Women In Moll Flanders
Women have it quite taxing in Moll Flanders. They have only got a few options in life. They can be a spouse, a lover, a servant, a criminal, or prostitute. When it comes to selecting one of these positions, it all comes down to how much wealth a woman has access to. Moll moves between types not only because she endures, but also because she is unusually lucky, and an expert in manipulation. Like Moll, the females in this book look out for themselves more than their children or their partners, and their beauty or womanly abilities are as a means to an end. In Moll Flanders, sex is a kind of currency. Within marriage, and outside that tradition, women like Moll trade it, whether intentionally or unintentionally, for housing and food. Some women
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For example, when Moll decided to let Robin take liberties with her, she admitted self-annihilation. “… I finished my own destruction at once… being forsaken of my virtue and my modesty, I had nothing of value left to recommend me, either to God’s blessing on man’s assistance”. As Moll was contemplating Robin’s true feelings for her, she commented about how proud she was of the money she had received as his mistress. “As for the gold, I spent whole hours in looking upon it; I told the guineas over a thousand times a day”. Moll had decided that marriage does not really matter, as long as she has enough money. She allowed Robin’s kind words and offerings of gold to suffice her greediness and destroy her character. “I had a most unbounded stock of vanity and pride, and but very little stock of virtue… but thought of nothing but the fine words and the gold”. Moll allowed her morals to disintegrate while trying to fulfill her need for money. Moll’s prostitution, thievery, and periods of moral degeneration play a major role in developing the theme of greed in Moll Flanders.
An important theme of Moll Flanders is vanity. Growing up, Moll was constantly being told how pretty she was. Most of Moll’s actions in the story are almost always a result of her vanity. She was also easily seduced because she thought any man could fall in love with her because she was so
For example, when Moll decided to let Robin take liberties with her, she admitted self-annihilation. “… I finished my own destruction at once… being forsaken of my virtue and my modesty, I had nothing of value left to recommend me, either to God’s blessing on man’s assistance”. As Moll was contemplating Robin’s true feelings for her, she commented about how proud she was of the money she had received as his mistress. “As for the gold, I spent whole hours in looking upon it; I told the guineas over a thousand times a day”. Moll had decided that marriage does not really matter, as long as she has enough money. She allowed Robin’s kind words and offerings of gold to suffice her greediness and destroy her character. “I had a most unbounded stock of vanity and pride, and but very little stock of virtue… but thought of nothing but the fine words and the gold”. Moll allowed her morals to disintegrate while trying to fulfill her need for money. Moll’s prostitution, thievery, and periods of moral degeneration play a major role in developing the theme of greed in Moll Flanders.
An important theme of Moll Flanders is vanity. Growing up, Moll was constantly being told how pretty she was. Most of Moll’s actions in the story are almost always a result of her vanity. She was also easily seduced because she thought any man could fall in love with her because she was so