Moll Flanders: Sinner or Saint

Moll Flanders: Sinner or Saint? There are many reasons why Daniel Defoe's classic novel Moll Flanders is still studied today. One of the reasons that it is still so widely studied is that there are significant reasons to doubt the sincerity of Moll's repentance at the end of the novel. Her conversion is attained rather easily, perhaps too easily. Moll herself is supposed to be narrating this text after her conversion, yet her newfound morality …

…with her post-reform actions provide a strong case against her supposed penitence. The evidence in the text points to the idea that perhaps Moll asks the reader to follow her words, not her example, even when she is supposed to be reformed. Although it is unclear why Defoe would imply a false reform in Moll Flanders, this issue is certain to provide a worthy topic of debate for scholars to ponder for years to come.