An important theme of Moll Flanders is that vanity is the force that prevails over virtue. One result of this materialist orientation is that it sees the individual human being as profoundly isolated. His personal background as a merchant provides much of the material for Moll Flanders, a book in which moll flanders essay has a value: objects, situations, and people. The theme of repentance is a recurring one in Moll Flanders. Moll is persevering and adaptable, and she seems to dominate every situation, moll flanders essay. The struggle between women and authority has been a central concern for novelists throughout the ages, yet the rise of the novel in the 18th century brought with it the increase in number of female narrators and authors, giving women a platform How moll flanders essay is Defoe to the plight of women in his contemporary social milieu?
Moll Flanders
The major recurrent theme in the novel is that of greed — a greed which leads Moll to prostitution, thievery, and moral disintegration. Moll sees people as commodities — her relationships with them as business transactions. Although she moll flanders essay in love with the eldest brother, she has few qualms about taking money from him. She then accepts a bribe from him to marry his brother Robin. She easily consigns her children to the care of their grandparents and considers herself lucky. She steals from children and from people in distress. And only when she is too old to do otherwise does she repent.
It appears that Defoe consciously manipulates the reader to view Moll flanders essay as a covetous individual. I found there was a suit of childbed-linen in it, moll flanders essay, very good and almost new, the lace very fine; there was a silvery porringer of a pint, a small silver mug and six spoons, with some other linen, a good smock, and three silk handkerchiefs, and in the mug, in a paper, 18s. Unfortunately, our knowledge of her inner life suffers. They are chosen as facets of her typicality.
Defoe was writing in a new, capitalistically oriented England. To have played the genteel lady would have meant a life of poverty for Moll. This was a decision which the social environment of the day forced on many people; Moll Flanders can be moll flanders essay a good example of the criminal of that time who is forced into a life of crime by social conditions which leave few other alternatives. We cannot, thus, consider them too harshly for they are protagonists in the constant battle for survival which society imposes on the poor. An important theme of Moll Flanders is that vanity is the force that prevails over virtue.
It is a factor which precipitates her decision to steal rather than remain poor and exist only by the honest labor of her needle. In fact all her actions are in some way linked to her vanity. The theme of repentance is a recurring one in Moll Flanders. She constantly entertains the desire to repent. Lacking true moral persuasion these repentances are, until the end, half-hearted and insincere. She lacks moral strength; her moral fiber is quickly overcome on several occasions by the slightest pressures or inducements. Her will at times seems to be completely enslaved.
Throughout the story Moll considers or reflects on the path her life is taking. On the contrary, I began to consider here very moll flanders essay what I had to do; how things stood with me, and what course I ought to take. and how is this innocent gentleman going to be abused by me! Nevertheless, she marries him and after his death begins her criminal career. As can be noted, moll flanders essay, many of her partial repentances dissipate into further scheming. I seemed not to mourn that I had committed such crimes, and for the fact, as it was an offense against God and my neighbour, but that I was to be moll flanders essay for it.
I was penitent, as I thought, not that I had sinned, but that I was to suffer and this took away all the comforts of my repentance in my own thoughts, moll flanders essay. This passage clearly shows another shallow repentance by Moll. She fears not for her spiritual state but for her physical being. Even during moll flanders essay stay in Newgate, Moll does not appear to really repent until quite some time after her talk with the pastor. And perhaps even then Moll is really moll flanders essay about being hanged. The very fact that she insists on securing her inheritance shows how the possession of earthly goods has much deeper meaning for Moll than does the acquisition of spiritual well-being. Note that the tears Moll weeps from time to time are merely an emotional release rather than a sign of true repentance, for even after the shedding her heart quickly hardens against her victims and she continues their victimization.
This is shown, for example, when she steals the bundle from the burning house. The question as to whether Moll ever really becomes a hardened criminal is an interesting one. We have seen that, moll flanders essay, motivated by greed, she has been able to commit the crassest of criminal acts. To say that she is a thief with a soul is to credit her with more depth than Defoe really shows us, moll flanders essay. Yet it is evident that Defoe meant us to sympathize with Moll; and we are able to sympathize with her because he portrays her as a very likeable woman, moll flanders essay, who, despite her thieving and prostitution, is well-liked by her contemporaries, and seems to like them as well.
The last affair left no great concern upon me, for as I did the poor child no harm, I only said to myself, I had given the parents a reproof for their negligence in leaving the poor little lamb to come home by itself, and it would teach them to take more care of it another time. Frequently Moll feels remorse — but it is a hollow remorse, for it neither leads moll flanders essay to curtail the particular crime she is bemoaning, moll flanders essay, nor does it prompt her to offer restitution. Moll is shown as most compassionate in her relationships with her various lovers and husbands. She seems to truly love the elder moll flanders essay. And when she marries his brother Robin, poor Robin never learns of the affair.
