Moll Flanders: A woman in the 17th century who was born in Newgate ( a prison)
and spent twelve years as a whore, twelve years as a thief, was married five
times, committed incest, was sentenced to death, but given a reprieve, and was
transported to Virginia were she finally prospered. As a child Moll was raved
upon for her beauty and her ability to carry herself even as a orphan. Even as
she got older her great beauty remained as well as her shape. She had the
character of a very calm, modest, and virtuous young woman. Moll was a very
strong-willed woman. Through out her life, the good times and the bad, she never
gave up. She was determined to have all that she wanted, and at any expense.
This part of her was what led her to do some of the many wicked things she did.
Robert: He was the first man Moll slept with, and then fell in love with. There
was no physical description of him. This young man was the eldest of the four
children Moll grew up with. He was more experienced in his age than Moll was in
hers. He was charming, and he was a user. He knew how to charm Moll to get what
he wanted. Husband 1: His name was Robin. He was the younger brother of the four
children Moll grew up with. He also professed his love to Moll on many
occasions, and she did finally marry him. She had two children with him. There
was no physical description of him. He was an earnest husband; tender, kind,
good-humored, and he loved Moll dearly. He died five years after they were
married. Husband 2: This man Moll chose for herself. He was a linen draper. No
physical description was given for him. They were not married long when his
fortune had been wasted away, and he was arrested for a crime too big for him to
get bail. Husband 3: A sea captain that Moll trapped into marriage by pretending
that she had a fortune, but was actually fairly poor. They were very happy
together. He brought her to Virginia, where he had a plantation. They lived in
Virginia with his mother, and Moll discovered, during a conversation with her
mother-in-law that the man she had married was actually her brother. There was
no physical description of this man. the man from Bath: Moll met him at Bath.
She became his mistress for five years after they had been just friends for some
time. He maintained her quite well, and she had two children with him. He was a
strong, vigorous, and busy person. There was no physical description of this
man. Husband 4: He was reported to be a brother of Moll's friend. He actually
was an infamous robber and con man. This is the man the story ends with. There
was no physical description given of him. Husband 5: A banker from London who
Moll enlisted to help her manage her money. He was quite in love with her. He
obtained a divorce from his wife who had run off with an English captain so that
he could be free to marry Moll. He died after five wonderful years. There was no
physical description of this man except to say he was of good reputation and
honest in his dealings. The Governess: The governess pushed Moll to her thieving
ways, and kept her at it for twelve years. The governess was Moll's only friend
after the incident with the man from Bath, and remained her friend until the
end. The governess finally repented her rather shady ways when Moll was
sentenced to death for stealing some silk. PLOT SUMMARY Moll was born in Newgate
prison to a woman who dodged a hanging by becoming pregnant by a prison guard.
Moll was left with some relatives of her mother. Her first memories are of
herself being with some gypsy-type people who she somehow got separated from in
Colchester. She found herself a ward of the town magistrates who felt compelled
to provide care for her in some manner. She was placed in a home of a nurse who
cared for her and educated her. Upon her eighth year, the town magistrates
wanted her to go into the service but Moll talked her caretaker into hiring her
instead. When Moll was fourteen years old, the nurse, whom she had come to call
mother, died. A compassionate neighbor took Moll in to live with them. This
neighbor had four children, two boys and two girls. It was during her stay here
that Moll grew up. Both brothers took and interest in her at separate times. It
was the elder of the two brothers who charmed Moll into his bed with promises he
never intended to keep. The younger of the brothers had true love for Moll and
wanted to marry her but Moll could only see the elder brother in her future. The
older brother finally told Moll that he could no longer "court" her
and that she should marry the younger brother. Moll did marry the younger
brother and had two children by him. He died five years after they were married.
Their two children were left in the care of his parents. Moll was left quite
well off financially and she was still a young, handsome woman. She came to live
with a friend whose brother was one of the several suitable men who courted her.
He was a linen draper who had come into some money and was well off. After they
married, both Moll and her husband wastefully spent the fortune. The linen
draper ended up being arrested for a crime upon which he couldn't post bail.
Moll was left to pay off the debt that had been created foolishly by them. In
her efforts to pay these debts, Moll sells all their possessions. She meets a
woman who is a widow. Moll helps this widow find a husband. In return, the widow
tries to help Moll find a husband through the acquaintances of her new husband.
They fix Moll up with a man of the sea. They tell this sea captain Moll is
wealthy. The relationship progresses to the point of engagement and before they
are married, Moll tells the captain she is not wealthy. He didn't believe he was
deceived by her so he still wanted to marry her. They married soon after and
traveled to Virginia to live with his mother and sister on their plantation.
After living on the plantation for some time the sea captain's mother and Moll
were conversing and Moll discovers that this woman is actually her mother too.
