American Literature

Society and culture are the primary platforms from which any discussion of womens rights can gain some persuasive effect. It is the exposition of the existing social and cultural conventions which gives Hannah Webster Fosters The Coquette and Murrays On the Equality of the Sexes added weight when it comes to convincing the readers that the rights of women have long been cast aside if not treated with less significance. First, the tragic ending in The Coquette informs the readers of a society that sees the coquettish woman as a source of evil and a pitfall for virtuous men even when the woman is the real victim of the machinations of man. Second, Murrays essay observes and adopts the idea that the cultural biases against women and the perceived inferiority of their intelligence are the products of circumstances and not one of nature.

The story of Eliza Wharton, as revealed through her and her paramours letters, immediately foreshadows the inescapable clash of the individual pursuit of happiness, and the obligation and duties that a woman of her stature must fulfil. Thus, in Elizas first letter to her friend she reveals a surge of both the feeling of happiness and relief as the news of the death of her would-be husband meant that she no longer faced a possible life of gloom with someone she does not love Both nature and education had instilled into my mind an implicit obedience to the will and desires of my parents...to them of course I sacrificed the fancy in this affair...to risk my future happiness...(So) I was the more encouraged, as I saw...his declining health (Foster 1395).
It is also important to note the manner with which the news of Elizas death was received. Her untimely death was to the opinion of the public a just atonement for her sins when she committed a taboo by tempting a married man and took him as paramour. It is this tragic ending which highlights the kind of rights women enjoy or the lack of it during her time. First of all, it is clear that it was entirely the eager efforts of Sanford which led to the consummation of their illicit relations, what with the machinations, every method which love could suggest, or art, invent, was adopted he employed to win her over because of the belief that he has never been defeated in (his) plan(Foster 1406).  To add further, Eliza honestly believed then that her playful dalliances with men were harmless as they proceed from an innocent heart and the effusions of a youthful and cheerful mind (1396). Still, it was Eliza who was to be blamed. The death of her child and her own did not evoke sympathy rather these deaths were taken as moral instructions for other women not be so coquettish.

Murrays On the Equality of the Sexes likewise pushes for the empowerment of women and the support for womens rights. Unlike The Coquette, the approach in this regard is more direct and unequivocal. Her main thrust points to the belief that women are not inferior to men since all souls are created equally and each soul draws from one divine source which does not favor one gender over the other (Murray 1256). On this assumption of equality, Murray observes that women are not designed by nature to be inferior in intellect but rather it is the social construct which prevent women from achieving their true potential (1254). She argues that between siblings, one male and the other female, the former is more likely to succeed because of the many opportunities he is given. Murray says, the sister must wholly be domesticated, while the brother is led by the hand through all the flowery paths of science (1255).

However, Murray concedes to the notion that men are generally more superior in strength but debunks the idea that brute force is the result of superior intelligence (Murray 1256-7). It is argued that men are women fulfil different roles in society and more particular have different duties at home. This distinction, as Murray writes, is important to understand and must not be misconstrued as to mean inequality (1257). She supports the idea that men must do what has been ordained by them in the same way that women must accomplish her own. Ultimately, she entreats men to use their strength to protect women from outside forces and in return, the women shall repay the favor by taking care of other equally important domestic affairs (1258).