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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
First sentence: "My true name is so well known in the records or registers at Newgate, and in the Old Bailey, and there are some things of such consequence still depending there, relating to my particular conduct, that it is not to be expected I should set my name or the account of my family to this work; perhaps after my death, it may be better known; at present it would not be proper, no not though a general pardon should be issued, even without exceptions and reserve of persons or crimes."
P. 99: "He went back to what I had said before to him, and told me he hoped it would not relate to what I had said in my passion, and that he had resolved to forget all that as the effect of a rash, provoked spirit."
Last sentence: "My husband remained there some time after me to settle our affairs, and at first I had intended to go back to him, but at his desire I altered that resolution, and he is come over to England also, where we resolve to spend the remainder of our years in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived."
Moll's mother is a convict in Newgate Prison in London who is given a reprieve by "pleading her belly", a reference to the custom of staying the executions of pregnant criminals. Her mother is eventually transported to America, and Moll Flanders (not her birth name, she emphasizes, taking care not to reveal it) is raised until adolescence by a goodly foster mother, and then gets attached to a household as a servant where she is loved by both sons, the elder of whom convinces her to "act like they were married" in bed, yet eventually unwilling to marry her, he convinces her to marry his younger brother. She then is widowed, leaves her children in the care of in-laws, and begins honing the skill of passing herself off as a fortuned widow to attract a man who will marry her and provide her with security.
The first time she does this, her husband goes bankrupt and flees to the Continent, leaving her on her own with his blessing to do the best she can and forget him. The second time, she makes a match that leads her to Virginia with a kindly man who introduces her to his mother. After three children (one dies), Moll learns that her mother-in-law is actually her biological mother, which makes her husband her half-brother. She dissolves their marriage and after continuing to live with her brother for three years, travels back to England, leaving her two children behind, and goes to live in Bath to seek a new husband.
Again she returns to her con skills and develops a relationship with a man in Bath whose wife is elsewhere confined due to insanity. Their relationship is at first platonic, but eventually develops into Moll becoming something of a "kept woman" in Hammersmith, London. They have three children (one lives), but after a severe illness he repents, breaks off the arrangement, and commits to his wife.
Moll, now 42, resorts to another beau, a banker, who while still married to an adulterous wife (a "whore"), proposes to Moll after she entrusts him with her money. While waiting for the banker to divorce, Moll pretends to have a great fortune in order to attract another wealthy husband. She becomes involved with some Roman Catholics in Lancashire that try to convert her, and she marries one of them, a supposedly rich man. She soon realises he expected to receive a great dowry which she denies having, leading him to admit that he has cheated her into marriage, having himself lied about having money that he does not possess. He is in fact a ruined gentleman and discharges her from the marriage, telling her nevertheless that she should inherit any money he might ever get (finally, she mentions his name). Although now pregnant again, Moll lets the banker believe she is available, hoping he returns. She gives birth and the midwife gives a tripartite scale of the costs of bearing a child, with one value level per social class.
Moll's son is born when the banker's wife commits suicide following their divorce, and Moll leaves her newborn in the care of a countrywoman in exchange for the sum of £5 a year. Moll marries the banker now, but realises "what an abominable creature am I! and how is this innocent gentleman going to be abused by me!" They live in happiness for five years before he becomes bankrupt and dies of despair, the fate of their two children left unstated.
Truly desperate now, Moll begins a career of artful thievery, which, by employing her wits, beauty, charm, and femininity, as well as hard-heartedness and wickedness, brings her the financial security she has always sought. Only here does she take the name Moll Flanders and is known thereby. On the downside, she stoops to robbing a family in their burning house, then a lover to whom she becomes a mistress, and is sent to Newgate Prison (like the book's author 20 years prior).
In Newgate she is led to her repentance. At the same time, she reunites with her soulmate, her "Lancashire husband", who is also jailed for his robberies (before and after they first met, he acknowledges). Moll is found guilty of felony, but not burglary, the second charge; still, the sentence is death in any case. Yet Moll convinces a minister of her repentance, and together with her Lancashire husband is sent to the Colonies to avoid hanging, where they live happily together (she even talks the ship's captain into not being with the convicts sold upon arrival, but instead in the captain's quarters). Once in the colonies, Moll learns her mother has left her a plantation and that her own son (by her brother) is alive, as is her brother/husband.
Moll carefully introduces herself to her brother and their son, in disguise. With the help of a Quaker, the two found a farm with 50 servants in Maryland. Moll reveals herself now to her son in Virginia and he gives her her mother's inheritance, a farm for which he will now be her steward, providing £100 a year income for her. In turn, she makes him her heir and gives him a (stolen) gold watch.
At last, her life of conniving and desperation seems to be over. When her brother/husband is dead, Moll tells her (Lancashire) husband the entire story and he is "perfectly easy on that account... For, said he, it was no fault of yours, nor of his; it was a mistake impossible to be prevented". Aged 69 (in 1683), the two return to England to live "in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived".
