摩尔·弗兰德斯 (1722)

摩尔·弗兰德斯是丹尼尔·笛福于1721年创作的小说，讲述奇女子摩尔的一生。

故事简介

摩尔自幼由吉普赛人收养，14时被一名好心的夫人收留，和夫人的女儿一起读书。同住期间，夫人的大儿子诱奸摩尔，不过摩尔最后却与夫人的小儿子罗宾结婚。罗宾死后摩尔与一名商人再婚，但很快摩尔就跟了一名船长到美国，可惜这名船长竟然是摩尔同父异母的兄弟。回到英国，摩尔先后再与发疯的绅士、银行职员及骗子发生恋情，并生下数名小孩。最终，摩尔决定和骗子杰米一起被流放到美国，两人在美国重新上路，聚集了不少财富，临终前回到英国忏悔一生的罪恶。

Moll Flanders is a picaresque novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be an autobiographical account of the life of the eponymous heroine, detailing her exploits from birth until old age as she uses her wits, cunning and charm to provide herself with financial security.

While the novel is now generally attributed to Defoe, and his name is given as the author in modern printings, the original text does not list an author and was presented as an autobiography. The attribution to Defoe was first made by bookseller Francis Noble in 1770, thirty-nine years after Defoe's death in 1731.

Moll Flanders has been adapted numerous times for stage, radio, film and television. It has historically been the subject of occasional police censorship.

Plot

“Moll Flanders” informs the reader that this is not her real name, but an alias to protect her identity for legal reasons. She details her birth in Newgate Prison to a mother who delayed execution by “pleading her belly”, a custom of postponing death by claiming pregnancy. After giving birth, Moll’s mother is given a reprieve on her sentence and transported to British America instead, while Moll ends up with a travelling Romani family, from whom she escapes in the city of Colchester. A three year old Moll is placed in the care of a kind Nurse, who encourages her dreams of becoming a gentlewoman.

After her Nurse dies, a teenage Moll becomes the servant of a wealthy family. She is seduced by the family’s eldest son, who promises to marry her when he comes into his inheritance. However, after the youngest son, Robin, unexpectedly confesses his love for Moll, the eldest son reneges on his promise and convinces his parents to approve the marriage. A devastated Moll marries Robin and has several children.

Robin dies five years later. Moll leaves their children in the care of her in-laws and moves to London, where she passes herself off as a wealthy widow to attract a husband who can provide her with financial security. She marries a spendthrift tradesman and has another child who dies in infancy. After giving Moll a life of luxury, her husband runs afoul of his creditors and flees to France, instructing Moll to remarry as if he were dead. Moll takes refuge in the Mint and first begins to use the name “Moll Flanders”. She befriends a young woman, who she helps to win back the affections of a man who had recently spurned her. The woman in turn introduces Moll to a wealthy Captain who owns a plantation in Virginia, and Moll is soon married once again.

Moll and her husband emigrate to his plantation, where she is introduced to his mother. After three more children, one of whom dies, Moll learns that her mother-in-law is actually her own biological mother, which makes her husband her half-brother. At the urging of her mother, Moll keeps the information to herself, but emotionally withdraws from her marriage. This drives her husband into depression until Moll is forced to reveal the truth to him. They agree to dissolve the marriage and Moll returns to England, leaving her children in Virginia.

Moll moves to Bath to seek another husband, where she befriends a married gentleman whose wife has been confined due to insanity. Their relationship becomes sexual, and Moll falls pregnant. She becomes a kept woman, with her gentleman paying for lodgings in Hammersmith as she gives birth to their son. However, the gentleman later survives a near-fatal illness and breaks off their arrangement. Moll leaves their son in his care, assured he will be well looked after.