Friendship

Eliza has very good and supportive friends. But she is a strong woman who does not follow advice well when her heart is longing for something else. Eliza knows what she must do, but is weak when it comes to Sanford's attentions. When Eliza loses Boyer, she becomes quite distraught and loses all the energy and excitement she had before and no longer had any desire to go out. Another friend, Julia Granby, comes to stay with her in order to lift her spirts and encourage her to go back out and enjoy the events.

However, when Sanford returns, so does his courtship and Eliza falls into an affair with him and then becomes pregnant. Julia becomes her biggest aversary when things go so wrong for Eliza. She stands beside her with words of encouragement and support. What was difficult to understand was Eliza's decision to leave. Why did she not stay where she was surrounded by those who loved and supported her, despite her ruination? "Where can she find that protection and tenderness, which , notwithstanding her great apostacy, I should never have withheld?" It is truly sad that she feels that she must venture out on her own, rather than stay and be a burden to those who care.

Realizing that women wanted more independence and freedom, does not take away from the fact that Eliza's immaturity and actions were oftentimes selfish. Rather than thinking about others, she chose her own path, which led to her being alone and dying alone. Her family and friends were left to wonder why? "But the desparate resolution, which she formed, and executed of becoming a fugitive; of deserting her mother's house and protection, and of wandering and dying among strangers, is a most distressing reflection to her friends" (pg. 162). This sums up a lot of the attitude in Eliza throughout the book. In the end, she leaves without letting anyone know that is okay, which is like she has no respect for those who have tried to do so much for her.

Dana