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.
