Themes from The Croquette by Hannah Webster FosterThe Coquette by Hannah Webster Foster, published in 1797, has long been considered a sentimental novel with little literary quality. Although La Coquette was a bestseller at the time of its publication and remained in print for most of the 19th century, critics paid it little attention except to ridicule the novel. It was not until 1978, with the publication of Walter Wenska's The Coquette and the American Dream of Freedom, that Foster's book received critical attention and praise. Since then, other literary critics have turned their attention to La Coquette for critical analysis and praise. These critiques have focused on facets of the novel that were completely ignored until the last twenty years. Themes addressed by critics include the injustices of patriarchal culture, societal attitudes, the representation of an economy of vision, the processing of language and the role of the female circle. It is evident that modern critics have delved beneath the surface of the sentimental novel to extract significant themes and information written by Foster. In her book Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America, Cathy N. Davidson includes La Coquette in the historical novel. chronology and criticism of the American novel. Davidson focuses his writing on the theme of The Coquette because he "does not overtly question the basic structure of patriarchal culture but rather exposes its fundamental injustices through the details and disasters of the plot" (144). The novel opens with Eliza Wharton expressing both sadness and relief over Mr. Haly's death. Davidson highlights the injustice of Eliza submitting to an arranged marriage out of obedience to her parents, which contradicts the supposed...... middle of paper ...... by the aforementioned writers is to emphasize the depth of the novel by Foster. CITEDBaker, Dorothy Z. “Hated by the Epithet!” »: definition, maxim and language of social dicta in The Coquette by Hannah Webster Foster. Literary Essays 23 (1996): 58-68. Davidson, Cathy N. The revolution and the word: the rise of the novel in America. New York: Oxford, 1986. Hamilton, Kristie. “An Assault on the Will: Republican Virtue and the City in Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette.” Early American Literature 24 (1989): 135-151.Pettengill, Claire C. "Sisterhood in a Separate Sphere: Female Friendships in Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette and The Boarding School." » Early American Literature 27 (1992): 185-203. Waldstreicher, David. “Fallen under my observation: vision and virtue in La Coquette. » Early American literature 27 (1992): 204-218.