Realism And Credibility In Mol

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in the process of being established. The question arises whether the two works lack a certain roundness in their narrators.
In Aphra Behn's work there is both a rejection and an acceptance of traditional plots: the Surinam episodes are far from established plots. The story is innovative, for example, inasmuch as the hero is black and enslaved. Behn actually was among the first
to contribute to the image of the 'noble savage' in literature, seventy years before Rousseau did. It is now commonly accepted that Behn probably experienced this part of the plot herself. The first part which takes place in Africa, on the other hand, is very
traditional: it follows patterns of the typical oriental tale like “Arabian Nights” or narratives in the romance tradition narration.
Moll Flanders is indebted to the tradition of the picaresque. It is the fact that Moll's life is ordinary and her story is presented in episodes which make it life-like. Thus,
the rejection of traditional ...

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identification with her narrator. Reading between the lines, the picture of an independent woman arises.
Moll is quite one-sided because all her concerns in life are of an economic nature. Her character is revealed by her actions and thoughts but we know few details of her marriages, nor does she express any emotions without mentioning economic matters in
the same sentence. She is completely devoted to material comfort.
Both narrators are conscious about their individuality because they feel unique in their environment. For example neither of them identifies with wicked people of their own class, a circumsatnce which is expressed in the skilful use of personal pronouns:
"...'tis ...

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