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Humphry
The lady is the mother of the older brother and the younger brother, Robin. After the nurse dies, the lady takes Moll in. The lady and her family are wealthy and of the highest standing in society. When Robin falls in love with Moll and insists on marrying her, the lady is less than pleased. As a member of the lower class, Moll is not, in the lady’s opinion, an appropriate match for her son, and the lady considers kicking Moll out. However, when Moll claims to resist Robin’s advances out of her sincerest respect for the lady, the lady changes her mind about Moll. The lady begins to encourage the marriage, and she enlists the help of the older brother to convince Moll. Robin dies five years into his marriage to Moll, and after Moll leaves town, the lady takes charge of Moll and Robin’s two children.
The Lady Quotes in Moll Flanders
The Moll Flanders quotes below are all either spoken by The Lady or refer to The Lady. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Older Brother and Moll’s First Marriage Quotes
I wonder at you Brother, says the Sister; Betty wants but one Thing, but she had as good want every Thing, for the Market is against our Sex just now; and if a young Woman have Beauty, Birth, Breeding, Wit, Sense, Manners, Modesty, and all these to an Extream; yet if she have not Money, she’s no Body, she had as good want them all, for nothing but Money now recommends a Woman […].
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The Lady Character Timeline in Moll Flanders
The timeline below shows where the character The Lady appears in Moll Flanders. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Moll’s Childhood
...The ladies in town also give her clothes, such as stockings, petticoats, and gowns. One lady in town is so impressed with Moll that she offers to take Moll for an...
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...She continues working for the nurse, which, since Moll’s “Taste of Genteel” living at the lady’s house, isn’t as easy as it used to be. In short time, the nurse grows...
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The Older Brother and Moll’s First Marriage
Living with the lady and her family, Moll enjoys the advantages of an education. By the time she is...
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...an unequal match, she says, and it wouldn’t be the right way to repay the lady for taking her in. Moll doesn’t, however, tell him the truth.
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...not hide his feelings like the older brother, and he makes it plain to the lady and the rest of his family that he is in love with Moll. Soon, the...
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...tells him that one of the maids must have discovered their affair and told the lady of the house, because now there is talk that Moll will be asked to leave....
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It is bad enough the lady knows the younger brother is in love with Moll, but it will be much worse...
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...still suffers from bouts of melancholy and sadness. One day, Moll decides to tell the lady of the house about the younger brother’s proposals. She tells the lady that Robin asked...
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Later, the lady of the house sits down with the younger brother and asks him about his proposals...
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...gently kisses and hugs her. He tells Moll that she has the consent of the lady and the entire house to marry the younger brother. If Moll doesn’t, the older brother...
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...but that is all. The children are “taken happily off of [Moll’s] Hands” by the lady and her husband, and she is free.
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