My Dear Hamilton

The US is often thought of as an idea as much as a place, and it is similarly portrayed in the novel, where it is a symbol as well as a setting. The new nation symbolizes freedom and new beginnings, yet as Eliza often notes, this freedom is not the same for all, and the new beginnings are often continuations of old practices. The novel begins in the middle of the Revolutionary War, when enthusiasm for independence is waning and even those fighting in the war question whether it is worth it. Yet patriotism causes characters like Eliza and Hamilton to fight for their ideals for the rest of their lives, motivated by the idea of what the new United States could be. The new nation has ups and downs, mirroring the Hamiltons’ relationship and the protagonist’s personal struggles. Often, the Hamilton family suffers just as the nation is at a significant turning point. Eliza compares her marriage and marriage in general to the nation, saying,

A marriage is like a union of states [...] And there is, in a marriage, as in a nation, a certain amount of storytelling we do to make it understood. Even if those stories we tell to make our marriage, or country, work don’t paint the whole picture, they’re still true (568).