In conclusion to Robinson Crusoe… I did not like it. I found the character to be annoying and arrogant. I do not have anything really insightful to say about it. It just really bothered me. So I took the liberty of reading the next book earlier than planned so that I could blog about it…
After reading Robinson Crusoe, I did not expect to like Fantomina; however, it turned out to be a really enjoyable book. I read it in one sitting, as it is very short and an easy read. Her various plots against this man she claimed to love, Beauplaisir, were both hilarious and ingenious. I cannot believe that someone during this time period would devise such a plot. I assume that this book would have caused a lot of scrutiny and criticism from both the author’s peers and readers. A female protagonist is not all that common during the 19th century, so I can only imagine that it was not all together common during the 1800s as well. A female author[ess] who did not disguise her name seems to also be rare from what I have learned about Victorian novels. I do not know much about this period, but I expect that this will be an interesting topic. To create such a devious character as Fantomina (whose real name we never learn) is probably quite unique for this era. I am really looking forward to discussing this novel in class, and learning about the author[ess]: Eliza Haywood. I expect everyone will enjoy this book. I end my blog here, not wanting to ruin it any further for the other students.
Your remarks lead to some interesting questions about verisimilitude and whether it has any place in a discussion of this text. The narrative is surely far-fetched at times (either that or Beauplaisir has very poor eyesight).