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TWO PICARESQUE NOVELS.
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Criticisms of both novelists of the social structure.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Criticisms of both novelists of the social structure. Daniel Defoe's "MOLL FLANDERS," and the anonymously written novel "LAZARILLO DE TORMES." Similarities including main character moving through a series of relationship and ultimately finding success. Plot structure, irony. Defoe's concern with economic structure of his time. Both novelists' criticism of their societies.
Paper Introduction:
Different writers criticize their societies in their works and show both the nature of that society at the time of their writing and what they would substitute for it. Some novels are more socially directed than others and more overt about their social criticism. Indeed some novels survive precisely because of the strength of their criticism of the society that existed at the time they were written. The anonymously written novel Lazarillo de Tormes is not as well known as Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, and it has been read through the ages more for what it says about the society it reflects than anything else, while Moll Flanders is read as much for its ribaldry as its societal critique. Still, both works show that their respective authors were fully aware of the world in which they lived, were critical of aspects of the social structure, and were well able to make their
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Daniel Defoe is more overt in his critique of society in Moll Flandersa book which is more self-conscious about the learning experiences of isprotagonist and about the social forces shaping her and those she meets, asPaula R. The differentchapters show what happens with each of the masters and also what Lazarillolearns from the experience. This is why"Moll moves through its parishes and streets; she blends anonymously withthe fashionable in St. Boston: Twayne, 199 .Defoe, Daniel. In this editorialvoice, Defoe says that "the pen employed in finishing her story, and makingit what you now see it to be, has had no little difficulty to put it into adress fit to be seen, and to make it speak language fit to be read"(Defoe). Lazarillosays his mother asked the blind man "to be good to me and look after me,since I would be an orphan now. Boston: Twayne, 1979.The Life of Lazarillo of Tormes, Parts One and Two, Robert S. Rudder (tr.). Project Gutenberg E-Text, December 1995.Dunn, Peter N. Lazarillo de Tormes is born in the river Tormes and takes his namefrom that fact. Without these things, "her home can be 'swept away,'she can be coerced into a loveless marriage she believes incestuous, shecan be driven to commit crimes, and she can be insulted and ignored"(Backscheider 93). He describes Moll as "the offspring of debauchery and vice, [who]comes to give an account of all her vicious practices, and even to descendto the particular occasions and circumstances by which she ran through inthreescore years" (Defoe). The novel consists of a prologue and seven chapters, andit is part autobiography beginning with the birth of the protagonist andcontinuing through his childhood to a recounting of his hardships withvarious masters until he achieves a place of relative comfort and security. Rudder (tr.). Moll Flanders givesthis reality a gender base, but such exploitation is true for both men andwomen in some fashion in this era in both Spain and England. Duringthat time, there were perhaps too "many works full of knights who weremanly and brave enough to fight any adversary, but prone to become weak inthe knees when they saw their fair lady nearby" (Rudder). Thissuggests as well a changing view of the society, with more literate peoplein the lower classes interested in reading about people more likethemselves rather than about the upper-class heroes that had long dominatedSpanish literature. . The child's father was a miller, a fact which Peter N. . Works CitedBackscheider, Paula R. The young man becomes associated first with ablind man, for instance, designated only as "blind man," and this is hisfirst master, the man who takes him from his mother and on his firstjourney. Thus, it was no"wonder that Lazarillo, whose only goal was to fill a realistically hungrystomach, should go straight to the hearts of all Spain" (Rudder). Rudder notes in an introduction to a recent translation: "Lazarillo ofTormes appeared in sixteenth-century Spain like a breath of fresh air amonghundreds of insipidly sentimental novels of chivalry" (Rudder). Most of the characters in this book are identified not by name but byposition or characteristic. Dunn describes the book as aBildungsroman, or "a novel which traces the growth and formation of themind and personality of the chief character" (Dunn 28). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey" Prentice-Hall, 197 .Rudder, Robert S. There is irony even in the way themoral lesson is to be presented, for Defoe in the Preface says that to showrepentance it is necessary to show immorality: "To give the history of awicked life repented of, necessarily requires that the wicked part shouldbe make as wicked as the real history of it will bear, to illustrate andgive a beauty to the penitent part, which is certainly the best andbrightest, if related with equal spirit and life" (Defoe). This difference is what made the book popular, as RobertS. James Park, with the crowds of shoppers in theStrand, with the fugitives in the Mint; and she slips into Clerkenwell tosell her booty" (Backscheider 33). Dunn says issignificant to show a break with an older tradition in literature: "Thistells us immediately that the book is antichivalric, for it rejects allthose grand sounding names like Amadis de Gaula, Lisuarte de Grecia, andthe grand adventures they undertake" (Dunn 18). In truth, though, the young manis not only treated as a servant and not a son, but the old man is stingyand cunning and makes it difficult for the boy to survive. The opinions of the author areexpressed throughout the book, often through the observations of Mollherself, as when she comments early in the book on the fact that aneighboring country takes care of orphans and teaches them a trade,something England did not. Shepraises the boy's potential through describing his father, who had been agood man that had died valiantly in the holy battle of Gelves. