Moll Flanders

Rating:
Summary: Assertive Adventurer
Review: "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.

Rating:
Summary: Moll Flanders
Review: I particularly loved this book. I thought it was very cleverly written. I was able to get into the character's life situations and I always wanted to see what would happen to the woman next.

Rating:
Summary: Good Language, Bad Plot
Review: Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe is neither the best nor the worst book I have ever read. I have long been a lover of classical language. As such, I am enchanted by the engaging rhythm of Defoe's words. His dialogue is charming as he uses a tongue and accent not much different from today's but far more elegant. The plot of the story, however, disappoints me. The story is wholly comprised of events, making it nothing more than a flowery timeline of one woman's life. For me, this odd combination of excellent language and mediocre plot makes for an ultimately readable yet slightly dissatisfying novel.

Moll Flanders is the story of one woman's struggle to avoid the plight of poverty in seventeenth-century England. Moll is born in Newgate prison and orphaned by her criminal mother. From there, she is taken in by a kindly woman and raised as a "gentlewoman," and thus her story begins. Moll's childhood innocence is quickly transformed as her life turns from that of a simple servant into that of a common prostitute. She soon learns that sex and marriage are merely tools for bartering with, and love is only worth its weight in gold. Eventually, Moll turns from prostitution to stealing in order to supplement her finances, and her life goes drastically downhill from there. Her story is littered with unresolved sin and shame, until one momentous event changes her entire outlook on life and on love and teaches her what it means to be righteous.

Ultimately, what sounds like an intriguing story line results only in one continuous stream of events. Defoe's style of writing, although nicely worded, is impersonal in that he includes very little about the thoughts and feelings of Moll. Everything the reader learns about the main character is derived entirely from the events that comprise her life. Although this is supposed to be Moll's story, she has no reaction to the world around her. She simply reiterates what actions she has taken on her journey through life and what the resulting consequences are for those actions. Though hardly imagined to be a complete imbecile, Moll has absolutely no thought. The only words that I hear spoken directly from her mouth to the reader are words of dialogue to another character. The banality of this style of literature is highly disappointing in my eyes.

I am also highly disappointed with the content of the story. Only the first few pages and the last few pages are void of any criminal or adulterous behavior. Every other page contains a perfect recollection of one sin after the other. Although the story claims that this unrelenting wickedness should be useful to deter other sinners, I find that the continuous stream practically drowns me with boredom. Eventually, I lose track of Moll's numerous husbands and her countless thieving exploits. Any time a reference is made to her past history, I am forced to flip through the pages to find the mentioned sin as I have gotten it confused with some other of a similar nature. By the end of the story, every adventure sounds the same and every man has the same amount of money. I would have liked to see more variety in these pages.

I would not discourage another person from reading this book, however. I would gladly recommend it to those who love classical language, for I find Daniel Defoe was a great author for the words he could write, not necessarily for the stories he could create. The language is beautiful and enticing, for that alone I would recommend the book. Keep track of events and people while reading, though, because everything starts to sound the same after awhile.

Rating:
Summary: Good Language, Bad Plot
Review: Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe is neither the best nor the worst book I have ever read. I have long been a lover of classical language. As such, I am enchanted by the engaging rhythm of Defoe's words. His dialogue is charming as he uses a tongue and accent not much different from today's but far more elegant. The plot of the story, however, disappoints me. The story is wholly comprised of events, making it nothing more than a flowery timeline of one woman's life. For me, this odd combination of excellent language and mediocre plot makes for an ultimately readable yet slightly dissatisfying novel.

Moll Flanders is the story of one woman's struggle to avoid the plight of poverty in seventeenth-century England. Moll is born in Newgate prison and orphaned by her criminal mother. From there, she is taken in by a kindly woman and raised as a "gentlewoman," and thus her story begins. Moll's childhood innocence is quickly transformed as her life turns from that of a simple servant into that of a common prostitute. She soon learns that sex and marriage are merely tools for bartering with, and love is only worth its weight in gold. Eventually, Moll turns from prostitution to stealing in order to supplement her finances, and her life goes drastically downhill from there. Her story is littered with unresolved sin and shame, until one momentous event changes her entire outlook on life and on love and teaches her what it means to be righteous.

Ultimately, what sounds like an intriguing story line results only in one continuous stream of events. Defoe's style of writing, although nicely worded, is impersonal in that he includes very little about the thoughts and feelings of Moll. Everything the reader learns about the main character is derived entirely from the events that comprise her life. Although this is supposed to be Moll's story, she has no reaction to the world around her. She simply reiterates what actions she has taken on her journey through life and what the resulting consequences are for those actions. Though hardly imagined to be a complete imbecile, Moll has absolutely no thought. The only words that I hear spoken directly from her mouth to the reader are words of dialogue to another character. The banality of this style of literature is highly disappointing in my eyes.

I am also highly disappointed with the content of the story. Only the first few pages and the last few pages are void of any criminal or adulterous behavior. Every other page contains a perfect recollection of one sin after the other. Although the story claims that this unrelenting wickedness should be useful to deter other sinners, I find that the continuous stream practically drowns me with boredom. Eventually, I lose track of Moll's numerous husbands and her countless thieving exploits. Any time a reference is made to her past history, I am forced to flip through the pages to find the mentioned sin as I have gotten it confused with some other of a similar nature. By the end of the story, every adventure sounds the same and every man has the same amount of money. I would have liked to see more variety in these pages.

I would not discourage another person from reading this book, however. I would gladly recommend it to those who love classical language, for I find Daniel Defoe was a great author for the words he could write, not necessarily for the stories he could create. The language is beautiful and enticing, for that alone I would recommend the book. Keep track of events and people while reading, though, because everything starts to sound the same after awhile.

Rating:
Summary: Moll Flanders
Review: Obviously, this novel is about a prostitute. The writing accompanies this woman's journey without being dry or repetitive. I enjoyed it for it's inspection of femininity of the time as well as the clashing deviousness and classic redemption thrown together in the character of Moll Flanders.

Rating:
Summary: Controversial
Review: Obviously, this novel is about a prostitute. The writing accompanies this woman's journey without being dry or repetitive. I enjoyed it for it's inspection of femininity of the time as well as the clashing deviousness and classic redemption thrown together in the character of Moll Flanders.

Rating:
Summary: Moll Flanders
Review: 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.