During one of the moments in the novel in which Moll critiques sexist aspects of her society, she calls for women to ask questions of a man’s character and fortune before agreeing to marry him (something that was frowned upon in her day). While sharing this advice, she uses a hyperbole and simile:
No Man of common Sense will value a Woman the less for not giving up herself at the first Attack, or for not accepting his Proposal without enquiring into his Person or Character; on the contrary, he must think her the weakest of all Creatures in the World […] he must have a very contemptible Opinion of her Capacities, nay, even of her Understanding, that having but one Cast for her Life, shall cast that Life away at once, and make Matrimony like Death, be a Leap in the Dark.
Moll uses a hyperbole here to capture how she believes men should view women who don’t inquire about their affairs before saying yes to a marriage proposal—“the weakest of all Creatures in the world.” She then furthers her figurative language, describing how women who aren’t certain that their fiancées can provide them with financial stability “make Matrimony like Death” or “a Leap in the Dark.” This simile captures the genuine stakes for women who marry men who can’t provide for them—powerlessness and death.
Moll’s words of warning here take on a new meaning when readers come to the end of the novel and realize how many times Moll married men who lied to her about their access to wealth (such as the Linen-Draper and James). This passage also highlights Moll’s resilience as she does what she has to do, between financially advantageous marriages, to survive—she refuses time and again to let matrimony be “like death" to her.
