Oktavionita

ANDALAS UNIVERSITY

Molls Rebellion toward Double Oppression System in Daniel Defoes

Moll Flanders: a Feminist-Marxist study

A Proposal
By:

Name

: Putri oktavionita

Reg. No

: 1110733004

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
ANDALAS UNIVERSITY
PADANG / 2014

Oktavionita

A. BACKGROUND

In the early eighteenth century, in Europe especially England began the industrial
revolution. This event was signed by enormous usage of machine. Those advantages
can help people to do something to be easier and faster. In fact, this moment gave
positive and negative effect that can change their life. The positive impact from this
moment was Europe became develop country, many industries used machine to
achieve their production in a short time. In the other hand, there were also have a
negative impact many people had lost their job because many company chosen to use
machines. This situation induced for a poor people became poorer, while the rich
became richer. Inequality of life in that era has caused Daniel Defoe gave influence to
his works Moll Flanders.
Daniel Defoe is one of the classic authors that wrote first novel in English
literature, Robinson Crusoe. He began to writes something critics of the danger of
politics, such as a poem True Born Englishman (1701). But he was bored and he was
entering himself to write something about fiction. Some of his fictions are; Robinson
Crusoe, Captain Jack and Moll Flanders (1722).
Moll Flanders that published in 1722, Defoe puts his critic about the effect of the
industrial revolution in England in early eighteenth century. He wrote this novel
based on society in that era. Some people assume that this novel as autobiography
because this story is reflection of those society and Virginia Woolf was argue in one
of her essays, "The Novels of Defoe," this novel not surely popular when it published

Oktavionita

in 1722 because the Victorian audiences less interested about prostitution and
criminals in the novel than another Defoe book about an upstanding, where male
protagonist.
Moll in Moll Flanders is reflection how the poorer who are struggling to survive
in capitalist society. Moll was born from criminal mother, and she got punishment,
when moll was still a baby. Moll grew up and been beautiful woman with good
attitude because she got education by a rich family. Actually she is a good woman,
but something began happen when the older son from the rich family took her to do
sexual relationship and after that he gives some pounds to Moll. She holds out in
capitalist society, she doing anything so that she can escape from poverty. She doing
many marriages, without love only for get some money and wealthy. it seems that
She legalize prostitution by using marriages as disguise . Not only doing prostitutes,
Moll also doing the crime. She doing it after her five husbands could not give her
support and wealth, and in one sides she did not want to back to poverty.
The writer chooses this novel as her research data because the writer wants to
counter some writings that have negative perspective about the main character. The
writer wants to show that in early 18 th century was the beginning of feminist
movement. Moll is one of women heroines who have courage to stand against
patriarchal ideology and capitalist system.

Oktavionita

B. IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEM

Moll in Moll Flanders portrays woman struggle to get achieve. Molls effort to
escape her life from patriarchal ideology. This research focuses on how a woman like
moll could break an assumption that women have an ability from a situation where
she is bound by the power that gives an enormous influence for women, which is
about capitalism and patriarchy are very strong at that time. This involve on FeministMarxist approach. Feminist Marxist criticism rejects women exploitation under
patriarchal ideology. Based on this thought, Feminist Marxist avoids an assumption
that woman has no value but the body.
C. Scope of the Research
To make this research focus and also to limit this research the writer will
answer these questions:
1. How male dominated in class society in 18th century proposed by the novel?
2. What are the impacts of the male domination toward oppressed-woman?
3. How did Moll find her happiness and escape from oppressed system?

D. Objectives of the Research

This study is aimed to show how male-power has enormous effect for certain
society. Men benefited by power and wealth. Beside their wealthy, they also are more
dominant than women in that era. Therefore women have oppression in society and
she was only able to rely on a man. In Moll Flanders, Moll acts like a heroine who

Oktavionita

are able to break these assumptions, she can do what man do. She can prove that she
can survive without a man in amid the bitterness and harshness of life in 18th century.

