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A review by donnaadouglas
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
1.0
My first thoughts on the reason why I disliked this book were that it was because of the old style of writing, but considering Shakespeare, Marlowe, Ford and Cervantes all provided enjoyable works before Defoe was on the scene, I therefore must look to the writer's skill as a fault in itself.
I don't believe 'Moll Flanders' to be a well crafted story. This is mainly due to the fact that the protagonist's many displays of 'dumb luck' leave an air of contrivance which contaminates the entire novel. The reader cannot help but assume the author was, at times, granting his central character too many lucky escapes to make her appear, perhaps, more wretched, and perhaps, more hard-done by. I couldn't help but dislike Moll due to this - Defoe made her too special, which in turn made her, to me, too unbelievable.
QUOTATIONS I LIKED:
"...if a young woman have beauty, birth, breeding, wit, sense, manners, modesty, and all these to an extreme; yet, if she have not money, she's nobody, she had as good want them all, for nothing but money now recommends a woman..."
"...if a young woman once thinks herself handsome, she never doubts the truth of any man that tells her he is in love with her, for if she believes herself charming enough to capture him, 'tis natural enough to expect the effects of it."
"...she is always married too soon who gets a bad husband and she is never married too late who gets a good one."
I don't believe 'Moll Flanders' to be a well crafted story. This is mainly due to the fact that the protagonist's many displays of 'dumb luck' leave an air of contrivance which contaminates the entire novel. The reader cannot help but assume the author was, at times, granting his central character too many lucky escapes to make her appear, perhaps, more wretched, and perhaps, more hard-done by. I couldn't help but dislike Moll due to this - Defoe made her too special, which in turn made her, to me, too unbelievable.
QUOTATIONS I LIKED:
"...if a young woman have beauty, birth, breeding, wit, sense, manners, modesty, and all these to an extreme; yet, if she have not money, she's nobody, she had as good want them all, for nothing but money now recommends a woman..."
"...if a young woman once thinks herself handsome, she never doubts the truth of any man that tells her he is in love with her, for if she believes herself charming enough to capture him, 'tis natural enough to expect the effects of it."
"...she is always married too soon who gets a bad husband and she is never married too late who gets a good one."