Concetti Chiave
- Daniel Defoe, a part-time writer and businessman, faced bankruptcy due to failed speculations but became a successful novelist at sixty with works like Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders.
- Defoe's writing often included moral teachings, blending realistic storytelling with his Puritan beliefs, as seen in his advocacy against ecclesiastical intolerance.
- Robinson Crusoe is considered the first modern novel, featuring detailed realism and a fictitious narrative that mirrors true events, celebrating the English mercantile spirit and colonial themes.
- Moll Flanders, a narrative of a woman's journey through life, depicts a new type of heroine who uses her beauty and intelligence to navigate a hostile world, emphasizing marriage as a commercial contract.
- Defoe's novels employ first-person narratives that simulate autobiographies, focusing on detailed character descriptions and realistic settings, enhancing the authenticity of the stories.
In 1704 he also founded The Review, a periodical. He died in London in 1731 alone and full of debts.
Shortest way with Dissenters
Defoe advocated the total suppression of all Dissenters. An evident attack against ecclesiastical intolerance.
He had to come to terms with his Puritan ideas, according to which fiction was a form lying and consequently wrong, so he decided to write likely/true stories, all containing a moral teaching . His purpose had been the highly moral desire to convert the vicious and to warn the innocent.
Robinson Crusoe
It is Defoe’s first novel and also one of the most popular books. In writing a novel about a shipwrecked sailor on a desert island Defoe was using books about the sea and seems that he have had specifically in mind a Scottish sailor who had managed to survive alone on the island of Juan Fernandez.
Robinson Crusoe is considered the first modern novel. We have a fictitious narrative which the narrator tries to pass off as true, where realistic events are very important. The story is told by a first person narrator by way of diary and is thus a fake autobiography. Places are not generic but carefully described. Robinson is the celebration of the English mercantile classes spirit, the representative of the Englishmen who was colonizing the world, and the archetype pioneer: he is armed only with his own strength and intelligence and has the firm conviction that he has god on his side. He also establishes supremacy over the natives, getting Friday to use his own language and convert to his own religion with the firm conviction of having the duty and the right to do this.
Friday’s physical appearance is described not generically but in detail, which is typical of the novel’s detailed realism. Robinson described Friday as a well-proportioned healthy young man and praises him also for not looking too much like a typical colored man (with a small nose not flat like the negroes), this remarked Robinson’s dislike of non-european races (nauseous tawny of Brazilian, dun olive colour of Friday).
Robinson instructed Friday in the Christian religion and Friday’s comment on the differences between it and his own religion. He also criticize the Catholic Church.
Moll Flanders
is a fake autobiography: Moll tells the story of her life in her old age and unlike Robinson Crusoe the novel doesn’t rely on the fascination of the exotic. Defoe’s heroin is representative of new type of woman. She doesn’t have advantages for a good education or a family, so she has to look after herself in a hostile world. She quickly realizes that her main chance of making her way through the world lies in her ability to exploit her beauty and intelligence, so Moll is set on becoming a gentlewoman: she is ready to sacrifice everything even her virtue. There is a first person narrator who always tries to justify his actions and errors as due to inexperience or bad luck.
The story of her life is an endless series of adventures: she married several times and has several children, she goes to jail, but finally she becomes a rich and respectable woman.
Molly point out her ideas about marriage: it isn’t abstract or the consequence of a prejudice, she considers marriage only a commercial contract in which the man is luckier rather then woman.
Name of protagonist, Realistic novel, Diary, Autobiography, First person narrator
Setting: exotic places and London, Alone and Other People, Man and Woman.
Domande da interrogazione
- ¿Cuál fue el impacto de las especulaciones financieras de Daniel Defoe en su vida?
- ¿Qué caracteriza a "Robinson Crusoe" como una novela moderna?
- ¿Cómo aborda Defoe la religión en "Robinson Crusoe"?
- ¿Qué representa Moll Flanders en la novela de Defoe?
- ¿Cómo se describe la relación entre Robinson y Viernes en la novela?
Las especulaciones financieras erróneas de Defoe lo llevaron a la bancarrota, a pesar de sus esfuerzos por convertirse en un caballero rico.
"Robinson Crusoe" es considerada la primera novela moderna por su narrativa ficticia presentada como verdadera, con eventos realistas y un narrador en primera persona que utiliza un diario, creando una autobiografía falsa.
En "Robinson Crusoe", Defoe muestra al protagonista instruyendo a Viernes en la religión cristiana, destacando las diferencias con la religión de Viernes y criticando a la Iglesia Católica.
Moll Flanders representa un nuevo tipo de mujer que, sin ventajas educativas o familiares, utiliza su belleza e inteligencia para sobrevivir en un mundo hostil, considerando el matrimonio como un contrato comercial.
Robinson establece su supremacía sobre Viernes, enseñándole su idioma y religión, con la convicción de tener el deber y derecho de hacerlo, reflejando una actitud colonialista.
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