Moll Flanders: Analysis of Setting
"Moll Flanders" is a novel by Daniel Defoe that explores the life of an adventurous and resourceful woman navigating the complexities of 17th-century society. The analysis of its setting reveals how locations play a crucial role in shaping Moll's experiences and choices. The narrative begins in Colchester, England, where Moll is orphaned and faces seduction and a loveless marriage, highlighting the constraints of her early life.
As the story unfolds in London, the capital becomes a vibrant backdrop for Moll's transformation. Here, she actively seeks out wealth and independence, engaging in both relationships and criminal activities. London represents her struggle and ambition, where she learns to manipulate her circumstances amidst a mercantile society.
The journey then takes Moll to Virginia, a British North American colony, where she experiences a brief period of contentment with her third husband. However, the fear of potential incest leads her to return to England, only to ultimately reclaim her ownership of land in Virginia. This final act symbolizes her quest for autonomy and underscores the contrasting opportunities for women in the New World compared to Europe. Overall, the settings in "Moll Flanders" are pivotal, reflecting the protagonist's evolving identity and the broader themes of gender and class in her time.
Moll Flanders: Analysis of Setting
First published:The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, Who Was Born in Newgate, and During a Life of Continued Variety, for Threescore Years, Besides Her Childhood, Was Twelve Years a Whore, Five Times a Wife (Thereof Once to Her Own Brother), Twelve Years a Thief, Eight Years a Transported Felon in Virginia, at Last Grew Rich, Lived Honest, and Died a Penitent. Written from Her Own Memorandums, 1722
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Picaresque
Time of work: Seventeenth century
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
*Colchester
*Colchester. Town in southeastern England’s Essex district, in which Moll’s narrative begins by moving quickly through her early years. After being orphaned, she is taken into a home in Colchester in which she first is seduced by one brother and then married by the other, in a loveless relationship.
*London
*London. England’s capital city and mercantile center, to which Moll goes after her husband dies. Now wiser about the ways of the world, she schemes to make a rich match for herself, only to connect with a gentleman-tradesman who proves to be as much a fraud as she is. Moll takes a greater hand in determining her own fate in London, where, as she learns, everything is business.
After having brief relationships with men in the countryside, Moll returns to London on her own and becomes a prostitute and a thief. The bulk of the book concerns her second sojourn in London, where, from her point of view as a storyteller, she is near to full-bloom.
*Virginia
*Virginia. British North American colony where Moll lives for eight years with her third husband, a gentleman-planter whom she marries after her second marriage fails. She is initially content in this new situation, but when she is given reason to believe that she may have a blood-relationship to her husband, she is aghast at the possibility of having committed incest and returns to England on her own.
After another sojourn in England—where she lives in Bath—Moll comes back to North America, finds that her third husband has died, and inherits his land. She thus returns to Virginia a landowner. Although it is doubtful the local courts would uphold her claim if someone were to challenge it, Moll knows that she has a better chance to own land in America than she could ever have in Europe. The novel ends with her making a formal claim to the Virginia land, thereby declaring to her readers that she has, at last, substantially the same rights as a man.
Bibliography
Backscheider, Paula R. Daniel Defoe: Ambition and Innovation. Louisville: University of Kentucky Press, 1986. Provides biographical data and critical interpretations of Defoe’s novels, placing emphasis on his innovative point of view.
Bell, Ian A. Defoe’s Fiction. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1985. Studies the elements of Defoe’s writing style and characters. Discusses the problem of morality in Moll Flanders.
Boardman, Michael M. Defoe and the Use of Narrative. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1985. Discusses Daniel Defoe’s narrative technique. Focuses on how Defoe structures his stories.
Defoe, Daniel. Moll Flanders. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991. A good version of the original text.
Novak, Maximillian. Realism, Myth and History in Defoe’s Fiction. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983. An excellent starting place. Discusses the author’s use of realistic characters, such as Moll Flanders, and discusses how Defoe overcomes the myth of female inferiority by having Moll succeed in realistic situations.
Richetti, John J. Daniel Defoe. Boston: Twayne, 1987. Examines Defoe’s process of writing and plot development.
Starr, G. A. Defoe and Causitry. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991. Discusses Moll Flanders and how Moll creates her many problems by her own choices and bad decisions.