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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
funny
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you are in the mood for a different type of classic then this is a relatively quick read with a lot going on. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to read the classics because it does belong with that group.
Usually, when the subject matter of a book is, in some way or other, uncomfortable for me, I look to the author's craft (to paraphrase) to keep me interested in reading.
Sadly, in the case of Moll Flanders, I found the first-person narrative to be tiring and repetitive, the run-on confession-monologue style of the story difficult to connect with in some cases, and the voice of the title character unsympathetic and downright ridiculous at times.
My discomfort stems from the easiness with which Moll's children are discarded from her mind and life. What makes matters worse, in my opinion, is that Moll is not singular in this regard, as can be seen from the case of the house kept by Moll's friend.
Taking this into account, it is not surprising that I struggled to finish this book. I enjoyed some parts of it, particularly some passages where Moll contemplates her choices and the events that made a significant impact on her life (where Moll's voice is superimposed with that of a moralising - not necessarily in a religious manner - editorial voice/Defoe's authorial voice) and the fact that Moll Flanders is, despite it all, a self-made, independent woman who, were it not for her habit of having and abandoning children, took on life, and all it threw at her, with admirable courage.
In the end, these positive aspects were not enough to make up for the dullness of the prose and for my ever-growing discomfort (at the last count, she gave birth to 10/11 children, of which about half died in infancy, and only one is accounted for in adulthood).
Defoe's writing may have been thought-provoking and innovative in his time, but all I can say about it is that it did not age particularly well.
Sadly, in the case of Moll Flanders, I found the first-person narrative to be tiring and repetitive, the run-on confession-monologue style of the story difficult to connect with in some cases, and the voice of the title character unsympathetic and downright ridiculous at times.
My discomfort stems from the easiness with which Moll's children are discarded from her mind and life. What makes matters worse, in my opinion, is that Moll is not singular in this regard, as can be seen from the case of the house kept by Moll's friend.
Taking this into account, it is not surprising that I struggled to finish this book. I enjoyed some parts of it, particularly some passages where Moll contemplates her choices and the events that made a significant impact on her life (where Moll's voice is superimposed with that of a moralising - not necessarily in a religious manner - editorial voice/Defoe's authorial voice) and the fact that Moll Flanders is, despite it all, a self-made, independent woman who, were it not for her habit of having and abandoning children, took on life, and all it threw at her, with admirable courage.
In the end, these positive aspects were not enough to make up for the dullness of the prose and for my ever-growing discomfort (at the last count, she gave birth to 10/11 children, of which about half died in infancy, and only one is accounted for in adulthood).
Defoe's writing may have been thought-provoking and innovative in his time, but all I can say about it is that it did not age particularly well.
A few chapters into "Moll Flanders" I looked up when the book was written. I assumed it to be an early form of the form of modern literature because it was written by Defoe. It is, but the content is surprisingly lurid for the era. I imagine some pearl clutching.
"Moll Flanders" structurally feels as if it is building to a comedic farce. The female (GASP!) protagonist finds herself in increasingly unfortunate romantic couplings. (Spoiler) When she married her brother in the first third of the book I struggled to imagine how the absurdity could be topped.
The journalistic writing style was my focus as I read it, but reflecting on the the themes of identity resonate with me. In a traditional literary form the actions and dialog of a character determine who they are. Even in Shakespeare's masterpiece (actually, just all of literatures masterpiece...it's as good as it gets, right?) "Hamlet," the actions of the plays protagonist serve to lead us to discuss the interior motivations.
In Moll Flanders we see a character who exists like the proverbial iceberg. The majority of her identity, and the majority of her book, are the portion beneath the surface. Her life in description are a series of failed marriages that eventually lead to a life of disreputation and crime. The reader, however, is privy to her thoughts of disappointment and unrest that lead her down these paths. In her first marriage, for instance, we know what her husband does not know, even in his time of dying; that she always longed for his brother throughout their years of marriage, even though he spurned her and aimed her to his brother from the start.
We see the machinations of her downfall, and she is open about her most noble and ignoble thoughts, because we are her. The book seems to be a leap in the direction of literature as a device to expand our empathy. It is perhaps the highest value of literature for simple folks like myself, and it is so rarely mentioned as a cause for people to read the classics.
Moll's character could be framed from a feminist lens, but the most interesting view of it for me is through social class. She is easily cast out because she is a woman, yes, but it is disturbing to watch a wealthy family use her (by way of their sons via sexual conquest) and then cast her out (by way of threatening her livelihood unless she renounce the promises of the eldest son). That she eventually finds herself in a wealthy relationship with the younger son isn't so much a victory, as a consolation award. We see how little power she has to even accrue wealth based on merit (she is certainly clever).
