Moll Flanders

Moll approaches marriage like the budding capitalist that she is: it is a fluid arrangement between two interested parties in which she can acquire some measure of financial security. During this period of English history, among the middle and upper classes, marriage was a contractual agreement between two families; a good match was one in which both families gained something in return. A good match could unite property and land, solidify business interests, or bestow prestige upon one or the other family. The state itself did not oversee marriages until 1753; thus, Moll is able to marry and remarry with ease even when the previous arrangement was not legally dissolved. Marriage, too, is of particular importance to women, especially those of the middle and upper classes. The social mores of the time barred these women from participating in the workplace, and their education consisted of training in the genteel arts, such as singing and dancing, which would make them marriageable material. Marriage was one of the few ways in which women could ensure their safety.

Moll never marries for love, though sometimes she makes overtures to romance. Her first marriage, to her first lover’s brother, is financially lucrative though morally suspect, at least for Moll.