The Linen-Draper Character Analysis

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.