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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A penny saved may be a penny earned, but one that is stolen is one that is yearned.
Milioni di facce e un solo nome (finto, per giunta)
In realtà non sono mai stata motivata a leggere Moll Flander. L'ho aggiunto a suo tempo alla TBR soprattutto perché l'avevo studiato con letteratura inglese ed è uno dei tanti classici imprescindibili (ne esistono che non lo sono?).
Ma quando, due giorni fa, ho deciso di regalarmi un libro per il mio compleanno, in libreria sono stata attratta da questo romanzo, che ho portato a casa con me.
Posso dire che è stata una conversazione unidirezionale con una chiacchierona divertente, ma piuttosto prolissa e poco dettagliata nelle parti più interessanti.
La cosa che mi ha molto colpito di questo romanzo è la mancanza quasi assoluta di nomi e descrizioni di persone. La protagonista e narratrice afferma che Moll Flanders sia il suo pseudonimo e non svela mai quale sia il suo vero nome. Nessuno delle persone incontrate ha un nome, a parte una detenuta che non è interessante e che scompare sette righe dopo e il primo marito di Moll, che ha addirittura anche un soprannome, tanto che gli altri due personaggi importanti nelle vicende del libro sono identificate con il ruolo che hanno nella vita della protagonista: la Governante e il marito del Lancashire.
Forse per il carattere picaresco della storia o per il fatto di essere uno dei primi romanzi moderni, non c'è tanta introspezione psicologica, pur essendo il fine del libro essere un monito contro le cattive scelte, e Moll passa dall'essere sola, sconsolata, povera e senza amici a ricca dama piena di mariti e conoscenti quasi a ogni giro di pagina, spesso senza nemmeno una grande spiegazione sul cambiamento di situazione.
Moll ha una voce esilarante, senza falsi pudori o peli sulla lingua e ci dona una descrizione a tutto tondo dell'epoca in cui vive pienamente, passando dall'alta società ai passi fondi di Londra, viaggiando dall'Inghilterra all'Irlanda alla Carolina e alla Virginia, sempre con la sua indole operosa, nel bene e nel male.
Vive davvero molte vite soprattutto nell'età più matura, vicina alla vecchiaia, e fa con successo e facilmente azioni, come rubare, che ho sempre considerato avessero bisogno di una agilità propria di persone molte più giovane di quanto sia lei. Inoltre accetta la sua società com'è e decide di sfidare con le sue stesse regole, vincendo spesso e volentieri, contro le costrizioni dell'essere donna e della povertà, spettro che la insegue imperterrita.
Moll non ha vergogna o paura, se non dell'essere povera e questo la spinge a darsi da fare, spesso all'opposto della moralità e non parlo solo dei furti, ma anche di tutte le volte che si è fatta sposare passando per ricca, pur non dicendo effettivamente nessuna bugia. In questo è una vera figlia del suo tempo, frutto di una borghesia operosa e decisa ad avere successo a ogni costo.
Anche il carcere, una volta diventata una criminale, è una delle sue bestie nere e una delle pagine più agghiaccianti e interessanti del libro, dando una vera e propria visione non solo degli ambienti e delle persone rinchiuse, ma anche del cambiamento psicologico che rende Newgate da inferno a luogo ideale di vita per i carcerati.
Ciò è molto più plausibile in Moll della sua improvvisa conversione.
Mi ha colpito molto il fattore del denaro, da cui Moll è ossessionata e di cui parla continuamente. E' strano pensare come si potesse vivere con sei sterline l'anno in maniera più che decorosa e le cameriere ne guadagnassero 3 all'anno, mentre ora probabilmente non ci si compra nemmeno un paio di mutande. E' strano vedere come il suo mondo e il nostro parlino due lingue diverse, anche moralmente parlando (Moll usa spesso il termina puttana ma non come lo intendiamo noi) e che si debba stare attenti a tradurre.
Non è una lettura che prenda particolarmente molto, soprattutto la fine, che tende a trascinarsi. Di certo è davvero entusiasmante per il mondo che viene descritto senza riguardi, con un'ironia deliziosa, e per l'effervescente eroina.
In realtà non sono mai stata motivata a leggere Moll Flander. L'ho aggiunto a suo tempo alla TBR soprattutto perché l'avevo studiato con letteratura inglese ed è uno dei tanti classici imprescindibili (ne esistono che non lo sono?).
Ma quando, due giorni fa, ho deciso di regalarmi un libro per il mio compleanno, in libreria sono stata attratta da questo romanzo, che ho portato a casa con me.