I didn't like this at all... Moll Flanders is a weird character, whom I couldn't sympathize with, no matter what happened.
Other thoughts/reviews:
Books and Chocolate: http://karensbooksandchocolate.blogspot.be/2013/11/moll-flanders-by-daniel-defoe.html
P. 99: "He went back to what I had said before to him, and told me he hoped it would not relate to what I had said in my passion, and that he had resolved to forget all that as the effect of a rash, provoked spirit."
Last sentence: "My husband remained there some time after me to settle our affairs, and at first I had intended to go back to him, but at his desire I altered that resolution, and he is come over to England also, where we resolve to spend the remainder of our years in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived."
Moll's mother is a convict in Newgate Prison in London who is given a reprieve by "pleading her belly", a reference to the custom of staying the executions of pregnant criminals. Her mother is eventually transported to America, and Moll Flanders (not her birth name, she emphasizes, taking care not to reveal it) is raised until adolescence by a goodly foster mother, and then gets attached to a household as a servant where she is loved by both sons, the elder of whom convinces her to "act like they were married" in bed, yet eventually unwilling to marry her, he convinces her to marry his younger brother. She then is widowed, leaves her children in the care of in-laws, and begins honing the skill of passing herself off as a fortuned widow to attract a man who will marry her and provide her with security.
The first time she does this, her husband goes bankrupt and flees to the Continent, leaving her on her own with his blessing to do the best she can and forget him. The second time, she makes a match that leads her to Virginia with a kindly man who introduces her to his mother. After three children (one dies), Moll learns that her mother-in-law is actually her biological mother, which makes her husband her half-brother. She dissolves their marriage and after continuing to live with her brother for three years, travels back to England, leaving her two children behind, and goes to live in Bath to seek a new husband.
Again she returns to her con skills and develops a relationship with a man in Bath whose wife is elsewhere confined due to insanity. Their relationship is at first platonic, but eventually develops into Moll becoming something of a "kept woman" in Hammersmith, London. They have three children (one lives), but after a severe illness he repents, breaks off the arrangement, and commits to his wife.
Moll, now 42, resorts to another beau, a banker, who while still married to an adulterous wife (a "whore"), proposes to Moll after she entrusts him with her money. While waiting for the banker to divorce, Moll pretends to have a great fortune in order to attract another wealthy husband. She becomes involved with some Roman Catholics in Lancashire that try to convert her, and she marries one of them, a supposedly rich man. She soon realises he expected to receive a great dowry which she denies having, leading him to admit that he has cheated her into marriage, having himself lied about having money that he does not possess. He is in fact a ruined gentleman and discharges her from the marriage, telling her nevertheless that she should inherit any money he might ever get (finally, she mentions his name). Although now pregnant again, Moll lets the banker believe she is available, hoping he returns. She gives birth and the midwife gives a tripartite scale of the costs of bearing a child, with one value level per social class.
Moll's son is born when the banker's wife commits suicide following their divorce, and Moll leaves her newborn in the care of a countrywoman in exchange for the sum of £5 a year. Moll marries the banker now, but realises "what an abominable creature am I! and how is this innocent gentleman going to be abused by me!" They live in happiness for five years before he becomes bankrupt and dies of despair, the fate of their two children left unstated.
Truly desperate now, Moll begins a career of artful thievery, which, by employing her wits, beauty, charm, and femininity, as well as hard-heartedness and wickedness, brings her the financial security she has always sought. Only here does she take the name Moll Flanders and is known thereby. On the downside, she stoops to robbing a family in their burning house, then a lover to whom she becomes a mistress, and is sent to Newgate Prison (like the book's author 20 years prior).
In Newgate she is led to her repentance. At the same time, she reunites with her soulmate, her "Lancashire husband", who is also jailed for his robberies (before and after they first met, he acknowledges). Moll is found guilty of felony, but not burglary, the second charge; still, the sentence is death in any case. Yet Moll convinces a minister of her repentance, and together with her Lancashire husband is sent to the Colonies to avoid hanging, where they live happily together (she even talks the ship's captain into not being with the convicts sold upon arrival, but instead in the captain's quarters). Once in the colonies, Moll learns her mother has left her a plantation and that her own son (by her brother) is alive, as is her brother/husband.
Moll carefully introduces herself to her brother and their son, in disguise. With the help of a Quaker, the two found a farm with 50 servants in Maryland. Moll reveals herself now to her son in Virginia and he gives her her mother's inheritance, a farm for which he will now be her steward, providing £100 a year income for her. In turn, she makes him her heir and gives him a (stolen) gold watch.
At last, her life of conniving and desperation seems to be over. When her brother/husband is dead, Moll tells her (Lancashire) husband the entire story and he is "perfectly easy on that account... For, said he, it was no fault of yours, nor of his; it was a mistake impossible to be prevented". Aged 69 (in 1683), the two return to England to live "in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived".
