One thing that
truly caught my attention with Moll Flanders so far is the names that are given
to the brothers she grows up with, and later gets entangled with some way or
another. Though we know the younger brother as Robin or Robert, we are never
given a name for the elder brother. He is purely known as the elder brother and
nothing more. ‘Betty’ ends up losing her virginity to the eldest brother and
holds to the naïve thought that the next patriarch in this family tree will be
able to marry this girl that is no more than a lady’s companion. The entire
time, Robin is in the background and truly loves this girl. He even finds
happiness in the fact that he is not the eldest, because with some persuasion,
his family consents to his proposal of marrying Betty because it is rather inconsequential
for the family. Where he goes with his life and who he marries does matter to
the family a little since they find keeping up appearances so important, but
they are much more lax expectations than those placed on his older brother.
I believe that,
though Robin is the less consequential of the brothers when it comes the
family, he is actually named for several reasons. One reason could be because
of his sincerity in his intentions with our main character. The elder brother
knows that he would never Betty. He likes her well enough, but he knows that
she is not the ‘wife’ type for his family and the appearances they need to keep
up. She is simply his flavor of the week. She is fun for now, but he knows it
will not be forever, despite what she thinks.
Another
reason could be the fact that his title in the family is the most important
part about him. He is the eldest son. He will be the one to take his father’s
place when the time comes. His brother’s title is rather unimportant. He will
go out in the world and make his own way for the most part (still in need of
his family’s approval though). Seeing as how his future is less set in stone
than his older brother’s, this could be another reason that Robin is actually
referred to by his name.
Names
seem to play an important role in this novel, whether a person notices it or
not. Moll alone goes through several different name changes. Others are never
named, such as the eldest brother, the nurse who takes care of her for most of
her younger years, the draper who becomes her second husband, even her mother goes
nameless. For those that do not have names it seems that their role in society
is set. Those who are named are still trying to figure it out it seems. The
right name, such as a title, and money are the things you need most in this
world.
I like your insight concerning who is named and not named in "Moll Flanders." Though Moll claims she leaves out most names to "protect the innocent" it makes the multitudinous men in her life very difficult to keep track of. I found my ability to accept the rather soap operatic sequence of gentle(and not so gentle)men in any realistic fashion very difficult. Now as I consider your observations concerning who gets names and who doesn't, I wonder why the banker/clark she marries just prior to turning to a life of crime isn't named either? For he, like Robert/Robin dies in the story, and therefore what ill effect could possibly result from his name being told? I guess we can chalk that up to another possible inconsistency in the narrative vs. the claims made about it, or as you say, he's nameless because his fate and mode of living was already set and therefore unchangeable.
ReplyDeleteYou have some interesting ideas about why Robin/Robert is named in the novel while his brother isn't. In particular, I like your suggestion that the older brother is primarily defined by his role in the family, whereas the younger has more freedom to define himself through his profession.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your thoughts about names in the rest of the novel? Moll is very careful to keep her real name concealed and to keep the public from identifying her as the infamous "Moll Flanders." At the same time, though, she seems to celebrate her notoriety as a thief. She distances herself from her name yet is prideful that it is well known and that she is known as a particularly skilled thief.