Romance and Realism

Explores the way in which female characters in eighteenth centry novels such as Samuel Richardson's 'Pamela' and Daniel Defoe's 'Moll Flanders' subverted societal values and norms of the period.

800 words () | 0 sources | 2002 United Kingdom

Paper Summary:

An analysis of the options for women who wanted to secure financial security in the eighteenth century-particularly the marriage market. This paper shows the romantic concept of the idealized, passive female and observes how female characters subverted this ideal by gaining power through passivity. It focuses on the role of the conduct book and contemporary ideas about female education applied to 'Pamela' and 'Moll Flanders'.

From the Paper:

"Male values undeniably predominated eighteenth century society and directed people in the ways that they could behave in order to be socially acceptable. Interestingly, though, all the major speakers in the early novel are women, for example, Moll Flanders, Roxana, Pamela, Clarissa, etc. How then, did these heroines react to the difficulties of living in a time when every aspect of their lives was governed by the laws of men, for men? Here, I shall explore the textual evidence to discuss whether women in literature found ways to subvert the rules of eighteenth century society, and exert their own influence over their lives or whether they did, in fact, succumb to the norms of society and allow themselves to be dominated by males."