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Letter 58
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 to tell her that, while Julia is headed to Boston, Eliza will not be joining them. She prefers to stay home with her “melancholy reflections,” but hopes that Julia will soon return to her. Eliza has been spending more time with Major and Mrs. Sanford lately; he treats Eliza with the “tenderness of a brother,” and Nancy treats her with the “attention of a sister.” Eliza believes that Sanford’s previous feelings for her are “entirely obliterated.” Eliza signs off after writing very little, claiming: “Writing is not so agreeable to me as it used to be.”
Eliza’s health is clearly deteriorating. She doesn’t want to visit her friends in Boston, and she is even neglecting her letter writing, an activity that has been particularly important in the past. Eliza clearly doesn’t see that Sanford is still very much pursuing her, and she has misinterpreted his intentions. He does not look at her like a sibling but like a lover.
Themes