If she wanted her fair share, she would certainly have to take it. What an 18th century antihero!
"Moll Flanders" structurally feels as if it is building to a comedic farce. The female (GASP!) protagonist finds herself in increasingly unfortunate romantic couplings. (Spoiler) When she married her brother in the first third of the book I struggled to imagine how the absurdity could be topped.
The journalistic writing style was my focus as I read it, but reflecting on the the themes of identity resonate with me. In a traditional literary form the actions and dialog of a character determine who they are. Even in Shakespeare's masterpiece (actually, just all of literatures masterpiece...it's as good as it gets, right?) "Hamlet," the actions of the plays protagonist serve to lead us to discuss the interior motivations.
In Moll Flanders we see a character who exists like the proverbial iceberg. The majority of her identity, and the majority of her book, are the portion beneath the surface. Her life in description are a series of failed marriages that eventually lead to a life of disreputation and crime. The reader, however, is privy to her thoughts of disappointment and unrest that lead her down these paths. In her first marriage, for instance, we know what her husband does not know, even in his time of dying; that she always longed for his brother throughout their years of marriage, even though he spurned her and aimed her to his brother from the start.
We see the machinations of her downfall, and she is open about her most noble and ignoble thoughts, because we are her. The book seems to be a leap in the direction of literature as a device to expand our empathy. It is perhaps the highest value of literature for simple folks like myself, and it is so rarely mentioned as a cause for people to read the classics.
Moll's character could be framed from a feminist lens, but the most interesting view of it for me is through social class. She is easily cast out because she is a woman, yes, but it is disturbing to watch a wealthy family use her (by way of their sons via sexual conquest) and then cast her out (by way of threatening her livelihood unless she renounce the promises of the eldest son). That she eventually finds herself in a wealthy relationship with the younger son isn't so much a victory, as a consolation award. We see how little power she has to even accrue wealth based on merit (she is certainly clever).
If she wanted her fair share, she would certainly have to take it. What an 18th century antihero!
This is a book which I read back in college as part of my degree, after finding it amongst a load of books at home I realised I couldn't really remember any details of it, so there it found itself, on my To Be Read Mountain.
Before I start this review, I must note that in the last year I attempted to read another Daniel Defoe novel, Robinson Crusoe, without much luck. I got so infuriated with the book and the character that I had to leave it unfinished. I can almost count on both hands how many times that has happened to me in my life, I hate not finishing books, but I will put them down if they do me wrong. Having said this, I was sure that I had finished Moll Flanders some years ago, so thought I would give it another shot.
Moll is the daughter of a thief who went to Newgate prison while pregnant and got a short reprieve by “pleading her belly”. After Moll was born, she was left in the care of random people it seems and spent the first few years of her life with gypsies before running away from them. She was then taken in my a young woman who ran a type of school for orphans and misfits and when the time came for Moll to leave to find work, she begged to be allowed to stay and help some more. Eventually Moll ends up working for a family who take her in. She is a servant/nanny/and surrogate daughter it seems, and has the benefit of being educated with the 2 daughters of the family. However this could not last for long, as the 2 sons of the family begin to fall in love with her. The eldest woos her with false promises of marriage, while using her as his mistress and when the younger claims that he is in love with her and wants to marry her straight away, her virtue has already been taken. And so begins Moll's life of crime, prostitution, and even polygamy.
The life and world that Moll describes is completely alien to us now. She talks a lot of trying to find a husband for example. She wants to find a rich man to marry who will support her as she has never had much money of her own. This is not uncommon, even now, but what was strange to me is that all the men wanted was to find a rich wife to support them also. Many of the men she found, had made money from leasing land or an inheritance, and many of them didn't work. Moll has to pretend that she is rich in order to find someone to marry her, and because she doesn't want to be accused of lying to them, she dresses in fancy clothes and implies that she is rich, so that when they marry her and find out that she has no money, they cannot say that she deceived them. Apparently Daniel Defoe was born Daniel Foe and added the “aristocratic sounding De” to his name in order to imply rich ancestors.
Throughout her life, Moll has many husbands, and also many children. I'm not sure if it was because the author was male or simply that that's the type of character Moll is but she abandons children all over the place, much like she herself was abandoned. She mentions her children, as in to say, “I had 2 children with him” but then we hear nothing more of them after this. We know that some of them, she had to leave for various reasons, but even one which she talked of having to find money to feed, was never mentioned after that. She travels all over the place, but never talks of all the children and where they are.