Posso dire che è stata una conversazione unidirezionale con una chiacchierona divertente, ma piuttosto prolissa e poco dettagliata nelle parti più interessanti.
La cosa che mi ha molto colpito di questo romanzo è la mancanza quasi assoluta di nomi e descrizioni di persone. La protagonista e narratrice afferma che Moll Flanders sia il suo pseudonimo e non svela mai quale sia il suo vero nome. Nessuno delle persone incontrate ha un nome, a parte una detenuta che non è interessante e che scompare sette righe dopo e il primo marito di Moll, che ha addirittura anche un soprannome, tanto che gli altri due personaggi importanti nelle vicende del libro sono identificate con il ruolo che hanno nella vita della protagonista: la Governante e il marito del Lancashire.
Forse per il carattere picaresco della storia o per il fatto di essere uno dei primi romanzi moderni, non c'è tanta introspezione psicologica, pur essendo il fine del libro essere un monito contro le cattive scelte, e Moll passa dall'essere sola, sconsolata, povera e senza amici a ricca dama piena di mariti e conoscenti quasi a ogni giro di pagina, spesso senza nemmeno una grande spiegazione sul cambiamento di situazione.
Moll ha una voce esilarante, senza falsi pudori o peli sulla lingua e ci dona una descrizione a tutto tondo dell'epoca in cui vive pienamente, passando dall'alta società ai passi fondi di Londra, viaggiando dall'Inghilterra all'Irlanda alla Carolina e alla Virginia, sempre con la sua indole operosa, nel bene e nel male.
Vive davvero molte vite soprattutto nell'età più matura, vicina alla vecchiaia, e fa con successo e facilmente azioni, come rubare, che ho sempre considerato avessero bisogno di una agilità propria di persone molte più giovane di quanto sia lei. Inoltre accetta la sua società com'è e decide di sfidare con le sue stesse regole, vincendo spesso e volentieri, contro le costrizioni dell'essere donna e della povertà, spettro che la insegue imperterrita.
Moll non ha vergogna o paura, se non dell'essere povera e questo la spinge a darsi da fare, spesso all'opposto della moralità e non parlo solo dei furti, ma anche di tutte le volte che si è fatta sposare passando per ricca, pur non dicendo effettivamente nessuna bugia. In questo è una vera figlia del suo tempo, frutto di una borghesia operosa e decisa ad avere successo a ogni costo.
Anche il carcere, una volta diventata una criminale, è una delle sue bestie nere e una delle pagine più agghiaccianti e interessanti del libro, dando una vera e propria visione non solo degli ambienti e delle persone rinchiuse, ma anche del cambiamento psicologico che rende Newgate da inferno a luogo ideale di vita per i carcerati.
Ciò è molto più plausibile in Moll della sua improvvisa conversione.
Mi ha colpito molto il fattore del denaro, da cui Moll è ossessionata e di cui parla continuamente. E' strano pensare come si potesse vivere con sei sterline l'anno in maniera più che decorosa e le cameriere ne guadagnassero 3 all'anno, mentre ora probabilmente non ci si compra nemmeno un paio di mutande. E' strano vedere come il suo mondo e il nostro parlino due lingue diverse, anche moralmente parlando (Moll usa spesso il termina puttana ma non come lo intendiamo noi) e che si debba stare attenti a tradurre.
Non è una lettura che prenda particolarmente molto, soprattutto la fine, che tende a trascinarsi. Di certo è davvero entusiasmante per il mondo che viene descritto senza riguardi, con un'ironia deliziosa, e per l'effervescente eroina.
Moll Flanders tells the story of her life, from her infancy in Newgate Prison where her mother was convicted as a thief, to her young maidenhood and adulthood as a whore, conwoman, honest wife, mistress, mother, thief, and the worst kind of liar.
I just hated this book from start to finish. I hated the main character, Moll Flanders, for all her sneaky, conniving, selfish, evil ways. She is entirely self-centered. She is disgustingly promiscuous. She has several children by different men, and abandons them all. She lies to everyone about everything. She has no morals whatsoever, and shows no remorse for her heinous crimes. She schemes how she can trick people out of their money, and steals from innocent children. She is revolting in every particular.
I did not like the writing style either. The only other Defoe book that I have read was Robinson Crusoe, and the factual, pragmatic style worked for that kind of story. But this is a story full of emotional upheaval and violence and complicated family drama.
The story needed a finer touch and more deep explanations of what is going on within the characters' hearts and minds. Moll's motivations are rarely explained. She launches into relationships with men without any explanation of WHY they "fell in love". The writing is so bare and plain.
There are also NO chapter breaks at all. There are NO breaks in the story. It's just one long rambling narrative.
