Moll Flanders (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

"Who was Born in Newgate, and during a Life of continu'd Variety for threescore years, besides her childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, five times a Wife (Whereof once to her own Brother) Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest, and died a Penitent" (original title page), this is the beginning of an exciting book, Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe. It is written in elevated language making it a difficult, but rewarding read. The novel is an accounting of the narrator, Moll's life. The focus is on how Moll deals with the hardships of her life and with being a woman in the seventeenth century. Defoe does an excellent job of showing how Moll's experiences change her outlook.
Moll Flanders was written in 1683, during a time in which women were considered subservient to men. Women were expected to get married and be content with the household affairs. However, money was the key, without it one would be unable to find a husband of position that would be a good provider. If a woman, like Moll, found herself alone and herself to rely upon, she discovered that there were not many options available, "I found by experience, that to be Friendless is the worst Condition, next to being in want, that a Woman can be reduc'd to: I say a Women, because `tis evident Men can be their own Advisers, and their own Directors, and know how to work themselves out of Difficulties and into Business better than women; but if a Woman has no Friend to Communicate her Affairs to, and to advise and assist her, tis' ten to one but she is undone" (121). Men dominated the business world and women were never taught to manage their own affairs or given the skills to enable them to make it in the business world. In fact, it was illegal for most women to do so. Without any acquaintances or contacts, a woman of this time was put at the mercy of strangers and fate. A woman that managed to be on her own was often suspected to be of ill reputation, and if she was labeled as such then life would be much harder.
Moll had a hard life from the beginning. She was born in Newgate prison, then taken in by a woman she dubbed Mistress Nurse. From an early age she wanted to become a gentlewoman, "...what I meant by being a Gentlewomen; and that I understood by it to be nothing more, than to be able to get my Bread by my own Work" (15). Upon her Mistress Nurse's death she was hired a servant in a high-class home. She became the lover to the eldest son, but the younger son fell in love with her and Moll was forced to marry him. He soon died and Moll married a "Gentleman-Tradesman" who spent all of their money, and had to leave the country to escape his creditors. Being very much desolate Moll realized, "Beauty, Wit, Manners, Sense, good Humour, good Behaviour, Education, Virtue, Piety, or any other Qualification, whether of Body or Mind, had no power to recommend: that Money only made a Women agreeable" (64). So Moll passed herself off as a woman of fortune, and married again. She moved with her husband to Virginia, and there realized that he was her brother. Upon that realization, Moll moved back to England. Upon her return she met another man, and over time became his mistress. After a terrible illness he decided that he could not live in sin with Moll any longer and turned her out. Moll then was tricked into marrying a man she believed to be very rich, and he was also deceived into believing she is a fortune. Having no money, they parted ways. Moll then married her accountant. After his death she was very poor, and out of desperation she became a thief. "The thoughts of this Booty put out all the thoughts of the first, and the Reflections I had made wore quickly off; Poverty, as I have said, harden'd my Heart, and my own Necessities made me regardless of any thing" (182). After a successful career as a thief, Moll was finally arrested and sent to Newgate. There she meets up with her fourth husband who was discovered to be a highwayman. They are both transported to Virginia where they buy a plantation together and eventually grow rich. Moll thus became a Gentlewoman.
In the male dominated society of the seventeenth century it was extremely difficult for a woman to make it on her own. Through Moll's experiences Defoe shows the difficult position a woman was faced with the lack of social liberty. Every plot development changes Moll slightly. Her Character almost completely changes as she becomes manipulative to get what she wants and needs to survive. This is apparent through her comments about her fifth husband before she married him, "I play'd with this Lover, as an Angler does with a Trout: I found I had him fast on the Hook, so I jested with his new Proposal" (133). The change in Moll's personality occurs slowly, but it makes her a more convincing character as well as highlights the effects of the hardships she endures. In the depiction of Moll's life, Defoe succeeds in questioning the subservient position that society forced women into in the seventeenth century.
The elevated language in Moll Flanders makes it a complicated read, however, if one is able to get past that obstacle the reader is rewarded with an outstanding story. Moll's life was a true adventure. Defoe's focus on Moll gives the reader insight into the hardships of the life of a woman in the seventeenth century, as well as shows the difficulty of getting ahead in those times. In a period where women were considered to be subservient to men, Moll was an assertive woman whose life was a great adventure.

This classic of the life of a down and out woman in seventeenth century England is very different from DeFoe's other classic, Robinson Caruso. Moll Flanders is a bleak read. Everyone in it is pretty awful. Moll herself can be read in numerous ways. She is a conniving, evil women, brought low by her sins (this is arguably the way Defoe meant to portray her) or, she is a strong women, who uses the resources at her disposal to survive in a world that consistently abuses her. I prefer the second reading. Either way, the ending where Moll finds a sort of spiritual redemption seemed contrived to my sensibilities, even if that possibility of redemption is likely the reason Defoe wrote the book in the first place.

This book is about a woman, Moll Flanders, who was born in a prison and raised by a governess that brought her up as a "gentlewoman". ALthough her manners were that of a gentlewoman, circumstances led her to become a thief and a "whore" (her own term), and her spirit kept her in that trade until she re-lived her mother's fate.
It is hard to believe that this book is written by a man, for he knows female nature very well and looks very critically at the actions of men towards Moll. I would almost call this book feminist, although I don't like to use that term, since it makes men run from those books. I use that term very loosely, since it really does not go into any deeper feminst issues. This book is filled with adventures and is funny and witty, although its storyline is somewhat grim. I really wanted to give this book 3 1/2 stars because it left me wanting for more, not just at the end, but throughout. All events are described in very little detail, and I personally wanted to know more about Moll and other characters. Overall, I liked it because it managed to entertain me and because it's fast and short, it grabs your attention.