“But if there is anything that marks my character, it’s that I have never rested easily in the face of injustice […] If I’d been born a son, I’d have joined the army to see our family honor restored […] But how, I wondered, could a daughter make a difference?”

Eliza is aware of her primary character traits. She is concerned with how injustice can be remedied and honor can be restored. Though she does not join the army, she fights for justice and honor in other ways.

“When the fighting is done, I will make this a better world, Betsy. I promise you. An audacious vow no mere mortal should make. A vow born as much of egotism as of idealism, as much self-justification as godliness. But young and hopeful as I was, I believed him. I put my faith in him. And at least in that, I was right to. Because whatever else he did, Alexander Hamilton did make this a better world. He kept that promise. In truth, he spent his life keeping that promise.”

Eliza, writing from the future, rethinks what she once believed. This quote highlights Hamilton’s vast ambitions and how his “egotism” and “idealism” were equally matched in Eliza’s eyes. Especially when she is younger, Eliza is idealistic as well, and the evolution from her young idealism to mature realism show how much her character grows.

“Alexander Hamilton, the orphan, abandoned by those he loved and left to the mercies of this world, had no gift for partings. He’d left Washington’s side before Yorktown in what had seemed then to be a fit of pique and pride. But now I wondered if he’d left Washington before Washington could leave him. Before he could be abandoned by yet another father and separated again from brothers who he couldn’t claim by blood or law, but whom he loved just the same.”

This quote highlights one of Hamilton’s primary traits: his fear of abandonment. It takes Eliza time to recognize it, showing how little the couple knew of each other when they were married. Found family is especially important to Hamilton, as seen in his devotion to his brothers-in-arms.

“She was, I realized, an extraordinary actress. And as the exhausted servants cleared away the dishes, I wondered how much of what I’d always taken for my sister’s confidence and daring was a shield for vulnerability that I never knew was there.”

Eliza’s observation about Angelica highlights the position of women in their time and how they were expected to conceal their suffering while caring for others. Eliza always felt this, and recognizing that the older sister she admires does as well makes her care even more for her.

“It was a reminder that I was a general’s daughter. A colonel’s wife. That ours was a family that had led soldiers in the cause of the country and must see it through troubled times to safety. Perhaps I was more saintlike than I’d wanted to admit, because I found myself softening to the one approach that had the power to cut through my anger—patriotism.”

Eliza often puts others before herself, especially when her fellow Americans’ welfare is at stake. Eliza is as much a patriot as the “founding fathers” that surround her, but she shows her patriotism differently. She finds ways to contribute to the cause even though obvious routes such as military service and elected office are closed to her.

“But I said nothing at all. Because words were his weapon; silence was mine. And he couldn’t win an argument if I didn’t start one.”

This quote comes after Hamilton admits his infidelity and is desperate to know how Eliza feels about it. Again, Eliza references her use of silence as a weapon, which is especially poignant as it contrasts Hamilton’s need for her to say something and his habitual use of words as weapons.

“An honorable name. It’s all my husband ever wanted. And when his father hadn’t given it to him, he made one for himself out of nothing but sweat and courage. Now that name belonged to our children. And should our children suffer for their father’s sins?”

This quote illustrates the key factor in Eliza’s decision to stay by Hamilton’s side after his infidelity. She wants to keep his name honorable for her children as she does not believe they should suffer for his actions.

“What a high-minded thing revolution had seemed when it started; but now I wondered if, in trying to bring about liberty, we’d instead opened the gates of endless war, bloodshed, and immorality.”

Eliza questions whether the American Revolution was worth the cost. Seeing how the country is still in turmoil and injustice is everywhere, Eliza wonders if the revolution only made things worse. This passage shows that Eliza’s opinions are her own, as many of the men who fought in the war don’t question it.

“In trying to cure you of your fear of abandonment, I’ve somehow convinced you that you may do and say anything, and your Betsy will stay loyally at your side. I convinced myself, too. But I think it better, in times like these, for us to acknowledge that marriage is a choice, one made, every day, anew. And trust me when I say I don’t know which choice I shall make come morning.”

Eliza acknowledges that she thought more of Hamilton than herself in their marriage and notes that she may do differently in the future. The idea that marriage is a choice appears several times toward the end of the novel, where Eliza compares the choices made in marriage to those made in the founding of a nation. Both involve sacrifice and mutual accountability.

“Better a mother die than a father; it was a father who could provide for the children. Saving Hamilton was the best thing I could do for my babies.”

This quote highlights Eliza’s selfless nature and showcases the role of women at the time. Though Eliza is angry with Hamilton, she knows that from a social and legal standpoint, it will benefit their children if he survives his fever.

“But now, I know that Burr was already becoming an empty vessel, more able to separate politics from the personal than any man I’d ever known.”

Eliza points to one of Burr’s primary characteristics, one that becomes more prominent as time goes on. Unlike Hamilton, Burr does not consider the effects of his political choices on others’ lives. This characteristic causes Hamilton to choose Jefferson over Burr for president later in the novel even though Jefferson is in the opposing party.

“I was happy. I somehow forgot that. In the blazing trail of my husband’s wake, it has been easier to remember the hard times. The wars and the riots. The illnesses and exhaustion. The arguments and betrayals. The things people call history. But happiness grew in the cracks between great events. I was happy in the little things.”

History generally remembers Eliza’s life as one of hardship and loss, yet this quote gives a more nuanced perspective. She was happy despite her travails. This quote also shows how much Eliza’s life was caught up in Hamilton’s and how much his successes and failures were hers as well.

“‘That so good a wife, so tender a mother, should be so bad a patriot is wonderful!’ So bad a patriot. Her tone was teasing, but she’d somehow hit upon a guilty nerve. Was I so selfish for wanting my husband to belong more to me than to an ungrateful public? Was it wrong to enjoy the fruits of all our labor, the domestic pleasures of picnics with our children and long walks together on kissing bridges and dinner at our own table without expecting a horde of guests?”

