whore in the eyes of society.

The epistolary style of The Coquette allows the reader to see both sides of the story and see things that might not otherwise be apparent. For instance, in The Coquette, we are following the flirtatious excursions of Eliza and occasionally we get an insight into what General Sanford’s views. The trickery of Sanford is hidden until we read his letter to Mr. Deighton where he states, “but I fancy this young lady is a coquette; and if so, I shall avenge my sex by retaliating the mischiefs she mediates against us.” (Coquette, location 407) The theme of correspondence becomes apparent from this point because it shows the reader that women can be naïve to the intentions of others. This plays out throughout the novel in many ways through the actions of Eliza and the reactions of Boyer and Sanford. Eliza spends much of her time writing to friends, attempting to persuade them that she is not a coquette. This is where the theme of sexual freedom and liberation comes into play.

The myths surrounding marriage have now taken a place in modern times. We are often displaced in society based on the linear structure of societal mandates. American literature has portrayed issues based on social standards of certain eras. One of pioneers of American literature named Nathaniel Hawthorne published a short story named “The Birthmark”. The story that tells the odd behavior of human obsession. The short story surrounds the two characters named Aylmer and Georgina. Aylmer whom is brilliant scientist and natural philosopher decides to abandon his hobbies to marry his wife. The wife, known as Georgina is faced with oppression from her husband. Aylmer discovers a birthmark the shape of tiny hand on his wife cheek. He is confined to this birthmark he developed an obsession that turned into a

This paper tends to prove that in the novels “The Scarlet Letter” and “The Portrait of a Lady” marriage is a loveless institution and the heroines of these two novels, Hester and Isabel, respectively, must look for love beyond their husbands to make sense of their loveless marriage. Hester and Isabel have different responses to their loveless relationship with their husbands: Hester leaves her husband to be with another man, whereas Isabel chooses to go back to her husband and rejects her suitor. Marriage is a trap for the heroines/women because it takes away their independence.

a story that reflects the subordination of woman in marriage. By the time of the early

In the novel, Lady Laura’s character is presented as the damsel-in-distress archetype, as she is manipulated to exaggerate the impeding force of male supremacy in the fight for women’s rights. Women in the Victorian Era were known to be very acquisitive, as tangible quantities surpassed the necessary emotional attachment required in marriages (Marriage). This is a result of the assertive power men had over women, as society believed that a woman’s rightful place was at home rather than in an office (Women and Work). In the case of Lady Laura, “she [has] never loved [Mr. Kennedy]. [She knows] that [Phineas] will ask [her] to be [his] wife […] [she declares] to [herself] that, in spite of both [their] hearts, it should not be so. [She has] no money” (Trollope 87). Lady Laura has a burdening choice to make between love and wealth, but in the end she rejects Phineas’ love and chooses Mr. Kennedy’s wealth. The drawback of being unable to survive independently puts Lady Laura’s character compels her to choose a life of fortune over love, further proving the inferior position women are put in. However, if men refuse this power they have over women, they can help women like Lady Laura and generate change in feminism. In fact, through providing women jobs to support themselves, men are directly acknowledging women’s capabilities and their worth in society. To further support this point, the novel uses Lady Laura’s character yet again to criticize the power men have. It is only through denying this power that men can help women, consequently making gender equality a reality. In terms of assets and liabilities, women in the Victorian Era had no liability rights upon accepting a man’s hand in marriage. After the marriage was finalized, the supervision of her property, rights, and even identity fell to her

Examine Austen’s presentation of what is called in the novel, ‘women’s usual occupations of eye, and hand, and mind’. In Jane Austen’s society, the role of women was controlled by what was expected of them. In most cases, marriage was not for love, and was considered as a business arrangement, in which both partners could gain status and financial reassurance. Though Austen opposed the idea of none affectionate marriage, many

But what is one to do? I did write for a while inspite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal – having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition”. (Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper, 1898). Here one can see that the narrator wished to work and have a change in her domestic life, but the struggle to keep it a secret from her husband was too great because she knew he would not approve. Marriage, which is supposed to represent unity, love and the coming together of two equal partners was anything but that for the narrator. In the 19th century women were at the mercy of men, even though they marched forward for equality they were still very much dependent on their male counterparts. They were not allowed to have control over their assets and therefor marriage was the best solution to live a comfortable life seeing as their parents could not provide for their daughters forever. In The Yellow Wallpaper the prisonlike feeling that marriage causes the narrator, eventually leads to her insanity. Which for some was probably an actual occurrence in that era. More

Physical dominance as an expression of social power was translated by the Native American children 's experiences at boarding school, where school leaders showed dominance through physical abuse in addition to the psychological indoctrination. “Sexual, physical, and emotional violence was rampant. Even when teachers were charged with abuse, boarding schools refused to investigate” (Smith, Boarding 91). The United States has been reluctant to address the issues that were present in the boarding schools, and continue to affect Native American culture. “Despite the epidemic of sexual abuse in boarding schools, the Bureau of Indian Affairs did not issue a policy on reporting sexual abuse until 1987, and did not issue a policy to strengthen the background checks of potential teachers until 1989” (Smith, Boarding 91). While the United States has been concerned with ignoring the issues started at the boarding schools, Canada has been more open to admitting the wrongs that were done. Canada 's boarding schools were charged on the grounds that “several schools contained unmarked graveyards of children who were murdered, particularly those born due to the rape of Native girls by priests and other church officials at the school” (Smith, Boarding 91). The charges brought against Canada 's boarding school illuminated the deplorable conditions the students survived, but the United States has not been able to admit to wrongdoings in its own boarding schools. This is not because

The Story of an Hour is short, yet, contains important examples of gender roles in marriage. They are important because they represent how women felt married in the 19th century due to male dominance that manifested throughout marriages all over the world. In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard is a wife that is, at first, seen as distraught, because of her husband’s death. She starts to cry and run to her room, to soon be lifted with the joy that she is now free. It is clear that she felt trapped in the marriage and is now happy that there is no one controlling her any longer. Mrs. Mallard is a prime example of women in marriages in the 19th century, and even some today. Unfortunately, they have to experience sexism from their husbands. Women are dominated by men in marriage and are expected to acquire the stereotypical gender roles.