Social Rejection In The Coquette

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The idea of social rejection, which can be used to describe persons rejected by, omitted from, or mistreated by their peers. Social rejection can be in the form of slavery, shunning, bullying, or in Hannah W. Foster’s novel, The Coquette, the barring of women because they do not conform to the rules of proper society etiquette. Foster’s Eliza Wharton has all the qualities of this kind of societal young woman. As she is entering society, having to obey by the proper society etiquette, she fits into this mold of how a woman is perceived to behave.
One of the roles Eliza must play is the role of a proper young woman. She is expected to behave a certain way, treat men a certain way, and be married by a certain age to a Reverend. She feels that she must do this in order to please her family and friends, “To them, of course, I sacrificed my fancy in this affair; determined that my reason should concur with theirs; and on that to risk my future happiness”(5). She is sacrificing her happiness so; therefore, she is conforming to the proper role of being a young woman in society.
Foster uses Eliza’s personality to push the boundaries of the way women were expected to behave in society. Eliza was faced with the …show more content…

She lives her life on her own terms than that of the views of society. She is the minority in her way of thinking that is okay not to have love and life figured out by the time she is 30 years of age. All her aspirations are laughed at by her friend Lucy, whom puts her down for trying make a better life for herself instead of following with the etiquettes of society. “Forgive my plainness, Eliza. It is the task of friendship, sometimes to tell disagreeable truths. I know your ambition is to make a distinguished figure in first class society; to shine in the gay circle of fashionable amusements..(Foster 27). Instead of encouraging Eliza, Lucy dashes her

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