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The Drunk Man
The linen-draper is Moll’s second husband. Moll meets the linen-draper in London after the death of her first husband, Robin. She never loves the linen-draper, but she does find him agreeable, and she is led to believe he is quite wealthy. At the end of two years, however, the linen-draper has spent much of Moll’s money and is arrested for his excessive debts. As it turns out, he isn’t wealthy at all and is just another poor tradesman. He manages to escape from the bailiff’s house where he is being held, but before he does, he tells Moll to take whatever money she can dig up and run. As his wife, she, too, is wanted for his debts. The linen-draper runs to France and never sees Moll again. After the linen-draper runs off, Moll is left alone without money or means to obtain a legal divorce. Moll is married three times after her marriage to the linen-draper; however, since she is never officially divorced from him, none of her subsequent marriages are legal. Thus, Moll is an adulterer for most of the novel, yet another sin to add to her growing list of offenses. Like most of Moll’s husbands and lovers, the linen-draper is an example of immorality and vice, and he serves as a warning for honest readers, whom, Defoe hopes, will use the book for moral instruction.
The Linen-Draper Quotes in Moll Flanders
The Moll Flanders quotes below are all either spoken by The Linen-Draper or refer to The Linen-Draper. 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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Moll Marries the Linen-Draper Quotes
Upon these Apprehensions the first thing I did, was to go quite out of my Knowledge, and go by another Name: This I did effectually, for I went into the Mint too, took Lodgings in a very private Place, drest me up in the Habit of a Widow, and call’d myself Mrs. Flanders.
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This quote occurs after Moll’s second husband, the linen-draper, leaves her. It highlights Moll’s evolving identity and also emphasizes the connection between sex and money within the novel. After the linen-draper leaves, Moll is left in debt and is in danger of being thrown in debtors’ prison. Knowing this, Moll thinks it is best “to go quite out of [her] Knowledge”—that is, go to where no one knows her—and change her name. Moll takes refuge at “the Mint,” a district in London that is a jurisdictional interzone due to the coin mint that used to operate there. In the district Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis.
This Knowledge I soon learnt by Experience, (viz.) That the State of things was altered as to Matrimony, and that I was not to expect at London, what I had found in the Country; that Marriages were here the Consequences of politick Schemes for forming Interests, and carrying on Business, and that
L o v e had no Share, or but very little in the Matter.
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This passage appears as Moll is looking for a new husband, and it is significant because it establishes that Moll is looking to marry for money, not love. Moll learns this lesson through her own “Experience.” By this time, Moll has already had two husbands, neither of whom she loved. She first marries Robin to ensure she isn’t kicked out into the street, but she never loves him. He offers her stability, money, and shelter, but that is all, and Moll is never really happy with him. Moll marries the linen-draper for money and stability, too, but he turns out Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in.
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The Linen-Draper Character Timeline in Moll Flanders
The timeline below shows where the character The Linen-Draper appears in Moll Flanders. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Moll Marries the Linen-Draper
Moll is still young and attractive, and she has many suitors, including a linen-draper, the brother of her landlady. Still, Moll isn’t impressed with any of the men she...
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The linen-draper is arrested for his sizable debts, and Moll goes to see him at the Bailiff’s...
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Moll and the Gentleman
...Virginia as her brother’s wife. And all this time, Moll has been married to the linen-draper too, which means she has been living as a “Whore and an Adultress” since he...
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