Her second spouse is a rake, but she moll flanders essay him well and helps him escape from his creditors. She nurses her men when they are sick and loves them when they are well. Her relationship with Jemmy seems to be full of love and compassion. Moll is in Newgate, under sentence of death, but when moll flanders essay learns Jemmy is there too her remorse and sense of guilt are genuine. She is a criminal — but a sympathetic one. Her life of crime is constantly colored by her good humor, compassion and sense of loyalty. I'm Stephanie. Would you like to get such a paper? How about receiving a customized one? Skip to content Greed The major recurrent theme in the novel is that of greed — a greed which leads Moll to prostitution, thievery, moll flanders essay, and moral disintegration.
Vanity An important theme of Moll Flanders is that vanity is the force that prevails over virtue. Repentance The theme of repentance is a recurring one in Moll Flanders. Critical Essays Characterization in Moll Flanders. Study Help Essay Questions. Check it out.
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However, despite the fact that there is a possibility that Moll could be lying in her narration, the simplicity with which she describes her life is strikingly sincere. The tone of the novel goes hand-in-hand with the first person narrative of the story, which is told from a point of views of a promiscuous woman that has no moral boundaries. Readers can immediately identify her character through her blunt way of speaking. There is a social context of poverty intertwined into the tone of the novel since Moll had no other option than to recognise herself as poor and that no one can set her free from poverty except for herself. The tone of honesty to the reader is completely opposite to the way Moll treated other people in her life, for example, she only chose husbands if they had a higher social status to feed off his money.
The readers should not forget that despite how honest in her storytelling Moll is, she is a known criminal that managed to deceive many people on her life path. As seen from the analysed excerpt, one of the main themes in the novel is poverty. Poverty was the primary point that put her towards the life of crime. The choice of crime as the main source of income to battle poverty is the main choice that was made by many people in the 18th century due to the complicated social background. Therefore, the reader should not judge Moll in a harsh manner since she was the main protagonist in the battle against poverty, which was imposed on the poor from the society. The theme of greed is the one that goes along with the theme of poverty.
Because Moll was left alone without any money when she was fourteen years old; therefore, from a relatively early age, Moll faced the fear of poverty and overcompensated it with greed for more and more wealth. In the excerpt upon analysis, there is Moll mentioning how much money exactly she had — two-and-twenty shillings. The attention to how little money Moll had when she was a child resonated with how much money she wanted to have when she became a grown adult. The theme of vanity is quite complicated to analyse on the basis of the excerpt. However, it is worth mentioning since it also correlates with the themes of poverty and greed.
While greed originated on the basis of poverty, it can be stated that vanity can easily stem from greed. As a child Moll was constantly complimented for her looks, so he took great advantage of her beautiful appearance to marry wealthy men, to get money for pleasuring other men, as well as to fool others and commit crimes. When telling her story, Moll sometimes moralised about how she was afraid to become poor again, how she wanted to get more money, how she married wealthy men, and how she committed the crime. In her opinion, if the country made sure to provide appropriate conditions for the poor, she would not have been forced to live the life of crime.
Therefore, Moll thought that a young girl that lived in poverty had to do anything in her power to support herself. At its inception, it was considered a very feminine form, unworthy of serious academic consideration. The novel had to struggle to establish itself as a legitimate In an age in which promiscuity, free living and women's liberation were not the catch phrases they have grown to become in this modern era, the title character of Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders lives a life of sexual independence that was shunned in Much of the critical debate surrounding Daniel Defoe's novel Moll Flanders centers around whether the author makes good on the promise he makes in the preface that the story will be morally instructive.
For instance, Ira Konigsberg writes that The themes of money and rank are clearly present in both Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Although the gaiety is rather frenetic, and pleasure is rarely without attendant dangers, there seems to be no doubt in Moll's mind that life is well worth having. Perhaps the spice of danger is what gives Moll Flanders, and the society it represents, such a vivid and intensely alive quality. The Question and Answer section for Moll Flanders is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. How does Moll Flanders describe Bath?
What makes Moll's world go round? Moll's life revolves around money. She worries about money from a very young age, Money provides necessaities, makes one more attractive as a wife, and bases her life on the aquisition of wealth. What great secret did Moll keep from her husband in England? Moll kept the secret that her husband was, in fact her brother. After she finally told him, his shock, melancholy, and subsequent illness led to his death. Moll Flanders study guide contains a biography of Daniel Defoe, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
Moll Flanders literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Moll Flanders. Remember me. Forgot your password? Buy Study Guide. From the text: The Bath is a place of gallantry enough; expensive, and full of snares. Study Guide for Moll Flanders Moll Flanders study guide contains a biography of Daniel Defoe, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. About Moll Flanders Moll Flanders Summary Character List Parts Summary and Analysis Related Links Read the Study Guide for Moll Flanders….
Essays for Moll Flanders Moll Flanders literature essays are academic essays for citation. E-Text of Moll Flanders Moll Flanders E-Text contains the full text of Moll Flanders Author's Preface Chapters Chapters Chapters Chapters Read the E-Text for Moll Flanders….
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