Lady Mary's Unintentional Perpetuation of Beauty Standards

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Despite the fact that Lady Mary disputes Swift’s view of women, she inadvertently supports the societal expectation that women be physically striking. In response to Swift’s accusation about women’s filth, Lady Mary presents the woman as bold and beautiful by proclaiming, “The nymph grown Furious roared by God / ‘The blame lies all in Sixty odd’” (74-75). Both of these lines emphasize the expectation for women to be beautiful in different ways. Lady Mary’s use of the word “nymph” raises an image of women as inherently and divinely beautiful. In addition, by placing the blame totally on the man for the disappointing intercourse, she denies what he had previously claimed about her disgusting state. Lady Mary shows the woman as a perfectly beautiful …show more content…

The eponymous pseudonym Fantomina suggests derivation from a phantom, an apparition or an illusion; and the character is defined by her talent for deception. Immediately, Haywood describes Fantomina as “A Young Lady of distinguished Birth, Beauty, Wit, and Spirit” (713), yet she is soon marked out as different. Once, Fantomina is released from her context in the rural gentry and untethered from obligation, she moves from contempt to curiosity toward the London gentlemen. Active in pursuit of her sexual desire, Fantomina takes on traditionally male traits. Beauplaisir, on the other hand, serves as the object of desire, the passive recipient of her manipulation and deception. Fantomina’s sexual desire was motivated by nothing but pure curiosity: “[She had] at that Time no other Aim, than the Gratification of an innocent curiosity” (713). However, her male-like curiosity and assertiveness immediately backfired as Fantomina realized she could not remain desirable to the male without changing. She becomes the object of desire “upon being undone” (716) by Beauplaisir and her appeal is soon lost. To maintain his affection, Fantomina feels the need to play various other roles. In doing so, Haywood had reverted Fantomina back to her traditional …show more content…

He only connected with Fantomina on a sexual level and showed only false interest to expand their relationship past a sexual one. His efforts at deception, e.g. sending letters simultaneously to her many personas, are naive and inferior to Fantomina’s expert handling of disguises and her natural talent for manipulation. However, Beauplaisir’s actions are expected and fit into the male stereotype, thus he is not punished for what he has

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