Charcter and Free Play - Moll Flanders
"Moll Flanders
[is] a novel in which character is everything and is given the freest play" (E. M. Forster). Bearing this quote in mind, discuss Defoe's representation of Moll Flanders.
In Daniel Defoe's novel, Moll Flanders, " character is everything and is given the freest play." This quote by E. M. Forster aptly sums up the essence of Moll Flanders. This story is highly character driven; the character, Moll Flanders is the story. Thus, in the novel we are exposed to information and incidents concerning such a person more than to a story developed through a plot. In addition, we see that Flanders has ultimate authority in this story; it is she who has supreme power over everything and as such is allowed to control her own destiny she is given the "freest play", as suggested by Forster. Having read the story, one is hard pressed in deciding what conclusions to draw about this character, as Defoe's varied and contradictory representation of Flanders leaves in ones mind a number of unanswered questions. Some such questions include, who exactly is Moll Flanders? What motivates her? How do we come to know and understand her, her psyche? This essay seeks to answer some of these and other questions, based on Defoe's representation of Moll Flanders.
Defoe's first introduction of Moll Flanders is her being born to a prison inmate, so imprisoned for theft. This leaves her to the mercy of public charity, which is to shape her very existence. We watch Flanders grow and blossom into a beautiful and attractive young woman. She is a quick learner and easily adapts to her circumstances. From an early age, however, Defoe shrouds her with a trait of vanity; a vice, which is to be her downfall. She, although learned in cultured behavior, is naïve as well as vain. Needless to say these are two traits that do not work well together. As a result of her vanity and naïveté she falls prey to the seduction of an older guy who later abandons her and forces
her (albeit, not
In Daniel Defoe's novel, Moll Flanders, " character is everything and is given the freest play." This quote by E. M. Forster aptly sums up the essence of Moll Flanders. This story is highly character driven; the character, Moll Flanders is the story. Thus, in the novel we are exposed to information and incidents concerning such a person more than to a story developed through a plot. In addition, we see that Flanders has ultimate authority in this story; it is she who has supreme power over everything and as such is allowed to control her own destiny she is given the "freest play", as suggested by Forster. Having read the story, one is hard pressed in deciding what conclusions to draw about this character, as Defoe's varied and contradictory representation of Flanders leaves in ones mind a number of unanswered questions. Some such questions include, who exactly is Moll Flanders? What motivates her? How do we come to know and understand her, her psyche? This essay seeks to answer some of these and other questions, based on Defoe's representation of Moll Flanders.
Defoe's first introduction of Moll Flanders is her being born to a prison inmate, so imprisoned for theft. This leaves her to the mercy of public charity, which is to shape her very existence. We watch Flanders grow and blossom into a beautiful and attractive young woman. She is a quick learner and easily adapts to her circumstances. From an early age, however, Defoe shrouds her with a trait of vanity; a vice, which is to be her downfall. She, although learned in cultured behavior, is naïve as well as vain. Needless to say these are two traits that do not work well together. As a result of her vanity and naïveté she falls prey to the seduction of an older guy who later abandons her and forces
her (albeit, not