In a time when promiscuity, free living and women's liberation were not the slogans they have become in the modern era, the title character of Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders lives a life of sexual independence that was shunned in the seventeenth century, a time of forthright ethics and closed-door relationships. “Twelve years as a whore, five times a wife,” Flanders lives an extraordinary life of survival and seduction, using her greatest asset, her beauty, to help her overcome her meager beginnings as an inmate of Newgate Penitentiary. To escape her unfortunate life, Moll soon realizes that while she may not possess monetary wealth, her extraordinary looks are more than enough to earn her a comfortable, albeit nomadic, life. Throughout the novel, we see a woman born into an unfortunate situation, left with little more than her feminine wiles, fighting preconceived notions about sexuality and the norms of a stifling society to improve her inherited position. It is this sexuality, and her willingness to break out of society's standards, that allows Moll to climb the social ladder and finally, at the ripe old age of seventy, reach her pinnacle. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay While Flanders can be seen as an ideal example of freedom achieved through open sexuality, Eve, in John Milton's Paradise Lost, can undoubtedly be seen as the exact opposite. Residing in the Garden of Eden, alone with Adam and living in the embodiment of Paradise, Eve unwittingly uses her sexuality to her disadvantage, allowing Satan (in serpent form) to flatter her incessantly until she finally convinces herself to eat of the fruit prohibited. It is also this innate sexuality that persuades Adam to succumb and ignore God's sole directive, partaking of the Tree of Knowledge. He is unable to resist Eva's pure physical beauty which previously eluded him; instead, he longs to be intimate with her, and this lust overrides all common sense. While Flanders puts her beauty and sexual prowess to good use, Eve, unbeknownst to her, lets her natural sexual magnetism ruin her ideal living situation, and in return takes Adam with her. In a contemporary society awash with sex at every turn, with promiscuity both accepted and applauded today more than ever, and with a woman's sexuality on display for all to see, the story of Moll Flanders might seem pedantic to some. However, in the era in which Defoe wrote his classic, this direct approach was unheard of and the perpetrators of such acts were chastised, often shunned by a conservative society. From an early age, Moll feels a sense of abandonment and can't help but consider herself completely alone in the world. Born to a convicted criminal, Moll is immediately thrown into the cruel justice system and is soon orphaned. Recalling her early childhood, Flanders describes herself as "a poor, desolate girl with no friends, no clothes, no help or help in the world" (7). These lonely, dark words are portentous, and it becomes easier and easier to understand why Moll continually seeks attention in every way possible as she gets older. As Flanders blossoms into a beautiful young woman, she begins to realize the power that her beautiful appearance has on men, like her, "taken for very beautiful, or if you prefer for great beauty, I knew it very well, and I had a as good an opinion as anyone else could have had of me" (16). Despite her growing vanity, she remains naive and has a deep attachment to her first lover, even though he gives her little affection and treats her like aprostitute, giving her "a handful of gold in her hand" (21) . This is Moll's first experience with the influence that sex can have on men, and she is both surprised and delighted that a gentleman would consider her time so valuable as to pay for her services. His early, humble beginnings, along with the sense of abandonment from losing his mother, help sow the seeds for his later promiscuity. Flanders begins to realize her sexuality at an early age and is given the opportunity to experiment and learn from her mistakes. as he goes, taking lessons from each experience and adapting accordingly. In humanity's childhood, however, Eve does not have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past, and her first encounter with her sexuality comes at great cost to the human race. Satan uses loud praise of her impressive physical beauty to distract Eve from God's word; "Thus shone the Tempter, and his proem intoned; In Eve's heart his words made their way" (IX.549-550). Like Flanders, who quickly realizes how beautiful she truly is, Eve's ego is soothed in moments and she is unable to resist the compliments the serpent heaps upon her, despite God's fatalistic warnings. After having succumbed to Satan's praise and the subsequent realization of her physical splendor, Eve returns to Adam, dishonored but unrepentant. With the air of innocence that had previously pervaded the Garden of Eden swept away entirely, Adam sees Eve in a different light for the first time. His first reaction, for a split second, is anger, disgusted by his partner's weakness of will and vanity. However, Adam's initial emotion quickly takes over from sadness, as he cannot imagine living in the Garden without her love, and asks rhetorically, "How can I live without you, how can I give up Your sweet conversation and love?" love so tenderly united, to live again?" in these wild and forsaken woods" (IX.908-910)? At this point, Adam is faced with a species-altering dilemma: he realizes that if he eats the fruit, in direct disobedience to God's orders, he will be cast out of paradise and despised by his Creator. On the other hand, if he rejects Eve and remains pure, he will lose his only companion and the love of his life, willing, or perhaps unable, to refuse Eve's invitation, Adam he yields and: "She gave him that beautiful tempting fruit with a liberal hand: he did not scruple to eat against his better knowledge, not deceived, but with affection" (IX.996-999). Shortly afterwards, reunited once again, this time in mutual sin, Adam and Eve consummate their fall from God's grace, when «carnal desire inflamed, he began to turn lascivious eyes to Eve, she to him as if wildly reciprocating; they burn" (IX. 1012-1015). With the floodgates wide open, there is nothing to stop the couple from fulfilling their physical desires, and they fulfill those desires under the watchful eyes of God, soon to be relegated to a wandering life. Unlike Eva, Flanders' actions are not as carefully monitored, and she takes full advantage of her attractiveness by seeking rich men, both for love and, more often than not, for financial gain. Her story of abandonment continues and Moll finds herself married but alone, an ironic twist that sours her on the sanctity of marriage. As she becomes increasingly frustrated with the unsuccessful nature of her love life, Flanders becomes cynical and realizes that if she is being used, there is no reason not to take full advantage of the men who exploit her. Keep in mind: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay As with most qualities that.