The story is much too long as well. There are at least 100 pages (I counted. From page 201- 309) that deal entirely with her escapades as a pick-pocket and thief. Just recounting different "jobs" that she did, and how she got away with it, and how she fooled people, and how much "loot" she stole. I mean, really. I didn't need 100 pages of that. The plot doesn't go anywhere. It just stagnates for 100 pages of thievery.
Ugh. Not happy with this book.
I just hated this book from start to finish. I hated the main character, Moll Flanders, for all her sneaky, conniving, selfish, evil ways. She is entirely self-centered. She is disgustingly promiscuous. She has several children by different men, and abandons them all. She lies to everyone about everything. She has no morals whatsoever, and shows no remorse for her heinous crimes. She schemes how she can trick people out of their money, and steals from innocent children. She is revolting in every particular.
I did not like the writing style either. The only other Defoe book that I have read was Robinson Crusoe, and the factual, pragmatic style worked for that kind of story. But this is a story full of emotional upheaval and violence and complicated family drama.
The story needed a finer touch and more deep explanations of what is going on within the characters' hearts and minds. Moll's motivations are rarely explained. She launches into relationships with men without any explanation of WHY they "fell in love". The writing is so bare and plain.
There are also NO chapter breaks at all. There are NO breaks in the story. It's just one long rambling narrative.
The story is much too long as well. There are at least 100 pages (I counted. From page 201- 309) that deal entirely with her escapades as a pick-pocket and thief. Just recounting different "jobs" that she did, and how she got away with it, and how she fooled people, and how much "loot" she stole. I mean, really. I didn't need 100 pages of that. The plot doesn't go anywhere. It just stagnates for 100 pages of thievery.
Ugh. Not happy with this book.
3'5* porque lo he leído bajo presión y eso me ha hecho disfrutarlo un poco menos pero sigue siendo una fantasía
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Glad I read this early novel for that reason. Otherwise, I didn't really buy into Defoe's argument. The story was supposed to be a moral cautionary tale, but it seems to me like Moll was a product of a society that doesn't have options for women or protections against debilitating poverty.
Interesting view of women in a faraway time
It took awhile to get into this book. Moll was written as such a peculiar child that I wasn’t sure I was interested in her plight. But, she grew on me. I’m not sure she’s likeable, but I liked seeing where she ended up after all her trials.
It took awhile to get into this book. Moll was written as such a peculiar child that I wasn’t sure I was interested in her plight. But, she grew on me. I’m not sure she’s likeable, but I liked seeing where she ended up after all her trials.
Moll Flanders tells the story of her checkered past as prostitute, con artist, serial bigamist, and professional fibber.
This is one of the big books that you hear about as an English major; Daniel Defoe's book that isn't Robinson Crusoe. Its heroine is a street-wise orphan with nothing but looks and an ambition to live as comfortably as possible. With nothing to sell but herself, she is unlucky in marriage five times, moves from England to Virginia and back again (twice), and then strikes out on her own in the mean streets of 1670s London. She becomes a pickpocket and scammer, and earns the working name "Moll Flanders" (she never divulges her real one).
She's usually one desperate step away from ruin, which in her case means poverty, disgrace, prison, or death. Moll faces her various circumstances with sharp intelligence and one sacred rule: look out for number one. She has multiple children from different fathers but they barely register (in fact, I suspect Defoe may have forgotten about a few of them as he wrote, or else he's purposefully made Moll herself a very forgetful mother). Here's my Moll Baby Watch:
Lover one: No children
Husband one: Two, left with his parents to raise
Husband two: One child, dies
Husband three: Two living, one dead
Lover two: One son living, two dead
Husband four: One son
Husband five: two kids (later, she says only one son, so either she forgot or the other died, and by this time she's 48 and past child-bearing)
The baronet: no children
And apparently I missed a few lovers in my count, because at one point mid-book Moll claims she's slept with 13 men, when I only count 7 or 8 - in Defoe's introduction he claims to have excised a few salacious details, which may account for the different numbers (though she never bothers to reckon up the number of children she's carried and unceremoniously dumped with relatives or strangers).
Moll makes all of the outward appearances of repenting her life of crime, but she manages to profit well by it and seems happy to do so. The best parts are where we get to watch her use her charm and intelligence to manipulate various men. There is a scene that struck me as being very similar to the opening of Sense and Sensibility (the exchange where Mrs. Dashwood argues her pliable husband to give his mother and sisters nothing of his own inheritance): Moll tricks a man into marriage after spreading a false rumor that she is wealthy. After he's secured, she acclimates him to her limited resources by slowly portioning out her savings like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat.
