The Reform'd Coquet

The Reform'd Coquet, alternately titled The Memoirs of Amoranda, is a novella, about 70 pages long, written by Mary Davys and published in 1724. It is an important work in helping to establish the form of the novel, as dramas were the dominant form of literature at the time. According to feminist critic and anthologist Paula R. Backscheider, The Reform'd Coquet "shows the influence of Restoration and eighteenth-century marriage comedies; It was immediately popular and went through seven editions by 1760." ^[1]

Plot summary

The story begins by briefly recounting the history of the main character, Amoranda. Her father was primarily interested in “whoring and drinking” and her mother was a “Lady clandestinely.” Her father’s brother had made a fortune as a merchant and repurchased the family’s estate, which he gave to Amoranda’s father.

By the time she was seven years old, Amoranda was very vain, insisting on being called “madam” and she spent much time dressing herself in front of a mirror. In a notable anecdote, a little boy “who used to call her Wife” tried to give her a hug, but she shoved him away and told him to “see her no more.” The boy responded by saying that he liked another girl more, and Amoranda was left crying due to her jealousy. Davys notes, “Women like the Love, though they despise the Lover.”

By the time Amoranda was fifteen, however, both of her parents had died and she was left with three thousand pounds a year, equivalent to about £400 thousand in present day terms.^[2] Her uncle was left as her guardian; however, he resided in London and Amoranda lived in the country, and her uncle considered the city to be a place of too many temptations. Thus, she was left alone in the country with her servants.

The years had given her much appeal and grace, and she was greatly desired “for ten Parishes round.” Lord Lofty was chief among her admirers, and while he was waiting to visit her one morning, he found a letter on the ground, written by a woman and directed to Amoranda, warning her that Lofty “carries nothing but Ruin to our whole sex.” He proceeded to put the letter in his pocket and did not mention it to Amoranda. Amoranda later realized that Lofty had stolen her letter, but she remained mute on the matter.

After dinner, Froth and Callid, two of her suitors, are frustrated that she will not have either of them. Together, they devise a plot to kidnap her in the night while she is outside with them, but their scheming is overheard by one of Amoranda’s servants. The servant tells Amoranda and she rewards her with a few guineas. Later, a stranger shows up at Amoranda’s home and hands her a letter from her uncle declaring that the stranger, an old man named Formator, is to be her new guardian. Amoranda tells Formator of Froth and Callid’s plot against her, and he decided that he, along with some hired footmen, will dress as women in her place.

The next morning, one of Amoranda’s servants presents her with Lofty’s silver snuff box which she found in the garden. The box contained a paper that provided evidence that Lofty had broken a contract to either marry a woman or pay her ten thousand pounds. She shares the evidence with Formator who deicides to turn Lofty away when he visits. At this point, Amoranda declares that she will obey and that she likes Formator, in spite of his age. At the appropriate time that night, Formator and his companions foil Froth and Callid’s plot. Froth and Callid are taken completely unaware and, ultimately, both die as they run one another through with their swords.

Lofty, after being turned away twice by Formator, wrote Amoranda a letter, but, while she was reading his letter, a stranger came to visit her. The stranger was shortly revealed to be Altemira, the woman who Lofty was supposed to have married. She shares her story with Amoranda. Altemira was about fifteen when her brother attempted to have incestuous relations with her, so she ran away from home. She stayed with a woman named Cook, who married a gardener of Lofty’s. Lofty showed up one night and inquired of Cook about her. Eventually, Altemira and Lofty began something of a relationship, but she would not sleep with him. Finally, Lofty promised that he would marry her and presented her with the contract that Amoranda’s servant had found in Lofty’s snuff box earlier. With this in her possession, she felt secure in her decision to finally sleep with Lofty. After she slept with him, however, Lofty stopped seeing her and she found that the contract had been stolen from her possession. However, she tracked him down and warned Amoranda with the letter that Lofty had found earlier in the story. Amoranda replies to Lofty’s letter that she will meet him in her summer-house and marry him. However, they trick Lofty into marrying Altemira instead, and Lofty offers her his “Heart for Life.”

The next morning, Lofty, Altemira, Amoranda, and Formator departed to Lofty’s estate. Later, Altemira receives a letter from her brother declaring that he misses her and apologizing for his previous actions. When Amoranda departs, she is attacked by masked men, but Formator fends them off and they race home.

Later, Amoranda’s childhood friend, Arentia, with her friend Berintha, come to visit. They are suspicious of Formator, and Formator is suspicious of Berintha actually being a man. Nonetheless, Amoranda spends a good deal of time with them. After a few days, they desire to go on a boat trip down the river with her. Amoranda goes with them against Formator’s advice, and Birintha reveals himself to be Biranthus, a man. Biranthus, aided by his barge-men, attempt to kidnap her, and he runs ashore with her and Arentia. Arentia gets bitten by an adder, or venomous snake, and dies. A man who names himself as Alanthus shows up on horseback, and Amoranda pleads for his help. After Biranthus attempts to shoot Alanthus with a pistol, one of Alanthus’s men kills him with his sword. Meanwhile, barge-men friendly to Amoranda have retaken her boat and they return to her home.

Suspiciously, the plot progresses without Alanthus, with whom Amoranda has become smitten with, or Formator having met, and Alanthus sends Amoranda letters claiming that he is sick and therefore cannot visit her. Alanthus’s sister, Lady Betty, stops by Amoranda’s home and, as they talk, Amoranda learns that he has not written his sister for several months.

Eventually, Amoranda’s stables catch fire in the night and Formator hastily runs to her bedroom. In doing so, he forgets to put on his beard, and when Amoranda looks at him she sees Alanthus. He hands her a letter from her uncle stating that Alanthus, a marquis, is the man that he has chosen for her to marry if they liked one another. Shortly thereafter, Lady Betty and Amoranda’s uncle both showed up and they were married that afternoon; a week later they all went to London.

Footnotes

1. ^ Backsheider, Paula R. and John J. Richetti (1996). Popular Fiction by Women 1660-1730. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
2. ^ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Lawrence H. Officer (2010) "What Were the UK Earnings and Prices Then?" MeasuringWorth.

References

• Davys, Mary (1724). The Reform'd Coquet (1st ed.). H. Woodfall (printer). OCLC 15864452. 
• Saje, N (1996). ""The Assurance to Write, The Vanity of Expecting to be Read": Deception and Reform in Mary Davys's The Reform'd Coquet". Essays in Literature (Illinois) 23 (2): 165–177.