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Letter 49
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Coquette, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Women and Society
Sex and Virtue
Marriage and Social Mobility
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
Eliza writes Lucy and tells her that Julia has arrived. “She is all that I once was,” Eliza says, “easy, sprightly, debonair.” Eliza knows that Lucy will only say her unhappiness is “the result of [Eliza’s] own imprudence,” which Eliza admits may be true, but this doesn’t make her situation any less painful. Julia wants Eliza to attend social functions with her as she doesn’t wish to go alone, but Eliza can’t bear it. She is much too depressed over Mr. Boyer’s rejection
Eliza is all but begging Lucy to cut her some slack about her perceived bad decision making regarding Sanford and Boyer and let it go so that she can try to heal in peace, but Lucy is intent on reminding Eliza that it was her behavior that led her here. Of course, it wasn’t so much Eliza’s behavior as it was the unyielding nature of their sexist society, but Lucy doesn’t make this distinction and therefore it is Eliza’s fault entirely. If Lucy was a true friend, she would comfort Eliza instead of adding to her misery.
Themes