Moll is a fantastic character, conscienceless but still charming. She enjoys sex early in life, but after an early betrayal, Moll uses sex as a means to her ends. She lies easily and often to everyone, even the people she claims to love. She's an ingenious crook: the most entertaining portion of her adventures comes when she talks about her con games; stealing from children, picking pockets, shoplifting, and even stealing valuables from a neighbor's burning house. She protests her regret over her crimes but tells the story with such evident satisfaction that it's clear she regrets nothing but being caught. When she ends up with a comfortable amount of money in the end she shows no sign of wanting to find her missing children. She even has an (accidental) incestuous relationship with a half-brother. No wonder this book has such a scandalous reputation!
It's a witty look into the difficulties of a poor woman's life in the 17th century, and it's amazing that Defoe's treatment of Moll is so even-handed. (Moll claims she is 69 in 1683, and the novel was published in 1722, to give you a sense of historical perspective.) No one's an angel in this book, particularly not Moll, but no one's a devil, either. The novel is a picaresque, so the events are episodic and it may seem meandering to a modern reader. It's packed with realistic detail (and was originally published anonymously as a fake memoir), and I found Moll's brief account of moving around the American colonies fascinating, though other readers may find the abundant details onerous.
In short, worth checking out if you're an English major or if you love worldly picaros who happen to be fallen women.
This is one of the big books that you hear about as an English major; Daniel Defoe's book that isn't Robinson Crusoe. Its heroine is a street-wise orphan with nothing but looks and an ambition to live as comfortably as possible. With nothing to sell but herself, she is unlucky in marriage five times, moves from England to Virginia and back again (twice), and then strikes out on her own in the mean streets of 1670s London. She becomes a pickpocket and scammer, and earns the working name "Moll Flanders" (she never divulges her real one).
She's usually one desperate step away from ruin, which in her case means poverty, disgrace, prison, or death. Moll faces her various circumstances with sharp intelligence and one sacred rule: look out for number one. She has multiple children from different fathers but they barely register (in fact, I suspect Defoe may have forgotten about a few of them as he wrote, or else he's purposefully made Moll herself a very forgetful mother). Here's my Moll Baby Watch:
Lover one: No children
Husband one: Two, left with his parents to raise
Husband two: One child, dies
Husband three: Two living, one dead
Lover two: One son living, two dead
Husband four: One son
Husband five: two kids (later, she says only one son, so either she forgot or the other died, and by this time she's 48 and past child-bearing)
The baronet: no children
And apparently I missed a few lovers in my count, because at one point mid-book Moll claims she's slept with 13 men, when I only count 7 or 8 - in Defoe's introduction he claims to have excised a few salacious details, which may account for the different numbers (though she never bothers to reckon up the number of children she's carried and unceremoniously dumped with relatives or strangers).
Moll makes all of the outward appearances of repenting her life of crime, but she manages to profit well by it and seems happy to do so. The best parts are where we get to watch her use her charm and intelligence to manipulate various men. There is a scene that struck me as being very similar to the opening of Sense and Sensibility (the exchange where Mrs. Dashwood argues her pliable husband to give his mother and sisters nothing of his own inheritance): Moll tricks a man into marriage after spreading a false rumor that she is wealthy. After he's secured, she acclimates him to her limited resources by slowly portioning out her savings like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat.
Moll is a fantastic character, conscienceless but still charming. She enjoys sex early in life, but after an early betrayal, Moll uses sex as a means to her ends. She lies easily and often to everyone, even the people she claims to love. She's an ingenious crook: the most entertaining portion of her adventures comes when she talks about her con games; stealing from children, picking pockets, shoplifting, and even stealing valuables from a neighbor's burning house. She protests her regret over her crimes but tells the story with such evident satisfaction that it's clear she regrets nothing but being caught. When she ends up with a comfortable amount of money in the end she shows no sign of wanting to find her missing children. She even has an (accidental) incestuous relationship with a half-brother. No wonder this book has such a scandalous reputation!
It's a witty look into the difficulties of a poor woman's life in the 17th century, and it's amazing that Defoe's treatment of Moll is so even-handed. (Moll claims she is 69 in 1683, and the novel was published in 1722, to give you a sense of historical perspective.) No one's an angel in this book, particularly not Moll, but no one's a devil, either. The novel is a picaresque, so the events are episodic and it may seem meandering to a modern reader. It's packed with realistic detail (and was originally published anonymously as a fake memoir), and I found Moll's brief account of moving around the American colonies fascinating, though other readers may find the abundant details onerous.
In short, worth checking out if you're an English major or if you love worldly picaros who happen to be fallen women.