The Power of a Name
In Fantomina or Love in a Maze, by Eliza Haywood, the character Fantomina creates a series of characters. In this way she is like the author Haywood, who created Fantomina and the other characters in the story. However, there are differences: Fantomina creates a name and background for each of the women she plays, whereas Haywood presents Fantomina as a pseudonym for a wealthy young lady. The differences in naming clearly present Haywood and Fantomina’s separate goals: Fantomina’s goal of sexual exploration and Haywood’s desire to present the theme of protecting a woman’s reputation. Haywood and Fantomina each present their characters in different ways: Haywood as real people and Fantomina as disguises to put on.
In Fantomina …show more content…
Fantomina’s characters are all fictional, but the sexual relationship she creates with Beauplaisir is real enough that she becomes pregnant. Beauplaisir is taken in by Fantomina’s lies and is convinced that he has been having sex with four different women. To his knowledge he has never had sex with Fantomina, so he is very confused when her mother asks if he’s the father of her baby. Beauplaisir also lies to Fantomina because he has sex with each of her four characters and then tells three of them that she is the only one for him. Haywood’s Fantomina is fictional, but her story is a commentary on 18th Century attitudes towards women, sex, relationships and the concept of reputation. Haywood herself might have dealt with the issues that Fantomina deals with in her own life. Through the character of Fantomina, Haywood blends the reality of 18th Century life with the fiction of Fantomina’s characters to create a dramatic story comments on society’s obsession with a woman’s …show more content…
The character Fantomina uses the characters she creates to have a continuous sexual relationship with Beauplaisir, a man she admires. However, he is oblivious that he’s been having sex with the same woman. Fantomina’s characters are the disguises which she uses to give herself the freedom of a sexual relationship, but Haywood uses Fantomina’s disguises as a way of making her character more relatable to more women. This is evident in the naming conventions used by Fantomina and Haywood: Fantomina gives her characters depth and backstory, while Haywood’s main character is only a pseudonym for an anonymous young
In Fantomina or Love in a Maze, by Eliza Haywood, the character Fantomina creates a series of characters. In this way she is like the author Haywood, who created Fantomina and the other characters in the story. However, there are differences: Fantomina creates a name and background for each of the women she plays, whereas Haywood presents Fantomina as a pseudonym for a wealthy young lady. The differences in naming clearly present Haywood and Fantomina’s separate goals: Fantomina’s goal of sexual exploration and Haywood’s desire to present the theme of protecting a woman’s reputation. Haywood and Fantomina each present their characters in different ways: Haywood as real people and Fantomina as disguises to put on.
In Fantomina …show more content…
Fantomina’s characters are all fictional, but the sexual relationship she creates with Beauplaisir is real enough that she becomes pregnant. Beauplaisir is taken in by Fantomina’s lies and is convinced that he has been having sex with four different women. To his knowledge he has never had sex with Fantomina, so he is very confused when her mother asks if he’s the father of her baby. Beauplaisir also lies to Fantomina because he has sex with each of her four characters and then tells three of them that she is the only one for him. Haywood’s Fantomina is fictional, but her story is a commentary on 18th Century attitudes towards women, sex, relationships and the concept of reputation. Haywood herself might have dealt with the issues that Fantomina deals with in her own life. Through the character of Fantomina, Haywood blends the reality of 18th Century life with the fiction of Fantomina’s characters to create a dramatic story comments on society’s obsession with a woman’s …show more content…
The character Fantomina uses the characters she creates to have a continuous sexual relationship with Beauplaisir, a man she admires. However, he is oblivious that he’s been having sex with the same woman. Fantomina’s characters are the disguises which she uses to give herself the freedom of a sexual relationship, but Haywood uses Fantomina’s disguises as a way of making her character more relatable to more women. This is evident in the naming conventions used by Fantomina and Haywood: Fantomina gives her characters depth and backstory, while Haywood’s main character is only a pseudonym for an anonymous young