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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In full, the title page of this novel reads The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. 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. Written from her own Memorandums. This plot summary doesn't indicate the most interesting part of the novel, namely how Moll did all these things. The other appeal of the book, of course, is the panorama it presents of the social relations of the time.
I note that Moll almost always manages to present herself as a gentlewoman, although she is not one, neither by birth nor by legitimate marriage. She takes pains to maintain certain standards of appearance, speech, and manners, which stands her in good stead many times over, and at last enables her to buy her freedom in the Colonies and pass there as a respectable citizen. This seems to be Defoe's commentary on the difficulty of knowing anyone's true background in the changing, enterprising society of his time; indeed there are many people in this story who put up a front of more respectability than they can honestly claim, or who seem more prosperous than they really are. In the Colonies, Moll finds lasting prosperity and durable reputation; Defoe apparently regards it as a place where the past is washed away, origins count for little or nothing, and appearance really is substance.
Much of the important substance of the book is composed of the various delicate negotiations Moll must undertake in order to find and secure a husband or a lover, to extract as much material security as possible from the relationship, and on occasion to get out of it if it's troublesome. These connections are nearly her only means of making a living, yet Moll doesn't see her dependent economic position as meaning she must sacrifice her own goals (which she constantly seeks means to pursue), nor cease from having her own thoughts and keeping secrets as she sees fit. (Interestingly, her last and most loving marriage is with a man who is clearly dependent on her: she's saved her highwayman's life twice, she's richer than him, and he constantly needs her advice as to how to make a living in the Colonies -- which he's humbly aware of.) Moll does always make it a point of honor to stay faithful to a relationship as long as it lasts. It's only when, at the age of 50, she sees no prospect of getting another man, that she turns to theft.
At that point, she's part of a mutually-aiding society of other thieves, mostly women. This companionship would be a good thing if only it weren't under the shadow of the gallows. She's honestly distressed any time any of her companions come to a bad end. Even before that, women had sometimes helped her in her affairs, and she had returned the favor (as with the woman whose supposed fortune she talked up to allow her to marry well).
Like every other modern reader I wondered whether the cavalier, plot-driven way that Moll's children appear and disappear in this book is due to the author being a man. More seriously, I was displeased by Defoe's crass morality that lasting material prosperity is the result of piety, whereas misfortune is the result of sin -- at least that is what he seems to be saying. However, aside from that, I liked this book very much.
I note that Moll almost always manages to present herself as a gentlewoman, although she is not one, neither by birth nor by legitimate marriage. She takes pains to maintain certain standards of appearance, speech, and manners, which stands her in good stead many times over, and at last enables her to buy her freedom in the Colonies and pass there as a respectable citizen. This seems to be Defoe's commentary on the difficulty of knowing anyone's true background in the changing, enterprising society of his time; indeed there are many people in this story who put up a front of more respectability than they can honestly claim, or who seem more prosperous than they really are. In the Colonies, Moll finds lasting prosperity and durable reputation; Defoe apparently regards it as a place where the past is washed away, origins count for little or nothing, and appearance really is substance.
Much of the important substance of the book is composed of the various delicate negotiations Moll must undertake in order to find and secure a husband or a lover, to extract as much material security as possible from the relationship, and on occasion to get out of it if it's troublesome. These connections are nearly her only means of making a living, yet Moll doesn't see her dependent economic position as meaning she must sacrifice her own goals (which she constantly seeks means to pursue), nor cease from having her own thoughts and keeping secrets as she sees fit. (Interestingly, her last and most loving marriage is with a man who is clearly dependent on her: she's saved her highwayman's life twice, she's richer than him, and he constantly needs her advice as to how to make a living in the Colonies -- which he's humbly aware of.) Moll does always make it a point of honor to stay faithful to a relationship as long as it lasts. It's only when, at the age of 50, she sees no prospect of getting another man, that she turns to theft.
At that point, she's part of a mutually-aiding society of other thieves, mostly women. This companionship would be a good thing if only it weren't under the shadow of the gallows. She's honestly distressed any time any of her companions come to a bad end. Even before that, women had sometimes helped her in her affairs, and she had returned the favor (as with the woman whose supposed fortune she talked up to allow her to marry well).
Like every other modern reader I wondered whether the cavalier, plot-driven way that Moll's children appear and disappear in this book is due to the author being a man. More seriously, I was displeased by Defoe's crass morality that lasting material prosperity is the result of piety, whereas misfortune is the result of sin -- at least that is what he seems to be saying. However, aside from that, I liked this book very much.
3.5 stars.
i liked this well enough. It's definitely worth a read if you've never read it before. I found it to be very entertaining but also dragged a bit for me.
i liked this well enough. It's definitely worth a read if you've never read it before. I found it to be very entertaining but also dragged a bit for me.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found this to be one of the better works of Defoe, but still quite slow and boring compared with other novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Incest, Colonisation
ULTIME PAROLE: “Scritto nell’anno 1683”
Signori che fatica finirlo, ma ce l’abbiamo fatta!
Cercavo la trasgressione, ma un saggio mi ha detto che non puoi leggere Moll Flanders se quello che vuoi è lo scandalo (e cavoli il saggio aveva proprio ragione!).