Angelica says this to Eliza because she believes Eliza is holding Hamilton back from his public life and harming the country by doing so. This quote highlights how Eliza is torn between what she wants in her domestic life and what Hamilton wants in his public life. It also illustrates the nuance of Eliza’s position as a patriot but also as a wife and mother.

“We consumed him, I thought, clutching the pendant I wore containing his hair. We might not have chopped off Washington’s head and lapped up his blood from the paving stones as the French mobs did with their king. But we’d taken the best years of his life—his sweat, his toil, his wisdom, his vigor and energies. And what did we give him in return?”

Eliza says this of Washington when she learns of the illness that many fear will be fatal. She compares the state of America with the concurrent French Revolution. This shows how Eliza feels about political life and what she fears will become of Hamilton who gave nearly as much to his country as Washington.

“It was God, they said, who took my child from me. But upon my aching knees in the pew in Trinity Church, clutching my Bible, I knew better. It was not God who took my son from me. It was a Jeffersonian.”

Eliza is influenced by her faith, yet this remark highlights her sense of injustice. When Hamilton is also killed in a duel, Eliza’s response is again anger. This passage highlights the partisanship of the time and how the Federalists believe the Jeffersonians will do anything to get what they want.

“‘Gracious God, my dear sister,’ Angelica said, weeping into her kerchief. ‘Here I am, coming all apart, while you bear this affliction with saintlike fortitude.’ Soldierly fortitude, I thought. Because there wasn’t time for tears. I would shed them later. Right now, I didn’t want to mourn my husband. I was no saint. I was Alexander’s angel. And I wanted to avenge him.”

As with Phillip’s death, Eliza’s main response to Hamilton’s murder is anger at the injustice of it. She feels it is unjust that politics has become inextricable from her personal life. Throughout the novel, Eliza is compared to a saint, yet comparing herself to a soldier emphasizes her great strength and perseverance.

“But in the end, I was a Schuyler as much as I was a Hamilton. And though words had been my husband’s weapon, silence had often been mine. So I said nothing at all to James Monroe.”

The Schuyler family motto translates to “always loyal,” and Eliza shows loyalty to her late husband and her convictions when she snubs Monroe. Here again, she mentions using silence as a weapon, a sentiment she will repeat in her final encounter with Monroe at the end of the novel.

“What was his legacy? Not the eternal bonds of love, not the earthly but enduring stone of monuments. Only paper. A worthless Constitution that the Republicans shredded with each successive administration. A few books filled with words he probably never meant in earnest. Just crates and crates of paper. And I wanted to set fire to it all.”

This quote highlights the flimsiness of Hamilton’s legacy and how easily Eliza could destroyed it. The country forgot Hamilton after his death, yet her saving his writing allows him to go down in history. This quote also emphasizes Eliza’s anger and how it consumed her after she found out about his possible affair with her sister.

“A whole generation of Americans came of age without hearing my husband’s name, unless it was in diminishment or a curse. And I could scarcely blame them. Hamilton was safely dead and forgotten. We survivors of the founding of the country all let him be forgotten. Even me.”

This quote emphasizes that Hamilton’s History and Legacy depend on Eliza. The statesmen of his time were eager to forget Hamilton, in part because of his arrogance and low birth. Consequently, the next generation didn’t know his accomplishments and contributions. This quote shows that the preservation of his legacy rested almost entirely on Eliza’s shoulders.

“And despite my anger and disappointments, my heart swelled with pride. Pride and love of country. Could I truly still feel such a thing? In seeking his oblivion, my husband had wrapped himself in his patriotism, thereby diminishing mine. Then, Jefferson, Burr, Madison, and Monroe had buried my family, captured my government, and claimed its flag. But it didn’t belong to any of them more than it belonged to me. And I should never have allowed them to steal it away. For they might be fathers of this unruly and flawed nation, but, surely, then, I’d been one of its mothers.”

Eliza writes this after coming to terms with her with her complicated husband and country. More than many characters, Eliza views America as a symbol of freedom and equality. Saying she deserves as much credit as the men she mentions for the birth of the country is a radical statement and reveals how highly she has come to think of herself.

“So maybe I could never know what Alexander intended that day at Weehawken. Because the people we love are not entirely knowable. Even to themselves. But we love them anyway. The only other choice is to live without love, alone.”

Eliza must make many choices that put love up against other things, yet this quote highlights how love always wins. Eliza accepts that she never fully knew her husband. This passage suggests that such knowledge is not necessary to love another. Indeed, since such knowledge is impossible, even of a spouse, love implies accepting that the people one loves will remain mysteries.

“They cannot have my country. They cannot have my flag. And they cannot have my dear Hamilton. He was mine, even if he was not only mine. Just like the country and the flag. They don’t belong to anyone else to define as they please without my say. Neither does Hamilton. I will not politely agree to lies about my husband’s legacy and call it history.”

This pivotal quote comes just before Eliza refuses to reconcile with Monroe. She says the country is as much hers to define as anyone else’s, radically asserting her agency. This quote also shows how Eliza comes to understand and accept her role in history and her duty to it, emphasizing how it is in her power to define Hamilton’s legacy.

“But Washington isn’t the only patriot to whom a debt is owed. And some of them may never have a grand marble monument, no matter how much they deserve one.”

Though Eliza refers to Hamilton in this quote, it applies to other unsung heroes. Dray and Kamoie suggest that women, people of color, Indigenous people, and others outside of the traditional “founding fathers” had a critical role in shaping the nation. Eliza perhaps includes herself in this group of patriots as she knows her role in shaping Hamilton’s life.