Analysis Of Eliza Haywood's Fantomina

Following her sexual encounter with Beauplaisir disguised as a prostitute, the young heroine of Eliza Haywood’s Fantomina contemplates her actions in relation to the imagined responses of the social world: “the Intrigue being a Secret, my Disgrace will be so too: - - I shall hear no Whispers as I pass, - she is Forsaken: - the odious word Forsaken will never wound my ears; nor will my Wrongs excite either the Mirth or Pity of the talking World” (232). In other words, the young lady expresses relief that her disguise as Fantomina and the concealment of her true identity will protect her from the gossip and judgement of the surrounding social world. When using the phrase ‘social world’, I mean more specifically what Haywood refers to in this …show more content…
The young lady speaks of the “talking World” almost as a beast one must avoid awakening: she is glad that her actions will not “excite” it into action. And although “Whispers”, “Mirth”, and “Pity” do not seem all that terrifying to a modern audience, the true danger in these things lie in their ability to stain the young lady’s “Reputation”, which Haywood notes the young lady took efforts to protect while forfeiting her “Virtue” earlier on the same page. Of course, one must remember the importance of reputation during this time period, as much significance was placed on a lady’s chastity and virginity in the 18th …show more content…
Being that the young lady’s understanding of the social world’s opinions influences her thoughts about herself, one must question whether her ears are truly protected from “the odious word Forsaken”, or really any of the judgements of the social world. To bring Kramnick back into the discussion, he notes a “collapse of thought and action” in Haywood’s story - “as if to think about something were already to have done that thing” (186). This applies not only to Kramnick’s points about consent in Fantomina, but can also be drawn out to explore whether the young lady is as protected from the opinions of the social world as she seems to think. If her thoughts mirror the views of the social world as I claim they do, has the young lady in a way already received the judgement of the social world she is so glad to avoid? Although the young lady’s encounter with Beauplaisir is, in fact, a “Secret”, and her standing in society is not threatened by her actions, she still receives the judgement of society. However, instead of receiving these judgements from the external world, she receives them from within