Though subtle, Moll Flanders’s name contains several different allusions that readers at the time likely would have understood. In 17th century England, calling someone a “moll” meant that they were a woman of ill-repute, either a criminal themselves or the girlfriend of one. There were several well-known “Molls” at the time in which Defoe was writing, including Moll King—a London-based criminal who Defoe met during a short stay in Newgate Prison—and Moll Cut-Purse, a thief who had several plays made about her. (Moll Flanders directly references the latter Moll in the novel when she reflects, “I grew as impudent a Thief, and as dexterous as ever Moll Cut-Purse was.”)
Moll’s last name also contains its own allusions. In England at the time, Flemish women (from Flanders) were associated with prostitution, partially because there was a large population of Flemish women in the brothels in London. In choosing this last name for herself, Moll hopes that men will understand the allusion and approach her for her services.
It is notable that both “Moll” and “Flanders” are names that Moll chooses for herself—neither of them are part of her given name. In fact, Moll never shares her given name, choosing instead to tell the story under this pseudonym. She also shares very little information about any of the other characters’ names, and the few names she does give (such as James and Robin) are likely also fake ones. As a criminal, she is used to hiding and shifting her identity (and those of members of her community) in order to stay safe.
When Moll is in the depths of poverty and prostitution, she compares herself to “Lord Rochester’s Mistress,” an allusion to the love affairs of the poet John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester:
However, I kept myself Safe yet, tho’ I began like my Lord Rochester’s Mistress, that lov’d his Company, but would not admit him farther, to have the Scandal of a Whore, without the Joy; and upon this score tir’d with the Place and indeed with the Company too, I began to think of Removing.
John Wilmot—who also went by “Lord Rochester”—was a famous 17th century English poet who was also a known womanizer. When Moll references “Lord Rochester’s mistress,” she is likely referring to Elizabeth Barry, a young actress whom Wilmot took under his wing and had an extended affair with (resulting in the birth of a child). She compares herself to Barry because, as a prostitute, she experiences “the Scandal of a Whore, without the Joy.” In other words, she is not content with her life as a prostitute—while it is the only way she can make income, she is not proud of her work and is aware, at all times, of the immorality and joylessness of it. This is what ultimately pushes her to find her third husband, the Plantation Owner.
After the death of her husband the Banker, Moll is once again living in poverty. Before sharing with readers how she was able to survive the following years, Moll interrupts the story and directly addresses readers, alluding to Proverbs 30:8-9 in the process:
O let none read this part without seriously reflecting on the Circumstances of a desolate State, and how they would grapple with meer want of Friends and want of Bread; it will certainly make them think not of sparing what they have only, but of looking up to Heaven for support, and of the wise Man’s Prayer, Give me not Poverty lest I Steal.
The prayer that Moll references here—“Give me not Poverty lest I Steal”—is an allusion to a proverb from the Bible that Moll is using to help readers understand why she turns to theft. She is trying to communicate to readers that she becomes a criminal not because she believes it to be morally acceptable, but, as a widowed woman with no job prospects living in poverty, she needs to steal in order to survive. Moll’s persuasive intentions come through in the way she encourages readers to “seriously reflect” on her circumstances and how “they would grapple with” such a lack of community and resources if they were in her position. Directly referencing the Bible also signifies to readers that she has changed her ways and is now a pious woman.
After Moll meets a drunk man at a fair, sleeps with him, and steals from him, she reflects bitterly on his character, alluding to the Bible, specifically Proverbs 7:22-23:
There is nothing so absurd, so surfeiting, so ridiculous as a Man heated by Wine in his Head, and a wicked Gust in his Inclination together […] His Vice tramples upon all that was in him that had any good in it, if any such thing there was; nay, his very Sense is blinded by its own Rage, and he acts Absurdities even in his View; such as Drinking more, when he is Drunk already.
[…]
These are the Men of whom Solomon says, they go like an Ox to the slaughter, till a Dart strikes through their Liver.
Here Moll is attempting to justify her thievery by describing how the drunk man himself was behaving improperly, writing that he was “heated by Wine in his head” and had “a wicked Gust in his Inclination.” Her allusion to Proverbs also suggests that he is responsible for being robbed as, in that particular proverb, the ox willingly heading to slaughter is a metaphor for a man willingly following a prostitute to her home and facing negative consequences. The drunk man, Moll is arguing, should have been more careful—he has no one to blame for his stolen items but himself.
