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Katie Ahlstrom
Dr. Amy Watkin
ENG 336
9/29/2014

Narrative Transvestism: Defoes Opinions Voiced through Moll Flanders

This paper discusses the concept of narrative transvestism in the novel Moll Flanders
through Daniel Defoes method of writing in a female voice. In the novel, a reader can
specifically see that Defoe uses narrative transvestism as a literary tool to present his opinions
about several topics through the voice of his female narrator, Moll. First, this paper outlines how
Defoe voices his thoughts about the gender divide and feminism in the eighteenth century. It then
discusses Defoes/Molls push for the reform of marriage law in England, as Defoe may have
been wary of the laws himself; he incorporated his opinions into Moll Flanders voice. This
paper also covers Molls incestuous relationship with her half-brother and why Defoe may have
strongly encouraged his readers to steer clear of such relationships.

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In the novel Moll Flanders, author Daniel Defoe writes his story in the voice of his
female heroine, Moll Flanders. Defoe, a male, writes in a first-person point of view as a female,
and is therefore able to present and his opinions about English society in a much different way
than simply stating them outright. This idea of narrative transvestism, or the concept in which an
author writes in a gender opposite their own, can bring about some interesting thoughts. This tool
was especially useful during a time in English history when womens voices were rarely, if ever,
heard in public. During the eighteenth century, it may have been easy for men to speak for
women, but Defoe chose to speak through a woman. Throughout the novel, Defoe uses Moll
Flanders voice as a woman to present his own opinions about gender, marriage, and incest.
The eighteenth century brought light to many topics of interest in the English society. Not
only did science and literature become more developed, the idea of feminism began to emerge.
There became a sudden interest in literature and a rise in print culture, and educated women
jumped at the opportunity to speak their minds through writing. The eighteenth century
introduced female authors to the public sphere, allowing them to play a significant role in the
early development of the novel, and modern feminist theory was born as a result (Pollak, 14).
While feminism was not immediately accepted, debates about gender were hot in the
literary realm. Discussions spurred about how gender could have the ability to change peoples
responses to literature, and various works started to reflect feminist ideas. In Moll Flanders,
Defoe used narrative transvestism to present his own views about gender.
In Ian Watts book, The Rise of the Novel, Watt touches on the idea of transvestism in
Moll Flanders, stating that while Moll has many feminine traits such as her desire for nice
clothes and linens as well as her wifely tendencies with her husbands, she also has masculine
traits: her habits involving casual sex and thievery were seen as predominantly masculine (Watt,

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113). Watt is criticizing Moll for being unfeminine when, as Madeleine Kahn states, she isnt a
woman: she is a male authors narrative device, and her unfeminine traits are important not
because they destroy the illusion of the female narrator but because they draw attention to it
(Kahn, 10). In other words, Defoe may have been highlighting Molls masculine traits in his
writing to emphasize that a womans goals in the eighteenth century may not have been very
different than a mans.
The opposing view could argue that Molls masculine traits are simply part of a welldeveloped character. However, one who does not take Defoe into account would not see that, not
only is Moll a believable character, but she was written so Defoe could easily identify with her.
In the text, Moll takes her masculinity so far that she actually dresses in male clothing to disguise
herself for several thieving escapades. Defoes narrator tells readers the Governess had
disguisd me like a Man, so she joynd me with a Man, a young Fellow that was Nimble enough
at his business, and for about three Weeks we did very well together (169). She and this young
fellow worked together, and her disguise was successful, as he never knew that [she] was not a
man (170). Molls cross-dressing adventure played on the idea of actual transvestism, in which
Defoe was able to project his provisional writing self, and put parts of himself into the phallic
woman he creates (Kahn, 19). In other words, Defoe actually placed his own physical being into
Molls shoes when she temporarily assumed a male persona. This was so the author could
achieve further identification with the heroine and her gender. It is possible this instance was also
a way for Defoe to make a statement about society at the time; women in the eighteenth century
were covered up by men because they were supposedly more capable and more successful at
their work. However, Defoes ability to flip this concept upside-down by disguising himself in
Molls dresses, so to speak, is a clear example of how narrative transvestism works to show that

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if he can be a successful writer, women can be successful as well. According to Kahn, Moll is
simply Defoe dressed in a skirt and that her story is in effect an autobiography because Defoe
was incapable of writing anything else (63).
In addition to his comments about feminism in Moll Flanders, Defoe also makes subtle
observations about marriage law in the eighteenth century. It seems Defoe battles thoughts about
how he feels the marriage process should be changed. Instead of blatantly stating these thoughts,
however, Defoe uses Moll Flanders to personify and present these issues to the real world in a
feminine voice.
According to an article by Melissa J. Ganz titled Moll Flanders and English Marriage Law,
Defoe clearly uses narrative transvestism to present his case about marriage. According to Ganz,
the Moll Flanders novel itself was published in a society where the laws made it very easy to
form unions and yet made it impossible to dissolve them (158). It is likely Defoe saw marriage
laws during the time he wrote Moll Flanders as unfair or immoral. According to English canon
law, it was legal for couples to form contract marriages, in which they could exchange
unconditional marriage vows in the present tense (Ganz, 159). In other words, if a couple
chose to make a commitment to each other, make vows and prove it to be true before the canon
court system, they would then be legally recognized as a married couple. However, the proof
required for the court system had to be very strong, and both parties needed to affirm the vows
have been made.
In the novel, Defoe seems to clearly point out his disagreement for contract marriages
each time Moll is married to another man. The first representation of this is when Moll begins
a relationship with the eldest son of her employer. It is in this relationship where she has her first
marriage-like encounter where vows are actually made. There are clear vows exchanged in

