Moll Flanders Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. Do you think Moll's life of crime, incest, and cheating makes her into a bad person? Or is she just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
  2. If you'd been in Moll's shoes during the eighteenth century, do you think you would have made any of the same choices she had? If so, which ones?
  3. Which of Moll's relationships do you think is the wackiest, and why? Which is the worst and which is the best?
  4. Defoe presents the book as Moll's autobiography, which he just sort of gathered up. In what ways does Moll Flanders really seem to be written by "Moll Flanders," and when you can tell the real author, Defoe, is sneaking through?
  5. Of all the characters in the book, in your opinion, which one's life is the most depressing (whether s/he knows it or not)?
  6. Do you blame Moll's position in society on her being a woman? Poor? Both? Something else entirely?
  7. Who is Moll Flanders, really? Seriously, we're asking.