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1973. Different writers criticize their societies in their works and showboth the nature of that society at the time of their writing and what theywould substitute for it. The society reflected in each is thus different in bothtime and place. It is also a concernin this novel, however: "Moll Flanders has often been read as a powerfulcondemnation of Defoe's society, and especially of its materialism . Dunn says that the way these events unfold is ironic ratherthan serving as an example to others, and here again there is inherentsocial criticism involved: "Values are neither asserted nor called intoquestion; rather, assumed traditional values are pictured in a state ofdereliction, each man embodying the value opposite to what he normallyrepresents (probity, charity, honor, etc.) in his social being. At the same time, as Dunn notes, Lazarillodoes not pause to reflect on what he has learned but simply incorporates itinto his life. Thus, he says, "an author must be hard put toit wrap it up so clean as not to give room, especially for vicious readers,to turn it to his disadvantage" (Defoe). Actually, the book doesnot reject them so much as subvert them, for clearly Lazarillo does havesuch a name, in sound at least, though he represents a different socialclass and a different relationship to the world. .Moll's initiation into this society can be equated with an education in thesignificance of money, and money means independence, love, and respect"(Backscheider 93). Moll Flanders. Thisview sees man as a creature motivated mainly by self: self-love, self-interest, and self-defense" (Novak 43). The story is similar to that in Lazarillo de Tormes in that the maincharacter moves through a series of relationships, begins in modestcircumstances, and ends in a life of prosperity in her old age. The anonymously written novelLazarillo de Tormes is not as well known as Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders,and it has been read through the ages more for what it says about thesociety it reflects than anything else, while Moll Flanders is read as muchfor its ribaldry as its societal critique. Still, both works show thattheir respective authors were fully aware of the world in which they lived,were critical of aspects of the social structure, and were well able tomake their critique an important element in the stories they told. "Conscious Irony in Moll Flanders: Facts and Problems." In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Moll Flanders, Robert C. Moll Flanders: The Making of a Criminal Mind. He told her he would and said that Iwouldn't be a servant to him, but a son. The second was connected with natural law. Some novels are more socially directed thanothers and more overt about their social criticism. The Spanish Picaresque Novel. The rise of Lazarillo is charted as he movesfrom one master to another, and the way he is treated depends on the mastermore than on his own good behavior or anything else he can easily control. And so I began to serve and guidemy new old master" (Lazarillo de Tormes). He thought I would be a good guide for him, so he asked my motherif I could serve him, and she said I could" (Lazarillo de Tormes). Both novels would be described as picaresque, meaning they involvetravel from one place to another and a number of different situationsbefalling the hero or heroine. the first was a standard Christian morality with charity as thehighest of virtues . Both novels have this central theme in some degree, forLazarillo is also forced to submit to various masters because his societydoes not provide for those who are not wealthy, while the wealthy have notrouble caring for themselves and exploiting others. Ironyinfuses the social criticism and plot structure of this novel as in theSpanish one, and this is evident in the way moral issues may seem confusedif the reader tires to impose too rigid an interpretation on the moralissues raised in the story: "In his fiction Defoe operated on two levels ofmorality. Moll Flanders begins in Essex, but most of the story takes place inthe City of London. Lazarillo is a work from Spain, while Moll Flanders isa British novel. Interestingly, though, both titles originally included thedescription that the book contained the main character's "Fortunes andMisfortunes," presumably a common designation for novels of the era. The society is criticized inherently because of the values that areembodied in many of its representatives. As aresult, Lazarillo becomes an appropriate product of that sequence ofnegative models" (Dunn 28). The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes waspublished in 1554, while The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders waspublished in 1722. Elliott (ed.), 4 -48. The story is told by Lazarillo himself, andhis response to the social order is what is important in the shaping of thestory and the development of the theme of learning and ironic contrast withthe social order. "Introduction." In The Life of Lazarillo of Tormes, Parts One and Two, Robert S. This is evident in thepreface, written by a supposed editor of Moll's story. Backscheider notes when she writes that "Moll Flanders reflectsthe economic problems of the first decades of the eighteenth century.Although Moll dramatizes the particular difficulties of women, it is notshe alone who finds making a living difficult" (Backscheider). New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1973.Novak, Maximillian E. His adventures are notachieved by undertaking grand adventures but by surviving and succeedingagainst all odds. Indeed some novelssurvive precisely because of the strength of their criticism of the societythat existed at the time they were written. At the same time, "the very anonymitythat the city gives her emphasizes the loneliness, alienation, andindividuality that are so important to Defoe's themes" (Backscheider 33).This is a novel that is intended to teach a moral lesson, and the nature ofthe main character as a "fallen woman" suggests that the reader is to bemorally informed by the mistakes she makes. He also beatsthe boy from time to time. Lazarillo relates his memory of what should have been a simpleand honest beginning: "About this time a blind man came by and stayed atthe inn. Essex is a region of rich farmland, but for Defoe,London was the great city in England and a place he loved. In fact,"one of Moll's husbands goes broke, another loses a sum of money he loanedand dies in despair, and another, like so many of his countrymen, is forcedto emigrate (Backscheider 1). One of Defoe's primary concerns was with the economic structure of histime, something he wrote about extensively elsewhere. .
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