Okay che Defoe è del 1700 però che schifo! Un libro antiabortista proprio non ci voleva!
Comunque la zia è un’attimo gold digger eh, ha per caso preso spunto da Kanye West “If you fuckin' with this girl, then you better be paid”?
Signori che fatica finirlo, ma ce l’abbiamo fatta!
Cercavo la trasgressione, ma un saggio mi ha detto che non puoi leggere Moll Flanders se quello che vuoi è lo scandalo (e cavoli il saggio aveva proprio ragione!).
Okay che Defoe è del 1700 però che schifo! Un libro antiabortista proprio non ci voleva!
Comunque la zia è un’attimo gold digger eh, ha per caso preso spunto da Kanye West “If you fuckin' with this girl, then you better be paid”?
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1847904.html
I thoroughly enjoyed Moll Flanders, or to be more precise The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, etc. 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. Her life is indeed one of "continu'd Variety", as she lurches from exploitative marriage to disastrous marriage to unwitting incest and back again, before breaking successfully into the business of petty theft, in the end being arrested almost by accident for a crime she had not yet committed. Defoe has her turn moralistic only at the very end, when she and the fourth husband (I think - I lost count) return to England "where we resolve to spend the remainder of our years in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived", and I sort of forgive that because one can read it as partly tongue-in-cheek, and also though a weak-ish ending it is stronger than the ending of Robinson Crusoe so obviously he was learning. I must also admit that she is rather unrealistically sanguine about the fate of her children, of whom we hear very little.
It's a fascinating pen-picture of England in the early seventeenth century, where urban social networks were small and intimate enough that you could steal from a shop at one end of town and sell your loot to their competitor at the other; where constables were aware enough of the rights of citizens under the law to be easily intimidated by a sharp-witted suspect; where people would invest wealth not only in hard cash ("which every one knows is an unprofitable cargo to be carried to the plantations") but also in jewels, silver plate, cloth and easily portable luxury goods. One thing that hasn't changed, which she reflects on bitterly in the gap between husbands two and three (I think - again, I had already lost count) is the differential social power between women and men, even allowing for economic factors; Defoe verges on feminism in a couple of passages.
Anyway, very strongly recommended, if you like "continu'd Variety"; and who doesn't?
I thoroughly enjoyed Moll Flanders, or to be more precise The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, etc. 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. Her life is indeed one of "continu'd Variety", as she lurches from exploitative marriage to disastrous marriage to unwitting incest and back again, before breaking successfully into the business of petty theft, in the end being arrested almost by accident for a crime she had not yet committed. Defoe has her turn moralistic only at the very end, when she and the fourth husband (I think - I lost count) return to England "where we resolve to spend the remainder of our years in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived", and I sort of forgive that because one can read it as partly tongue-in-cheek, and also though a weak-ish ending it is stronger than the ending of Robinson Crusoe so obviously he was learning. I must also admit that she is rather unrealistically sanguine about the fate of her children, of whom we hear very little.
It's a fascinating pen-picture of England in the early seventeenth century, where urban social networks were small and intimate enough that you could steal from a shop at one end of town and sell your loot to their competitor at the other; where constables were aware enough of the rights of citizens under the law to be easily intimidated by a sharp-witted suspect; where people would invest wealth not only in hard cash ("which every one knows is an unprofitable cargo to be carried to the plantations") but also in jewels, silver plate, cloth and easily portable luxury goods. One thing that hasn't changed, which she reflects on bitterly in the gap between husbands two and three (I think - again, I had already lost count) is the differential social power between women and men, even allowing for economic factors; Defoe verges on feminism in a couple of passages.
Anyway, very strongly recommended, if you like "continu'd Variety"; and who doesn't?
Moll's first person narrative about life's ups and downs was quite refreshing, especially since it's quite removed from the modern novels I've been reading. Moll's journey through marriages, divorces, deaths, children (which conveniently go missing or perish), and indefatigable spirit make this novel worth a read. Personally, I read it like an old school Lifetime movie: For Love and/or Money - The Moll Flanders Story. Overall, a fast and entertaining read.
Ugh.
The book is a complete drag. It's just one long, confusing ramble about Moll and her wanting to make a better life for herself by marrying guys, having their babies, and then deciding this isn't for her and just going off to do the exact same thing over and over again. Like, honey, I get you want a better life for yourself, the eighteenth century sucked for women but I'm sensing a pattern here.
And there are no chapters. None. At all. So it really is just 300 pages of none stop prose that is super dull and so painfully uninteresting it made me want to bang my head against the wall. This is considered to be one of the earliest examples of the modern novel and thank God literature improved over the next hundred years because this is a real slog. Long story short, this was boring as hell.
The book is a complete drag. It's just one long, confusing ramble about Moll and her wanting to make a better life for herself by marrying guys, having their babies, and then deciding this isn't for her and just going off to do the exact same thing over and over again. Like, honey, I get you want a better life for yourself, the eighteenth century sucked for women but I'm sensing a pattern here.
And there are no chapters. None. At all. So it really is just 300 pages of none stop prose that is super dull and so painfully uninteresting it made me want to bang my head against the wall. This is considered to be one of the earliest examples of the modern novel and thank God literature improved over the next hundred years because this is a real slog. Long story short, this was boring as hell.