Story summary
Trama e riassunto di La civetta, ovvero La storia di Eliza Wharton
- 8 min di lettura
- 10 parts
- Audio a breve
Eliza Wharton dreams of dancing after a joyless engagement as two very different suitors pursue her.
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La civetta, ovvero La storia di Eliza Wharton in breve
Riassunto: 8 min di lettura
- Tempo di lettura
- Circa 3 h 55 min3 h 5 min fast, 4 h 40 min slow
- Durata
- 56.100 parole
- Livello nella biblioteca
- Medio longer sentences, everyday words
- Prima pubblicazione
- 1797by Hannah Webster Foster
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Quanto tempo ci vuole per leggere i classici · Aggiornato
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La civetta, ovvero La storia di Eliza Wharton in short
The Coquette follows Eliza Wharton from the moment she leaves a loveless engagement to the moment she must pay for her choices. Two men court her, a minister who offers a steady home and a major who offers glitter and charm. Her friends warn her, and she nods and then does as she pleases.
What La civetta, ovvero La storia di Eliza Wharton is about
Why would a young woman, freshly released from a duty she never wanted, risk everything for a few more years of dancing and laughter? That question drives The Coquette, a novel told entirely through letters. It opens in New Haven, where Eliza Wharton tells her friend Lucy Freeman that she is glad to leave her childhood home.
Hannah Webster Foster published the book in 1797, in the early years of the American republic. Foster wrote it as a warning, but she gave her heroine wit, charm and a strong voice. You hear Eliza, her friends, a minister and a rake, each describing the same events in a different light.
A chi è rivolto. You will love this book if you enjoy stories of courtship and choice, letters that let you read minds, and early American life. It suits anyone curious about women's independence and reputation.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
Eliza Wharton Steps Out of Mourning
The novel begins with Eliza confessing her pleasure at leaving her childhood home. Her fiancé, the Reverend Mr. Haly, has just died after a long illness. She nursed him faithfully, yet she admits that she never truly loved him.
Now Eliza feels released from an arrangement she accepted out of obedience. In her first letter she promises herself a calm and serious life. That resolve lasts about a page. In her second letter she calls herself cheerful and thoughtless, and she feels her old wish for society returning. She is staying in New Haven with her cousin Mrs. Richman, and soon she puts away her mourning clothes and goes to a party.
There she meets a young minister named Boyer, who leads her in to dinner and walks with her in the garden. Lucy has already scolded her for coquettish airs, and Eliza promises to listen, though she thinks the word too harsh for an innocent heart.
Eliza's story begins with an honest wish to enjoy her youth, and that wish is both her charm and her risk.
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Two Very Different Suitors Appear
The letters now widen beyond Eliza.
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Mrs. Richman Warns Her About the Major
The morning after the ball, Eliza tells Mrs. Richman that Major Sanford is a perfect gentleman.
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Boyer Proposes and Eliza Asks for Time
Mr. Boyer finally gets his chance in the garden at General Richman's.
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Sanford's Letters Show a Calculating Mind
While Eliza weighs her choices, Sanford keeps writing to Deighton, and his letters grow bolder.
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Friends Take Sides and Eliza Seems to Yield
Boyer leaves for his new post, and Eliza agrees to write to him on general subjects.
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Hartford, a Wedding, and Boston
Back in Hartford, Eliza is welcomed by her mother and by Lucy, who is about to marry Mr. George Sumner.
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The Arbor and the Ending of One Hope
Boyer comes to Hartford hoping for a wedding day and finds only delay.
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What the Story Says About Freedom and Choice
One key theme is the narrow space allowed to a woman in this world.
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Reputation, Seduction, and the Letter Form
Another theme is reputation, the thing the characters call a priceless jewel.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Eliza Wharton A lively, witty young woman who wants to enjoy her freedom before she marries, and struggles to choose between her two suitors.
- Reverend J. Boyer A sincere young minister who offers Eliza a steady home and hopes she will name a wedding day.
- Major Peter Sanford A charming man of fashion with a bad reputation and hidden debts, who pursues Eliza for his own reasons.
- Mrs. Richman Eliza's cousin, happily married, who warns her early about Sanford and urges her toward good judgment.
- Lucy Freeman Eliza's close friend in Hartford, who gives frank advice and later marries Mr. Sumner.
- Julia Granby A cultured, sharp-eyed friend who comes to comfort Eliza and watches her closely.
- Mrs. Wharton Eliza's widowed mother, who wants her daughter happily settled and loves her without reserve.
- Mr. Selby Boyer's friend, who meets Eliza and writes back to warn him about her company.
How it ends (spoiler)
Eliza leaves home in secret, carrying Sanford's child, and goes to a distant place among strangers. She gives birth to a baby who does not live, and she dies shortly after, calm and repentant. Her friends mourn her and place a stone on her grave. Sanford loses his property and his wife and leaves in disgrace, haunted by guilt for what he has done.
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Domande su La civetta, ovvero La storia di Eliza Wharton
What is The Coquette about?
It follows Eliza Wharton, a lively young woman who is courted by a steady minister and a charming rake. The story is told through letters between her and her friends, showing how her choices about freedom and marriage shape her fate.
Is The Coquette based on a true story?
It is widely thought to draw on a real Connecticut scandal known to readers of the 1790s. Foster published it in 1797 and shaped the events into a novel in letters, with invented names and scenes.
What does coquette mean in the book?
A coquette is a woman who enjoys flirting and gathers admirers without committing to one. Eliza's friends use the word as a warning, and she thinks it too harsh for an innocent, cheerful heart.
Who are Boyer and Sanford?
Reverend Boyer is a sincere young minister who proposes a steady life. Major Sanford is a fashionable man with a bad reputation and hidden money troubles. Eliza must choose between them, and her friends strongly prefer Boyer.
Is The Coquette easy to read?
The book moves through letters, each with one writer's voice and sometimes several different scenes. Conversations are lively, the characters are easy to tell apart, and the letters let you follow several viewpoints at once.
Cita questa edizione
Foster, Hannah Webster. The Coquette, or, The History of Eliza Wharton. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-coquette-or-the-history-of-eliza-wharton.
Foster, H. W. (2026). The coquette, or, the history of Eliza Wharton. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-coquette-or-the-history-of-eliza-wharton (Original work published 1797)
Foster, Hannah Webster. The Coquette, or, The History of Eliza Wharton. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-coquette-or-the-history-of-eliza-wharton.
@book{foster2026coquette,
author = {Foster, Hannah Webster},
title = {The Coquette, or, The History of Eliza Wharton},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-coquette-or-the-history-of-eliza-wharton},
note = {First published 1797}
}
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