Moll Flanders
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| Original Title: | The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, Etc. Who Was Born In Newgate, and During a Life of Continu'd Variety For Threescore Years, Besides Her Childhood, Was Twelve Year a Whore, Five Times a Wife [Whereof Once To Her Own Brother], Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon In Virginia, At Last Grew Rich, Liv'd Honest, and Died a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums |
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| Written by: | Daniel Defoe |
| Central Theme: | What a woman has to do to survive |
| Synopsis: | see the full title. |
| Genre(s): | Picaresque |
| First published: | 1722 |
Describe Moll Flanders here.
Well, we don't really need to, given that the entire story is revealed by the full title: The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, Etc. Who Was Born In Newgate, and During a Life of Continu'd Variety (*takes a breath*) For Threescore Years, Besides Her Childhood, Was Twelve Year a Whore, Five Times a Wife [Whereof Once To Her Own Brother], Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon In Virginia, At Last Grew Rich, Liv'd Honest, and Died a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums. (*breathes*) Whew.
Outside that, all you really need to know is that it's a novel, was published in 1722, and was written by Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe.
Tropes used in Moll Flanders include:
- Brother-Sister Incest
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: And what a rather long tin it is.
- Foregone Conclusion: Thanks to the title.
- Direct Line to the Author: "Written from her own Memorandums".
- Long Title
- Outlaw Couple
- Picaresque: The genre of the novel.
- Spoiler Title: The (full) title gives away all the major plot twists.
- Unreliable Narrator