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jklbookdragon 's review for:
Moll Flanders
by Daniel Defoe
I can't help read about this 17th century woman from a 21st century perspective, and as much as she berates herself for her wickedness, I think she'd be a pretty successful woman in our century. She has what today would be considered a healthy sex life, which of course got her condemned as a whore in those days. It's not like she's got 6 boyfriends at once and is sleeping with all of them, or is living in a brothel - she just has a succession of partners, and marries (and has children with) most of them, including a bit of unknowing incest, through no fault of her own. And only when she is driven by starvation and is in a society with no safety net and very few business opportunities for women (ok, she eventually sews a bit) does she turn to theft. She becomes somewhat addicted to that life or the excitement, and carries on way longer than she should, and I can agree with her condeming herself for that part of it - but she never would have become a thief in the first place if she hadn't been forced to by extremity.
At times she seems and professes to be a good Mother, and yet her numerous children are never named, never have real characters, and with one exception just kind of disappear. Yes, it's a story about Moll Flanders, but I find it odd that the men (and one or two women) in her life are well developed characters while her children are complete nonentities.
Moll as narrater is such a strong character that I tended to forget that it was Daniel Defoe writing the book - and apparently contributing to the invention of the novel at the same time (truly, indeed, a novel idea). It does provide an interesting look at various layers of society (averaging around upper middle class, perhaps?) in both England and the American colonies in the 17th century. This is not a quick read, but it is definitely enjoyable. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
At times she seems and professes to be a good Mother, and yet her numerous children are never named, never have real characters, and with one exception just kind of disappear. Yes, it's a story about Moll Flanders, but I find it odd that the men (and one or two women) in her life are well developed characters while her children are complete nonentities.
Moll as narrater is such a strong character that I tended to forget that it was Daniel Defoe writing the book - and apparently contributing to the invention of the novel at the same time (truly, indeed, a novel idea). It does provide an interesting look at various layers of society (averaging around upper middle class, perhaps?) in both England and the American colonies in the 17th century. This is not a quick read, but it is definitely enjoyable. 3.5 stars, rounded up.