Moll Flanders Summary

Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722. It is a novel of criminal biography and follows the adventures of its namesake, Moll Flanders, from her infancy to her old age. The novel begins with Moll's birth in prison to an unknown mother. As she is found and taken in by a nearby family, she is given the surname Flanders and accepted as a family member. As a child, her only desire is to understand who her birth mother is and to discover her own story, which is the story of a woman from a notorious and disreputable family. The narrator of her story, Moll, explains that she was born in Newgate Prison and spent her childhood among criminals and thieves. As she grows up, she begins to live a life of crime herself, eventually finding herself in a series of adventures that both help and hurt her differently.

At the novel's beginning, Moll explains that she was born in 1683 and was an only child of her parents, who were accused of a crime and sent to Prison. She was then left in the care of her grandmother in Moorfields, London. Although Moll had a hard upbringing, her joyful and impulsive personality, sharp wit, and determination to make something of her life allow her to take advantage of the opportunities.

One of these opportunities comes from a wealthy merchant from Virginia, who proposes marriage to Moll after she saves him from a group of robbers. Eager to rise above her background and have a better life, she immediately accepts his proposal. However, after the marriage, Moll eventually finds that her "husband" has missold her into a kind of slavery, where she works hard all day and is treated like a servant rather than a wife.

To escape her situation, Moll flees to London. She works as a needlework teacher to support herself and engages in petty thievery. When her landlord becomes suspicious of her dubious activities, she is forced to move again. This time, she travels to Colchester, where she takes up a career as a banker's assistant, though she frequently neglects her job to engage in more criminal activities.

In Colchester, Moll meets a highwayman, Jemy, and they become involved in a romantic relationship. However, as Moll's financial situation improves, her attraction to Jemy wanes. Moll eventually returns to London and, feeling like she can make something more of her life, takes up another job as a laundress. Although this job gives her slightly more stability, she cannot resist her criminal tendencies. Ultimately, she turns to prostitution to make ends meet without legal means.

Though initially apprehensive, Moll decides to join a group of ladies of the night and soon becomes embroiled in a dangerous underworld. As she continues to indulge in her immoral lifestyle, she contracts a venereal disease that forces her to abandon her occupation.

In her next venture, Moll cleverly begins trading stolen items. Here, she finds much success and earns several fortunes. However, she soon finds that her success has detrimental consequences, as she can begin living a lavish lifestyle. She also realizes that if she continues her lavish lifestyle, she may be prone to attracting too much attention. As a result, she is forced to abandon her trading to remain anonymous.

The novel then turns to Moll's journey as she travels to Virginia, determined to find the man who sold her and exact revenge. However, upon arriving, she discovers he has since died, leaving her disappointed. At this low point in her life, Moll unexpectedly meets the love of her life, a man named Jemmy, who she marries.

As the novel ends, Moll reveals that she and her husband buy a plantation in Virginia and live happily ever after. The novel ends on a note of triumph, with Moll reflecting on all she has endured and admitting that she is not proud of her life but accepts it as part of her past and finds solace in her newfound success.

Through Moll's journey, Defoe's novel provides a unique perspective on the dangers of naivety and the strength of the human spirit. Moll's tumultuous history reflects the turbulent history of England during the 17th century, filled with dangers and opportunities that she embraced and exploited to the fullest. Despite her tremendous suffering and hardship, Moll persevered and ultimately found a way to rise above challenging circumstances and make a life for herself. Thus, Moll Flanders serves as an inspiring, if cautionary, tale of redemption and a reminder of the power of tenacity and determination in the face of adversity.

Moll receives an education from the family, and as an adolescent, she strives to be a virtuous young lady. Moll's desire for a better life leads her to become the mistress of a wealthy merchant, hoping the arrangement will secure her the leisure time to pursue her investigations. The arrangement is unsatisfactory, and Moll eventually leaves him and travels alone to London.

In London, Moll's life of crime begins. She meets a young man and is taken in by his abundance of ideas; they devise a plan to commit grand theft. Together with his assistance, Moll begins to practice more subtle thievery. These adventures cover the fields of counterfeiting, procuring women, and fencing stolen items. Her lifestyle initially seems to be paying off, but Moll's fortunes decline rapidly when her young lover is captured and travels to America.

Left alone in London, Moll cannot keep up with her previous level of thievery and turns her attention to prostitution. Having sold her body for essentials such as food and clothing, she becomes a regular visitor to the underworld of London's brothels.

Moll's fortunes begin to wane further as she is regularly arrested for minor offenses. She also gets involved with a master criminal who steals her away against her will. After several bad experiences, Moll devises a plan to reform her life and seek honest work.

Having saved her earnings, she invests in an expensive dress and seeks recognized places of employment. She finds an estate where she gains the position of a housekeeper. Here Moll learns the art of accountancy and increases her fortune with theft and forgery. She also meets a young man who propositions her, and together they plan to escape once more from the constraints of their limited lifestyle.

When the gentleman proposes to her, they become incredibly wealthy and relocate to America. Here, Moll acquires a respectable job at a plantation and builds an even more considerable fortune with her accountancy skills.

Living in the colony, Moll becomes a model Christian and mothers the Native Americans by teaching them Bible study. This leads to the death of her lover, and she returns to England as a wealthy woman. Reunited with her lost son, Moll moves to the countryside and lives a service life.

Moll Flanders is a novel that follows an up-and-down journey of one woman's life, depicting scenes of tragedy, success, and redemption. It shows how Moll Flanders develops into a resourceful woman, capable of surviving in a society that often rejects its morals. It reflects the many difficulties women faced in the 17th and 18th centuries and is often considered an essential text in feminist literature.