Previous
Letter 31
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
“I am really banished and rejected,” Sanford writes Charles. He is quite heartbroken by Eliza’s termination of their relationship, although he is optimistic about taking possession of his new home “in the vicinity of [his] charmer’s native abode.” Living this close to Eliza’s home and family, Sanford hopes to continue his “plan of separating her from Mr. Boyer.” In a short aside, Sanford tells Charles that he was forced to mortgage his new home because he couldn’t actually pay for it. Sanford must “keep up the appearance of affluence” until he finds a “lady in a strait for a husband, whose fortune will enable [him] to extricate [himself] from these embarrassments.”
This again illustrates that Sanford has no respect whatsoever for Eliza’s wishes and preferences. He plans to move to her town and sabotage her current relationship just to get what he wants, which probably amounts to a cheap affair, since, despite his feelings for Eliza, he never intends to marry her. This passage also confirms that Sanford is broke, and the very thing Eliza finds most attractive about him—his wealth—is a farce.
Themes
