The Trials of a New England Coquette: Rockford and the Romantic History of Lillie Devereux Blake

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a coquette is a "woman (more or less young), who uses arts to gain the admiration and affection of men, merely for the gratification of vanity or from a desire of conquest, and without any intention of responding to the feelings aroused." In a pi...

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Published in:	Legacy (Amherst, Mass.) Mass.), 2018-01, Vol.35 (2), p.121-140
Main Author:	Foley, Vera R
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	19th century Ambiguity Antebellum period Arranged marriage Authors Autobiographical fiction, American Biographies Blake, Lillie Devereux Blake, Lillie Devereux (1833-1913) Coquetry Dickens, Charles (1812-1870) Dictionaries Domestic fiction, American Education reform English language English Literature Erotica Essays Fate Female Identity Flirting in literature Gura, Philip F Heroism & heroes History and criticism Literary characters Literary criticism Literary devices Literature Logic Marriage Morality Narrative techniques Nineteenth Century Novels Publishing Publishing industry Rockford or, Sunshine and Storm Sleep Virtue Women
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Summary:	According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a coquette is a "woman (more or less young), who uses arts to gain the admiration and affection of men, merely for the gratification of vanity or from a desire of conquest, and without any intention of responding to the feelings aroused." In a pitiful parody of the scene in which Lionel finds Edith asleep and kneels before her, Adrienne attempts to attract the younger man's embrace by feigning sleep. [...]when he enters the drawing room he finds her "on the sofa with a gaudy Afghan thrown over her, apparently asleep-her wary eyes were veiled by the heavy lids, yet" as Lionel immediately observes, "it was surely not profound repose that made her breathing so quick, nor was it mere carelessness that left so wide-apart her open dress, and displayed so liberally her heaving breast" (243). [...]when Denbigh tricks Edith into his carriage to abduct her, he knows that immuring her in a lonely house, hidden away from her community, will make it impossible for her to return to New York society unwed. Throughout the winter he has been orchestrating the appearance of clandestine meetings between them at public gatherings, assiduously generating speculation about their attachment. Because she had no romantic interest in him, Edith "never heeded nor noticed the whispers that ran through the room at her appearance with this handsome stranger, after an absence that really had been of considerable length" (Rockford 170).
ISSN:	0748-4321 1534-0643