Questions About The Coquette

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Coquette, please sign up.

Answered Questions (1)

Why would Foster want readers to think her novel as fact, not fiction?

Miranda Riding My English Lit class (1660-1789) discussed this decision which other authors in this time period such as Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano also chos…moreMy English Lit class (1660-1789) discussed this decision which other authors in this time period such as Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano also chose to do. These authors all wrote in the Enlightenment Era which valued reason above all else.
Foster addresses this theory by characterizing Eliza Wharton as driven by emotions instead of strict reason like most of society. Foster may have established her novel as fact because she wanted Enlightenment readers to take her novel seriously and not just as Foster running wild with emotion and imagination. This choice shows that Foster deemed reason as important and applicable to reading her novel especially since readers have to decipher what's happening from letters written by Foster's characters who have limited perspectives and biased opinions.
Also, Foster was not only writing to entertain, she wanted her readers to take what they learned about society and themselves from this book and apply it to their everyday lives. Writing the novel as fact shows that it's applicable to the reader. I don't know about you but when I discover that a book or movie is actually a true story, it resonates with me more and I think more deeply about the message.(less)

flag

Unanswered Questions

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more