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which Moll states that the older brother had Engaged himself to marry [her], and that [her]
consent was at the same time Engaged to him; that he had all along told [her she] was his Wife,
and [she] looked upon [her] self effectually so (31). This is a clear example of Defoes use of
transvestism to describe the concept of a contract marriage. Defoe uses Molls voice to personify
the vows made by the couple, and this clearly shows that an unofficial contract had been made
between them. To most people at the time, this would have been enough of a commitment
especially to the poorer citizens. However, Defoes opinions became clear that he may not have
approved of contract marriage when, in a legal sense, the relationship between Moll and the
older brother would never have been proven to the canon court system; the elder brother denies
that he even made these claims to Moll, and therefore the relationship never qualified as a legal
marriage.
This example shows how narrative transvestism can be effective in Eighteenth Century
literature. According to the Ganz article, Defoe may have been suggesting that some of the
uncertainty surrounding courtship would be alleviated if couples were unable to form contract
marriages; a woman would know precisely what point she becomes a wife (167). It is possible
that Defoe, as a male in society, could have simply voiced his opinions outright, but it may never
have been noticed or heard by anyone. However, by representing his opinion and pairing it with
the attention-getting way of writing it in through the eyes of a female heroine, his push for a
reform in English marriage laws at the time may have been noticed even further.
The concept of narrative transvestism in Moll Flanders translates even further when
Defoe introduces incest when Moll unintentionally became involved with her half-brother. It is
clear that, in this relationship, Defoe was trying to present his disgust incestuous relationships
while also trying to preserve a womans need for family ties. According to an article by Thomas

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Grant Olsen (2001), the incest in the novel threatens symbolic death for the characters and the
narrative, but to remain silent about it also equals death (476). If Moll had chosen not to tell her
half-brother they were related, not only would Moll have likely stayed with him, but novel itself
would have also ended.
It seems clear that Defoe felt it was necessary to put this in the novel because it was both
important to keeping the story alive and to show his disapproval for incestuous situations. The
transvestism concept here is effective because Defoe challenged it by urging Moll to escape the
situation even though it meant she had to break ties with her family. In her article, Kahn suggests
that Defoe and the narrator share the same boundaries; Defoe believes an author stands behind
these narrators, and his writing thus reflects that the limits of his narrators self-awareness are
also his limits (64). Perhaps it is because of this that Defoe felt it is necessary to preach morals
to his readers by keeping them away from having incestuous relationships while also
encouraging better family relationships. In presenting it in a female lens, Defoe may have even
pushed this even further.
For authors in the eighteenth century, narrative transvestism was used as a tool to project
their voices more interestingly into the world. The use of the opposite gender, while it was an
odd concept at the time, pushed authors to see issues from a different angle. Defoe was able to
challenge feminism and gender, marriage and incest issues from a female perspective while also
voicing his own opinions about those topics. Narrative transvestism could easily be used to give
women a stronger voice if it was written by a man. While it is possible Moll Flanders could have
been seen as a masculinized woman, she was still able to live out her life as a free woman with
intentions to succeed. Had Defoe written Moll as a male character, this novel would have been
drastically different.

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Bibliography
Blewett, David. "Changing Attitudes Toward Marriage in the Time of Defoe: The Case of Moll
Flanders." Huntington Library Quarterly 44.2 (1981): 77-88. Print.

Defoe, Daniel,. Moll Flanders. London,: J.M. Dent & Sons ltd.;, [1960]. Print. Everyman's
Library, Fiction.

Ganz, Melissa J. ""Moll Flanders" and English Marriage Law." Eighteenth Century Fiction 17.2
(2005): 157-82. Print.

Kahn, Madeleine. Narrative Transvestism: Rhetoric and Gender in the Eighteenth Century
English Novel. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1991. Print.

Novak, Maximillian E. "A Whiff of Scandal in the Life of Daniel Defoe." Huntington Library
Quarterly 34.1 (1970): 35-42. Print.

Olsen, Thomas Grant. "Reading and Righting "Moll Flanders"." Studies in English Literature,
1500-1900 41.3, Restoration and Eighteenth Century (2001): 467-81. Print.

Pollak, Ellen. "Moll Flanders, Incest, and the Structure of Exchange." Incest and the English
Novel, 1684-1814. Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 2003. 110. Print.

Pollak, Ellen. "The Future of Feminist Theory and Eighteenth-Century Studies." The Eighteenth
Century 50.1 (2009): 13-20. Project MUSE. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.
Watt, Ian P. The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding. London: Chatto
& Windus, 1957. Print.

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