Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe

In Moll Flanders, the main character, she believes money makes the world go round. In this novel the novelist tried to show hardship and the bad luck that women breed being irresistible to men struggling women determined not be defeated by a cruel world. “Many critics and historians argue that a woman named Elizabeth Atkins, a notorious thief who died in prison in 1723, was one of Defoe’s inspirations for the character of Moll Flanders.” (“Moll Flanders”) Most of Moll’s actions are due to the need and desire for money. She is easily attracted to men that have interest in her beauty, but also comment on her beauty. She searches for husbands who have money and are willing to spend it on her needs, and also gives them an impression that she is wealthy.

She was born in prison and wasn’t fortunate to have what others had in a plain England life in the 1800s. She was ripped from her mother’s hand once she was born and after that gypsies stole her. As a young girl she always realized she wasn’t meant for the life she was living. At eight years old, she said, “she was able to do anything to earn money as a servant.” She went to one of the wealthiest families to beg them to take her in. After a few years later, she finally felt like she belonged there, even though the family saw her as a daughter and also as a servant. She continues her education with their daughters learning to sing, dance, and speak French. As she matures to be a beautiful young she falls in love with the oldest brother from her adopted family, Ronald who flirts and seduces her. It wasn’t a challenge for Ronald to concur all of this. They become lovers and he gives her money when they get together because she believes that they are going to get married and live a wea...

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...e would be loved. And, so she got used to her habits of getting money and continued on until she found the actual love of her life.

Works Cited

Burt, Daniel S. "Moll Flanders." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Dec. 2013 .

Defoe, Daniel. Moll Flanders. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930. Print.

"Moll Flanders." Novels for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomason. Vol. 13. Detroit: Gale, 2002. 145-169. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.

Watt, Ian. "Defoe As Novelist: Moll Flanders." The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding. University of California Press, 1957. 93-134. Rpt. in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Ed. Dennis Poupard. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1984. Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.