Essays on Moll Flanders

Moll Flanders is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. The novel tells the story of the eponymous Moll, a woman from England who is convicted of theft and sent to America, where she becomes a prostitute and eventually returns to England.Moll is born in Newgate Prison to a woman who is also a prisoner. She is sent to live with her grandparents, who are poor but honest people. When her grandfather dies, her grandmother can no longer afford to keep her, so Moll is sent to a orphanage.At the orphanage, Moll is sexually abused by the owner. She is eventually sold to a brothel, where she works as a prostitute. She is then sold to a plantation owner in Virginia, where she is forced to work as a servant. She eventually escapes and returns to England.Moll then marries a man who is already married. She has several children with him, but he eventually abandons her. She then turns to prostitution to support herself and her children.At the end of the novel, Moll is arrested for her crimes and is sent back to America, where she is to be executed. However, she is pardoned and returns to England, where she lives out the rest of her days in poverty.