The knowledge distresses Moll because she has had two children by this husband
who is actually her brother. She does not know if she should tell her husband
that he is actually her brother. She decides to confront their mother and they
discuss what action would be taken. Moll decides to go back to England. Moll's
mother helps her by financing the trip. back to England. Once Moll arrived in
England, she traveled to Bath and set up residence there. She met a gentleman
with whom she became good friends. He was married to a woman who was mentally
ill. They remained good friends for a long time. This man became very ill and
Moll provided care for him during the illness. Once he recovered, their
relationship changed, quite by accident. She became his mistress. He provided
her a place to live and even made sure she had money. Moll had two children by
him during this time. He stopped seeing her because his conscience got the
better of him. He made provisions for their children and pay Moll one hundred
pounds. Moll feels she needs to protect her money so she makes inquiries with a
banker who does help her. This man falls in love with Moll. He is married but
his wife had abandoned him and gone off with another man. Moll tells him that if
he would show her proof that he was really free, then she would marry him. In
the meanwhile, Moll moved north in an effort to find more affordable living. She
traveled there with a friend who told Moll she had a brother with a fortune of
his own who might marry her. Moll meets this man and does marry him. She finds
out that both of them had been deceived by this girl. Besides what this friend
had told Moll, she had told the man that Moll was rich as well. He was not this
girl's brother and he was not rich. After trying to live together for a while
and realizing their fortunes together would not last them long, her husband
leaves her. He goes to find his fortune and he tells Moll that if he finds one,
he would send for her. He also tells her that if she does not hear from him,
that she could consider herself free to marry another. Moll finds out after he
departs that she is carrying his child. This ruins Moll's plans for she had
wanted to move back to London to marry the banker for he had written to her to
inform her of his divorce. Moll learns from her landlady that there is a woman
who could possible be of help to her. This woman, a governess, takes Moll into
her home. Moll has her baby and the governess finds a home for the baby boy.
This enables Moll to move back to London to marry the banker. Upon her arrival
in London, Moll meets the banker at an Inn and they were married that night.
They lived together in comfort for five years. The banker, after this time,
trusted a fellow clerk with a sum of money. This clerk failed the banker and
lost the money. The fortunes of both Moll and the banker were not enough to
cover the loss and it ruined them. The stress of the situation wore on the
banker and he died. Moll and the banker had two children together. At this time
in her life, at age forty-eight, Moll could no longer have any more children.
Moll lived for two years off the remaining money. She sold her house and all of
her goods to move to a cheaper place to live. Moll had reached the lowest point
of her life, finding herself in debt, with no money, friendless, and without
hopes of a better life. It was the onset of her wicked life consisting of
thievery and prostitution. In an attempt to find a buyer for her stolen goods,
Moll met up once again with the governess who had taken care of finding a home
for Moll's baby boy back in Bath. The governess bought all the stolen goods. She
pushed Moll to her thieving ways, keeping her at it for twelve years until Moll
was caught stealing silk. Moll was sent to Newgate to be tried. It was in
Newgate that Moll reacquaints herself with her fourth husband. They made plans
to be sent to the same place after they had both were reprieved for their
crimes. Between the both of them, they had a good sum of money and with the help
of Moll's friend, the governess, they acquired all the necessities they required
to begin their lives together. They travel to Virginia in the Americas where
they find their fortunes and they buy a plantation. It is here that Moll
attempts to relocate her mother and brother/husband. She does this because her
mother had told Moll she would leave her something when she died. Moll is also
curious about the child she had left behind all those years ago. Moll does meet
her son and learns about the deaths of her mother and brother. Moll is given the
fortune her mother had willed to her. Moll returns to her husband with her
fortune. She visited her son from time to time and lived out the rest of her
live managing the plantation with her husband. CRITIC I enjoyed the story in
this book because of the life Moll Flanders lived. If found the book itself a
little difficult to read because of the style of English in which it was
written. I felt DeFoe depicted women in Moll's class of society fairly
accurately for the time frame of this story. Having no chapters and being one
long story made the book difficult to get through. I disliked the fact that with
exception of Moll, most of the characters were not named and none had physical
descriptions. I like Moll's character because she was a very determined
individual, who did what she thought she had to do to get where she thought she
had to be. THEME Living a wicked life can do more harm than good. In Moll’s
life she is faced with many trials and tribulations; each of which Moll handles,
in my opinion, very well. There are many incidents though when Moll willingly
and also unwillingly took part in schemes and scandals that led to the near
destruction of her own life. In the end, while awaiting trial in Newgate Moll
does repent for all of her wrongs. I believe this is when her life takes a turn
for the much better. As she and her husband are blessed on their journey to the
Americas and together live a happy and prosperous life.