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Aaron Burr
Eliza, the middle child of the wealthy Schuyler family, is Hamilton’s loyal, generous, adoring wife. After a whirlwind courtship (“Helpless”), however, Eliza often finds herself sidelined in her husband’s life; while he is off at war or immersed in a political battle, she sits at home, begging him to “let me be a part of the narrative / in the stories they will write someday” (“That Would Be Enough”). Though Hamilton rarely consults her for political advice, he comes to trust and depend on her goodness—he reflects that she is the “best of wives and best of women,” a line in the show pulled straight from the archives. When Hamilton betrays Eliza, publicizing news of his years-long affair with another woman, Eliza responds by burning all the letters he sent her: “I’m erasing myself from the narrative / let future historians wonder / how Eliza reacted” (“Burn”). When the couple’s son Philip is killed in a duel, however, Eliza finds “forgiveness” for her husband, demonstrating the need for grace and patience in the face of tragedy (“It’s Quiet Uptown”). After Hamilton’s death, Eliza spends the remaining 50 years of her life fighting for the causes most important to him, even founding an orphanage in his memory. Her desire to protect her husband’s legacy is dramatized in the show’s finale, which ends with a focus on Eliza as the story’s true hero (“Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”).
Eliza Quotes in Hamilton
The Hamilton quotes below are all either spoken by Eliza or refer to Eliza. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1: The Schuyler Sisters
Quotes
ANGELICA: I’ve been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine.
So men say that I’m intense or I’m insane.
You want a revolution? I wanna revelation
So listen to my declaration:
ELIZA, ANGELICA, PEGGY: “We hold these truths to be self-evident
That all men are created equal.”
ANGELICA: And when I meet Thomas Jefferson […]
I’m ‘a compel him to include women in the sequel!
WOMEN: Work!
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 1: Helpless
Quotes
HAMILTON: I’ve been livin’ without a family since I was a child.
My father left, my mother died, I grew up buckwild.
But I’ll never forget my mother’s face, that was real
And long as I’m alive, Eliza, swear to God, you’ll never feel so…
WOMEN: Helpless
ELIZA: I do I do I do I dooo!
Act 1: Satisfied
Quotes
ANGELICA: To the groom!
To the bride!
From your sister.
Who is always by your side.
To your union.
And the hope you provide.
May you always
Be satisfied.
And I know
She’ll be happy as his bride.
And I know
He will never be satisfied.
I will never be satisfied.
Act 1: That Would Be Enough
Quotes
ELIZA: I don’t pretend to know
The challenges you’re facing.
The worlds you keep erasing and creating in your mind.
But I’m not afraid.
I know who I married.
So long as you come home at the end of the day
That would be enough […]
Oh, let me be a part of the narrative
In the story they will write someday.
Let this moment be the first chapter
Where you decide to stay
And I could be enough
And we could be enough
That would be enough.
Act 2: Hurricane
Quotes
HAMILTON: I wrote my way out of hell.
I wrote my way to revolution.
I was louder than the crack in the bell.
I wrote Eliza love letters until she fell.
I wrote about the Constitution and defended it well.
And in the face of ignorance and resistance,
I wrote financial systems into existence.
And when my prayers to God were met with indifference,
I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2: Burn
Quotes
ELIZA: You and your words, obsessed with your legacy
Your sentences border on senseless
And you are paranoid in every paragraph
How they perceive you?
You, you, you…
I’m erasing myself from the narrative.
Let future historians wonder
How Eliza reacted when you broke her heart.
You have torn it all apart […]
I’m burning the memories,
Burning the letters that might have redeemed you.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2: It’s Quiet Uptown
Quotes
ANGELICA: They are standing in the garden,
Alexander by Eliza’s side.
She takes his hand […]
ELIZA: It’s quiet uptown.
Hamilton shatters.
COMPANY: Forgiveness. Can you imagine?
Forgiveness. Can you imagine?
If you see him in the streets, walking by her side, talking by her side, have pity.
They are going through the unimaginable.
Act 2: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story
Quotes
ELIZA: I see you every time
And when my time is up?
Will they tell my story?
Oh, I can’t wait to see you again.
It’s only a matter of—
ELIZA, COMPANY: Time.
COMPANY: Will they tell your story?
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?
Will they tell your story?
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?
Get the entire Hamilton LitChart as a printable PDF.
Eliza Quotes in Hamilton
The Hamilton quotes below are all either spoken by Eliza or refer to Eliza. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1: The Schuyler Sisters
Quotes
ANGELICA: I’ve been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine.
So men say that I’m intense or I’m insane.
You want a revolution? I wanna revelation
So listen to my declaration:
ELIZA, ANGELICA, PEGGY: “We hold these truths to be self-evident
That all men are created equal.”
ANGELICA: And when I meet Thomas Jefferson […]
I’m ‘a compel him to include women in the sequel!
WOMEN: Work!
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 1: Helpless
Quotes
HAMILTON: I’ve been livin’ without a family since I was a child.
My father left, my mother died, I grew up buckwild.
But I’ll never forget my mother’s face, that was real
And long as I’m alive, Eliza, swear to God, you’ll never feel so…
WOMEN: Helpless
ELIZA: I do I do I do I dooo!
Act 1: Satisfied
Quotes
ANGELICA: To the groom!
To the bride!
From your sister.
Who is always by your side.
To your union.
And the hope you provide.
May you always
Be satisfied.
And I know
She’ll be happy as his bride.
And I know
He will never be satisfied.
I will never be satisfied.
Act 1: That Would Be Enough
Quotes
ELIZA: I don’t pretend to know
The challenges you’re facing.
The worlds you keep erasing and creating in your mind.
But I’m not afraid.
I know who I married.
So long as you come home at the end of the day
That would be enough […]
Oh, let me be a part of the narrative
In the story they will write someday.
Let this moment be the first chapter
Where you decide to stay
And I could be enough
And we could be enough
That would be enough.
Act 2: Hurricane
Quotes
HAMILTON: I wrote my way out of hell.
I wrote my way to revolution.
I was louder than the crack in the bell.
I wrote Eliza love letters until she fell.
I wrote about the Constitution and defended it well.
And in the face of ignorance and resistance,
I wrote financial systems into existence.
And when my prayers to God were met with indifference,
I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2: Burn
Quotes
ELIZA: You and your words, obsessed with your legacy
Your sentences border on senseless
And you are paranoid in every paragraph
How they perceive you?
You, you, you…
I’m erasing myself from the narrative.
Let future historians wonder
How Eliza reacted when you broke her heart.
You have torn it all apart […]
I’m burning the memories,
Burning the letters that might have redeemed you.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2: It’s Quiet Uptown
Quotes
ANGELICA: They are standing in the garden,
Alexander by Eliza’s side.
She takes his hand […]
ELIZA: It’s quiet uptown.
Hamilton shatters.
COMPANY: Forgiveness. Can you imagine?
Forgiveness. Can you imagine?
If you see him in the streets, walking by her side, talking by her side, have pity.
They are going through the unimaginable.
Act 2: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story
Quotes
ELIZA: I see you every time
And when my time is up?
Will they tell my story?
Oh, I can’t wait to see you again.
It’s only a matter of—
ELIZA, COMPANY: Time.
COMPANY: Will they tell your story?
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?
Will they tell your story?
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?