I didn't like this at all... Moll Flanders is a weird character, whom I couldn't sympathize with, no matter what happened.
Other thoughts/reviews:
Books and Chocolate: http://karensbooksandchocolate.blogspot.be/2013/11/moll-flanders-by-daniel-defoe.html
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my latest revelations regarding books is that I somehow need to pay my respects to the 17th century classics. That is, read some of the novels I should have read years ago, books most people read as teenagers or at least in college, where they (some of them) are mandatory. Having waltzed very skilfully among them when I needed to, because - blame it on taste - I was never ever attracted by picaresque novels, it's high time I did something about it.
So, ladies and gents, I give you Moll Flanders. Cheater, liar, thief, whore, irresponsible mother and incestuous woman all in one. How, in the end, knowing all these things about her and not agreeing with any, the reader still feels sympathy for her, it's all in Defoe's writing talent. Because somehow, during the never ending events in Moll's life, you kind of like her; despite the facts, she is still warm-hearted and kind, and you get the feeling she does what she does only because she has no other choice (and yes, I agree, in 17th century England being a widow with children and no income is not one of the brightest perspectives). I, for instance, was surprised to see how in each and every situation she found a way to overcome the problem, keeping herself out of prison, trusting the right people, moving into the right direction, placing her money in the right hands, ending in the right place, fully loaded. Because in life as we know it, things are never like this. It can work for two or three times, but eventually you're caught red handed, you're betrayed and left alone.
As hard as Defoe tried (did he?) to convince the readers that eventually she repented and felt sorry about the kind of life she had led, I'm not satisfied. Too obvious a happy ending for a woman who continued to live from the money she had stolen, even if her conscience was finally clean - finding one of her sons and eventually starting acting like a mother, when she was in her 60s.
So even if I found no particular pleasure in Defoe's style, I must appreciate the remarkable art with which he treats a subject like this.
So, ladies and gents, I give you Moll Flanders. Cheater, liar, thief, whore, irresponsible mother and incestuous woman all in one. How, in the end, knowing all these things about her and not agreeing with any, the reader still feels sympathy for her, it's all in Defoe's writing talent. Because somehow, during the never ending events in Moll's life, you kind of like her; despite the facts, she is still warm-hearted and kind, and you get the feeling she does what she does only because she has no other choice (and yes, I agree, in 17th century England being a widow with children and no income is not one of the brightest perspectives). I, for instance, was surprised to see how in each and every situation she found a way to overcome the problem, keeping herself out of prison, trusting the right people, moving into the right direction, placing her money in the right hands, ending in the right place, fully loaded. Because in life as we know it, things are never like this. It can work for two or three times, but eventually you're caught red handed, you're betrayed and left alone.
As hard as Defoe tried (did he?) to convince the readers that eventually she repented and felt sorry about the kind of life she had led, I'm not satisfied. Too obvious a happy ending for a woman who continued to live from the money she had stolen, even if her conscience was finally clean - finding one of her sons and eventually starting acting like a mother, when she was in her 60s.
So even if I found no particular pleasure in Defoe's style, I must appreciate the remarkable art with which he treats a subject like this.
challenging
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Infidelity
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one is very hard for me to rate because A: It was required college reading for a Lit class and B: It has been a long time since I was in college.
All I really remember is that I expected more from the ending because the synopsis on the back of the book indicated that the story was about redemption and I thought it was more about delusion or self fullfilment....
Times do change...
All I really remember is that I expected more from the ending because the synopsis on the back of the book indicated that the story was about redemption and I thought it was more about delusion or self fullfilment....
Times do change...
Moll Flanders - married six times, once to her own brother (not that she knows at first) and has a bunch of kids, most of whom she gives away. A prostitute and a thief, but all she really wants is to be settled, I think. Is her repentance real, or satirical? She seems to enjoy writing of her younger days . . . I remember reading this in high school, but barely remembered what it was all about.
Mmmmm, she certainly doesn't sound penitent, now does she. A wicked life lived fully, a woman pushed from one situation to the next in a society that does not give her agency. 1720s, and this character is going to make her own way come hell or Newgate prison.
I would have appreciated footnotes instead of end notes.
I would have appreciated footnotes instead of end notes.
DOBBY IS A FREE ELF!
Now there are only 7 british lit books left. And the next one has 600 pages :'D
About Moll Flanders: I liked it better than I thought I would, but it could be significantly shorter. Also she is a pretty cool main character, specially when there are no husbands involved. Even when there are, she's so witty it's really interesting. I love how she is not the stereotypical dumb defenseless heroine some books are infamous for.
Now there are only 7 british lit books left. And the next one has 600 pages :'D
About Moll Flanders: I liked it better than I thought I would, but it could be significantly shorter. Also she is a pretty cool main character, specially when there are no husbands involved. Even when there are, she's so witty it's really interesting. I love how she is not the stereotypical dumb defenseless heroine some books are infamous for.