E. Previous Studies
The writer will use some previous studies as sources. The writer found some
articles about Moll Flanders. The first article written by Ya-huei Wang with the title
Love and money in Daniel dafoes Moll Flanders . He said that Moll has big desire
for money than love, she needs economic security to support her life by doing
legalize marriages.
Marriage in 18th century is not only for love, but for another reasons. Its only for
social status and for financial profit. A rich man has to marry with a rich woman.
Because in that era, beauty is not the important thing for men could falling in love to
women.
The last Wang idea is Moll is representation of abandoned women in 18th era,
where the wealthy only can safety. In fact, there was no service for widow and many
women were dying from starvation.
The second, Jennifer Chaskavich in her articles A Fortunate Dialect: Class,
Language, and Survival in Defoes Moll Flanders. Moll Flanders has sense of upper
class language, but based on translates in the implication and semantic is for the
lower class. his mother had let fall some speeches, as if she intended to put me out

Oktavionita

of the family; that is, in English, to turn me out of doors. Her statements show that
she in two different context situation. In one side she thought that his mother will
consider protecting herself and preserving her family and property. But in one side
Moll describes about low-status about her physical safety.
Moll is a gentlewoman who uses the high and low class mentalities to survive
with exploit language. She uses specific language to justify in her life problem, such
as marriages, childhood and crimes. the soul is made desperate by distress;
and what can be done? (189)

Her lower class action describes that she justified in doing the criminal to survive,
especially in stealing. From she was childhood, she live in poverty, alone, without her
parents. She was a poor baby. She always blaming herself, I had given the parents
a just reproof for their negligence in leaving the poor little lamb to come home by
itself and refers to the vanity of the mother. And to escape from the poverty, she
tries to survive with do the criminal act.
F. Theoretical Framework
The writer will apply Feminist Marxism approach for this research. The first,
the writer will explain the feminist approach. Feminist is theory about equality
between men and women, in political, sociological, and economical and the other else
but sex. In feminist, we also know about patriarchy. Patriarchy based on Lindsey
German (2006) is;

Oktavionita

a set of social relations between men, which have a material base, and which,
though hierarchical, establish or create interdependence or solidarity among
men that enable them to dominate women.
Based on those statements we know that patriarchy is an incorrect
understanding of social relationships, where men can dominate women. Kate Millet
in Social Politic also argues about patriarchy, she assumes that:
Our society, like all other historical civilization, is a patriarchy. The fact is
evident at once if one recalls that the military, industry, technology,
universities, science, political office, and financein short, every avenue of
power within the society, including the coercive force of the police, is entirely
in male hands. (Sexual Politics 1970: 25)
Both of those argument, we get the point about patriarchal ideology which is a
false thought that will give negative effect for women where women will have little
place in society. While men have more power in social, political and economical.
Some figures, who pioneered feminist movement, are Mary Wollstonecraft.
She is the mother of the merry Shelley (Frankenstein). Her mother is a mover the
feminist movement, who was born in 1759 and died in 1797. In her book A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman thought that boys and girls should get the same
rights to education as well as they should be equally responsible for care to their
children. (calrk)

Oktavionita

Another woman movement is Virginia Woolf. She is a key

figure in the modernist literary movement. She is the female writer
that writes between WW I and II. Based on her 1929 essay, "A Room
of One's Own," says;
you need privacy, money, and good food to do good work.
If you have a lousy meal, how could you be in the mood to
write beautifully? If you don't have any privacy, how will
you get your thought down on paper without your husband
or your kid bugging you? If you have to work at odd jobs for
money, how will you find time to write? (Shmoop Editorial
Team)
Both of female author, we know that feminist focus on gender
equity between men and women, especially to equality of gender
roles.
Marxist literary criticism focuses on economic and society. Marxist is A
revolutionary critique of capitalist society (Hitchcock) . in Marxist we also know
about capitalist ideology. Capitalism is;
an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the
means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made

Oktavionita

and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations,

especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.
(oxford)
Feminist literary criticism and Marxist literary criticism commonly have
similarities. Both of them also do have power. Feminist dominated by men who are
known with the term patriarchal ideology while the Marxist controlled by the
capitalist system. In this case the writer will apply two theories rejecting these
powers, so the authors combine these two theories to strengthen the research.
Feminist Marxist is the oppression by women because of capitalist society and
subordination for women. In this approach, women are object exploitation by men.
Based on Barred in her book Women Oppression Today said Marxist feminist
will involve an emphasis on capitalism and oppression of the women. (Barred 9)

G. The Method of the Research

In conducting the research, there are some steps to be followed. First is
collecting the data. The primary data from this research is the narrative data from
Moll Flanders novel. And the secondary data are taken from literary theory books
and article related to this study. These data is collected by reading the books, articles,
and browsing the internet.
The next step is analyzing the data. The referential method will be used to
identify some Feminism and Marxisms issues especially from the women struggle in

Oktavionita

patriarchy and capitalist society that occurs in the novel and the impact of the
patriarchy and capitalist itself into the main character. It will apply Feminist
Marxism.
The third step is presenting the result of the research. In presenting the result
of the research, the descriptive method will be applied, which is the qualitative one.
Qualitative research is a descriptive research which is the data is collected in words
rather than in numbers.