Both Defoe and Richardson were self-made men. Neither man had studied the classics as part of their education so the language they used when creating their works was colloquial unlike the decorative style previously used by the dominating upper class. They knew about increasing literature availability and targeted the new audience. Defoe, a well-travelled journalist, was an ideal candidate to write as a novelist. The 18th century novels narrative structure consisted of a chain of events, actions and descriptions moved the plot forward, “the first step she put me upon was to call her cousin, and go to a relations house of hers in the country”, (MF 72). The characters consisted of realistic every-day people and the setting used in Moll Flanders was England and Virginia, which the readers would have had a good knowledge of. Its issues were what people in this period saw in their lives and since the middle classes wanted to gain their own say in the aristocratic dominated society their issues, and the ones raised in Moll Flanders began to be debated in order to improve their own situations.
Defoe used Moll to express how women had to struggle for independency in this society. In an issue of The Review (1704-1713) Defoe states in an essay entitled, “Domestic Commentary”, that, “women, once they think fit to rouse up themselves to their own relief, are not so helpless and shiftless creatures as some would make them appear”, (page 66, Feminism in Eighteenth Century England, Katherine Rogers). He reflected this through Moll. Like Defoe she knew exactly what was needed in order for her to survive in this society. From an early age she realised that her sewing and mending would not support her, “ the market is against our sex just now; and if a young woman have beauty, birth, breeding, wit, sense, manners, modesty, and all these to an extreme; yet if she has not money, she’s nobody, she has as good want them all, for nothing but money now recommends a woman, the men play the game all into their own hands”, (MF 14). In her book, Feminism in the 18th century, Katherine Rogers states, “Defoe was exceptionally realistic and fair-minded in his recognition that women have the same ego drives which are condoned if not approved in men. He presented women fulfilling their ambition in the only way open to them, and we wonder whether they are really more vicious than men who fulfil theirs by business deals or political manoeuvring” (70). Reading the above quote and looking again at the preface to Moll Flanders, where he clearly states that Moll is not an example of morality, far from it, I wonder whether he lost control of Moll’s voice over the course of the novel or whether he was sniping at the upper classes and their values. Defoe explains in his preface that his story should be taken as a moral lesson rather than an immoral novel and that the story is a true history. The fact is though that it is a novel, a work of fiction, so everything within its framework is from Defoe. The preface is juxtaposed by Moll’s flippant tone as she describes her illegal and underhand deeds. A good example of this can be found in the novel just after she steals from a child and says, “The last affair left no great concern upon me, for as I did the child no harm, I only thought I had given the parents a just reproof for their negligence, in leaving the poor lamb to come home by itself, and it would teach them to take care another time”, (MF 167). Defoe could argue that he was merely warning readers about the thieves on the London streets, if you believe his preface, but from Moll’s off-hand tone she turns the blame onto the child’s upper class parents for not taking proper care of their ‘lamb’. To me Moll’s perspective speaks the loudest and rings most true. Defoe claimed his novel is not condoning this sort of behaviour and that Moll had repented her past sins. Moll’s first person narrative enables her to have a strong identity that overshadows Defoe’s. For someone who is supposed to be looking back at her life and reflecting on her struggles before she repented her tone through flippant discourse does not reflect this. And you must remember that Defoe’s journalism skills enabled him to report realism rather than create fiction. Through Moll Defoe has created a strong feminine voice that shows no shame in claiming that it is society that has made her behave the way she did. “There is no moral discovery to be made in Moll Flanders for all the moral talk”, (Arnold Kettle, page 53, An introduction to the English novel). By using the first person narrative in this picaresque novel it is left to the reader to decide whether it is Moll or Defoe’s opinion but either way a feminine public voice has been heard through using the novel as a medium. From this I agree with Jane Spencer that the novel was important to the history of a woman’s search for a public voice.
Richardson also created a powerful feminine voice from a low class status but his character, Pamela, differed hugely from that of Moll, just as Richardson differed from Defoe. But yet like Moll, Pamela was unique and outspoken. Richardson decided to use the epistolary form for his novel and this gave the reader an insight into Pamela’s innermost thoughts and feelings. For me this makes Pamela less credible than Moll. This is mainly due to the fact that she is so restrictive on her thoughts. She makes her character appear perfect but as we know humans are flawed, and showing your flaws helps one human relate to one another and this is why Moll appears to be more realistic than Pamela. Richardson followed the tradition of the conduct book and seems to have created the ‘perfect’ example of how a woman should behave. What makes Pamela unique though is the fact that she believes herself to be equal to the higher classes. The fact that she, a servant, refused her masters sexual advances and preached to him about morals would have been quite a rarity in this period. This could reflect on the changes that happened in this century due to the Act of Union in 1709. This act made Great Britain become a world power and affected the country internally also. There was a sense of new expanding possibilities. The rise of capitalism had strong implications for women as they had little rights and power before this time, but now it was possible to improve oneself as social mobility was beginning to murmur. Pamela seemed to be aware of this but having little money she used her morals and virtue to barter and fight for a better status. In her essay entitled Pamela: Economy, The Novel, and Women, Susan McCraken states that, “If Richardson portrays the growth of selfhood sympathetically and celebrates the individuality of Pamela, he nevertheless suggests powerfully that the good wife is in many ways the good servant”. I agree with this statement as Richardson certainly does raise the question of Pamela’s selfhood yet he keeps her restrained in the traditional social order. He creates an outlet for Pamela’s voice, via her letters to her parents, but when her virtue is rewarded her master and husband gives her permission to continue her ‘scribbling’, but he has some guidelines. She is not permitted to write about his requests, even if she does find them unreasonable. By controlling her pen he is oppressing her freedom of expression. Just like the conduct book, that instructs women how to behave in order to rise in class and status, Richardson has allowed Mr B to dictate her behaviour. However, oppression by males does not hinder the fact that a feminine voice has been created in the first place.