I'm not sure how believeable Moll Flanders is. As it was written in 1722, I suppose it could be realistic for the time, but there is a lot contained within the pages which defy belief. Having said that, it is a very entertaining read. You really get caught up in Molls life and the opinions of the times too, where everything is a scandal and your virtue is the most important thing you have as a young woman. We see her ups and downs, we love her then hate her, we admire her bravery then scorn her thievery. Moll is basically a woman who having lost a fair chance at a good life early on, will now do anything she needs to to survive.
Before I start this review, I must note that in the last year I attempted to read another Daniel Defoe novel, Robinson Crusoe, without much luck. I got so infuriated with the book and the character that I had to leave it unfinished. I can almost count on both hands how many times that has happened to me in my life, I hate not finishing books, but I will put them down if they do me wrong. Having said this, I was sure that I had finished Moll Flanders some years ago, so thought I would give it another shot.
Moll is the daughter of a thief who went to Newgate prison while pregnant and got a short reprieve by “pleading her belly”. After Moll was born, she was left in the care of random people it seems and spent the first few years of her life with gypsies before running away from them. She was then taken in my a young woman who ran a type of school for orphans and misfits and when the time came for Moll to leave to find work, she begged to be allowed to stay and help some more. Eventually Moll ends up working for a family who take her in. She is a servant/nanny/and surrogate daughter it seems, and has the benefit of being educated with the 2 daughters of the family. However this could not last for long, as the 2 sons of the family begin to fall in love with her. The eldest woos her with false promises of marriage, while using her as his mistress and when the younger claims that he is in love with her and wants to marry her straight away, her virtue has already been taken. And so begins Moll's life of crime, prostitution, and even polygamy.
The life and world that Moll describes is completely alien to us now. She talks a lot of trying to find a husband for example. She wants to find a rich man to marry who will support her as she has never had much money of her own. This is not uncommon, even now, but what was strange to me is that all the men wanted was to find a rich wife to support them also. Many of the men she found, had made money from leasing land or an inheritance, and many of them didn't work. Moll has to pretend that she is rich in order to find someone to marry her, and because she doesn't want to be accused of lying to them, she dresses in fancy clothes and implies that she is rich, so that when they marry her and find out that she has no money, they cannot say that she deceived them. Apparently Daniel Defoe was born Daniel Foe and added the “aristocratic sounding De” to his name in order to imply rich ancestors.
Throughout her life, Moll has many husbands, and also many children. I'm not sure if it was because the author was male or simply that that's the type of character Moll is but she abandons children all over the place, much like she herself was abandoned. She mentions her children, as in to say, “I had 2 children with him” but then we hear nothing more of them after this. We know that some of them, she had to leave for various reasons, but even one which she talked of having to find money to feed, was never mentioned after that. She travels all over the place, but never talks of all the children and where they are.
I'm not sure how believeable Moll Flanders is. As it was written in 1722, I suppose it could be realistic for the time, but there is a lot contained within the pages which defy belief. Having said that, it is a very entertaining read. You really get caught up in Molls life and the opinions of the times too, where everything is a scandal and your virtue is the most important thing you have as a young woman. We see her ups and downs, we love her then hate her, we admire her bravery then scorn her thievery. Moll is basically a woman who having lost a fair chance at a good life early on, will now do anything she needs to to survive.
I love classics! The story was about a girl who is born in Newgate prison to a criminal, and how difficult her life is! Her many adventures include many husbands, living in Virginia, and then eventually becoming a thief! Written by Daniel Defoe, who is considered to be the first novelist in history, and credited with creating the novel! It was written in the eighteenth century, making it difficult to follow at some parts, and there are no chapters! Just 300 pages of writing! I would highly recommend if you like stories that discuss the hardships of women in the past! Some argue that the main character being a woman makes Defoe one of the first feminists
A wonderful comic novel! All the detail and play-by-play you'd expect from 18th century literature, and all the humor, adventure and deep characterization you'd expect from Defoe.
It's also wonderful to see a woman described as both imperfect and worthy of attention in a book written in the 18th century. She's neither a wilting pure flower nor a fallen and worthless whore -- she's treated with compassion and gentle humor throughout. A refreshing classic!
It's also wonderful to see a woman described as both imperfect and worthy of attention in a book written in the 18th century. She's neither a wilting pure flower nor a fallen and worthless whore -- she's treated with compassion and gentle humor throughout. A refreshing classic!