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
even make it their career. Sex is certainly not always connected with love, and occasionally not even with desire. More often it's linked to simple survival and to power in relationships. And finally, it commonly ends in some kind of problem for all those included, especially if it's outside of marriage. For women, that's generally getting pregnant; for men, it's typically losing money. Daniel Defoe created a very mischievous character named Moll Flanders. Moll was a troubled young female who used immoral acts as a way to find stability in an unstable world.
Moll’s earliest act of prostitution was forced upon her unwittingly. In the beginning of the story, she lived with a gentlewoman and her family. One of the brothers took interest in Moll and entices her into becoming his mistress. “He took these freedoms with me… when this was over he stayed but a little while, but he put almost a handful of gold in my hand…” Moll let down her guard and met with the brother frequently. “… so putting the purse into my bosom, I made no more resistance to him, but let him do just what he pleased and as often as he pleased…” Later in the story, Moll became acquainted with a woman who persuaded Moll to work for her as a prostitute. Even though Moll was married, she agreed to sell her body for profit. “I found presently that whether I was a whore or a wife, I was to pass for a whore here…” Moll’s acts of prostitution show that she would carry out illegal practices in order to get money.
Moll’s many instances involving thievery also express the theme of greed. At the end of the story, Moll gave her son a stolen watch. “… I stole it from a gentlewoman’s side at a meeting house in London”. Moll said this was the only thing of value she had to give him. One Christmas Day, Moll discovered an unattended silversmith’s shop. “I went boldly in and was just going to lay my hand upon a piece of plate, and might have done it and carried it clear off…” Moll resisted the temptation to steal because a nearby shopkeeper rushed over after having seen her enter the empty store. While Moll was living with the old governess she had some luck swindling a man at a gaming-house who seemed “…to be of more than ordinary fashion…” Moll won him some money and secretly kept a part for herself each time. “…he divided it with me, and I brought away 30 guineas besides about forty-three which I had stole privately…” Much like her prostitution, Moll’s acts of thievery bring out her sense of greed.
Moll seems to lose her morals while trying feverishly to gain assets.
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
beautiful.
Moll pleads with others after her to be aware of their actions. She warns that if a young woman thinks she is beautiful, she will never doubt any man that tells her he loves her. “…guard themselves against the knowledge of her own beauty”. At one point in the story, Moll’s fortune had been outrageously blown out of proportion and she felt compelled to lie about it. Moll thought that being wealthy and beautiful would help her find a suitor. “I, that was a great fortune and passed for such, was above being asked how much my estate was; and my false friend, […] had raised it from 500l. to 5000l. and by the time she came into the country… 15000l.” While Moll is living with Robin’s family, she discovers that withdrawing from family activities in order to leave room for the sisters, was not necessary. “I heard abundance of fine things said of myself which prompted my vanity…”
Moll finds herself extremely attractive. This vanity led to her being easily seduced by men. Moll reflected on her first meeting with Robin. “I may truly say I was not myself to have such a gentleman talk to me of being in love with me and of my being such a charming creature, as he told me I was”. Moll allowed herself to be taken hostage by Robin’s kindness towards her. “…I found he was very thoughtful, and that though he was very kind to me, and kissed me a thousand times and more I believe, and gave me money too…” Moll continued to let her morals go and comes to the conclusion that marriage is not very important. She believed Robin could love her without being married to her. “… [I] was taken up only with the pride of my beauty and of being beloved by such a gentleman”.
Another important theme in Moll Flanders is repentance. Moll showed the desire to repent on many occasions, but it often seemed forced. Until the end of the story, Moll’s repentance seem insincere, although she did show moral strength.
Moll’s first repentance appeared when Robin proposed marriage. “I was now in a dreadful condition indeed, and now I have repented heartily my easiness with the eldest brother; not from any reflection of conscience, for I was a stranger to those things, but I could not think of being a whore to one brother and a wife to the other”. Moll showed strong character when she chose to continue with this relationship.
Even with the ending of repentance, Moll still had those many years of immorality that could never be forgotten nor really forgiven. She freely committed almost all seven deadly sins just for survival and self-preservation. She was too proud to ever join servitude like she was meant to, her greed was ever present throughout the novel, and her lust for the older brother drove her to having an affair. Daniel Defoe created a very mischievous character in Moll Flanders. Moll was a troubled young female who used immoral acts as a way to find stability in an unstable world.