Even though male writers created female voices in their novels, they’re still creating a voice that would not normally have a public outlet. Their discourse depicts a domestic and not a political point of view. By donning a female voice in the first place they are expressing feminine perspectives, emotions and values. Whether women like that voice or believe it does not portray them in a correct light does not hinder the fact that it’s a reflection of the domestic side of society, a side that has been rarely depicted. “Writing for and about the female introduced a whole new vocabulary for social relations, terms that attached precise moral value to certain qualities of mind”, (Nancy Armstrong, page 4). Feminine discourse in novels reflects how language can create power and equality. For example when Mr B pins a naked Pamela to the bed it is her choice and use of words that prevent her suffering further abuse, “Wicked man! Said I; oh God! My God! This time! This one time! Deliver me from this distress! Or strike me dead this moment!”(P, 213). It is her words that prevent the rape. It announcers to the world that this is unacceptable behaviour so by this I agree with Jane Spencer that the novel is important to the history of a woman’s fight for a public voice even though Pamela’s voice differs from the voice that Defoe had created for Moll.
Both Richardson and Defoe expressed in their novels that a woman needed money in order to be independent. In this society it was assumed that men would take care of their women. Either father or husbands were expected to provide for women. This was a huge problem for women because there was no safety net for those women that were widowed etc and this was one of the reasons women had to turn to crime or lose their virtue. Obviously this was a feminine issue, but by depicting it in their novels Defoe and Richardson brought it to public attention. Richardson depicted this plight when Pamela was preparing her bundles to return to her parents. Pamela’s decision to remain independent is reflected by the clothes she decides to wear and take home with her. Her outer appearance is meant to reflect on her inner reality. Mr B tries in vain to dress her as a mistress to announce to society that she is his property but Pamela rejects this and dons her clothes that she has bought and paid for through her own achievements. “There I tricked myself up as well as I could in my garb, and put on my round-eared cap; but with a green knot, however, and my home-spun gown and petticoat and plain leather shoes; but yet they are what they call Spanish leather” (P 87). This extract is also very insightful to Pamela’s identity. It reflects how she perceives herself, her gender, class and status. The changes she describes in her appearance reflect her freedom of choice. It not only reassures her parents that she is not a mistress but reflects that she still values herself. Notice in the extract that she adds ‘ a green knot’ to her humble cap and the fact that she knows her ‘plain leather shoes’ are made from ‘Spanish’ leather. It is as if she is saying that her low class status is complimented with a high intelligence that enables her to attempt to better herself. This message, if read by other servants, could feed them hope and strength for their own futures. Richardson has managed not only to create a model for acceptable behaviour but also a roll model that shows women in the same status that they are just as good as the upper class women. It reflects that women do not necessarily need men or money to be equal or superior.
Defoe chose to reflect a woman’s need for a man or money in order to survive in this society differently to Richardson. He emphasised the need for material goods. At the age of 48 Moll realises that she is too old to remarry therefore she turns to crime in order to survive. She repeatedly tells the reader of her financial gain through this activity and one of the main things she steals or processes is cloth. The emphasis on cloth reflects the fact that the production of cloth was a very important factor to the 18th century economy. “About an hour after, I came to the warehouse, found the warehouse-keeper, and had the goods deliv’d me without any scruple; the value of the linen being about 22 pound” (MF page 236). Moll sees material gain as a means of survival. The more she has the more she craves, thus making her into an accomplished thief. This could also be Defoe’s way of sniping at society about women’s struggles as well-paid women’s jobs were few and far between and many had no alternative but to steal for survival. I do not believe Defoe was condoning this activity but rather showing society that improvements needed to be made for women’s rights in order to create better options for women. Through this it is plain to see just how good the novel was for voicing a woman’s perspective.
In conclusion I agree with Jane Spencer’s statement that the novel is important to the history of a woman’s public voice. By looking at two very different novels that portray women I have shown how their voices and issues have been made public. The most interesting factor I have discovered is how Daniel Defoe thought for women’s rights. It could easily be said that he was one of the pioneering feminists and to be honest I did not expect to discover this in an 18th century successful male. Richardson, on the other hand, seemed to me to be trying to please all the classes. He created the perfect roll model for conduct but along the way he managed to feed hope to the underdogs by creating such a powerful identity belonging to a servant girl. By doing this both Authors have aided women in their struggle and thrown into their society many issues for debate. It was a very good start for women and through an unusual source, one of prose fiction. My findings also show that the female voices that these men created were quite realistic. Defoe’s was the most realistic as Moll said things as they were whereas Pamela seemed more interested in protecting her image and Richardson seemed more interested in preaching conduct but nevertheless both authors had created believable characters within the novel genre.
Shell Woodward
2,519 words excluding extracts and quotations
