Self-Reliance in The Coquette

Self-Reliance in The Coquette Hannah W. Foster's The Coquette, written in 1797, takes place in a time period and social arena where a woman's primary role consisted of finding a suitable husband and becoming contently married. Forced into a narrow confine of her role from her early childhood, a girl became caught in a world where she lacked any true power. Controlled by her society, it was difficult for a female to find her own voice …

…lead fruitful lives. Emerson would not be at all surprised about this because he ! believes that "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members (25)." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** Works Cited Davidson, Cathy. Introduction. The Coquette. By Hannah W. Foster. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Self-Reliance.” Essays And Poems. Ed.Christopher Bigsby, et al. Rutland, Vermont: Orion Publishing Group, 1995. Foster, Hannah W. The Coquette. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.