26 pages • 52 minutes read
Eliza HaywoodFantomina
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1725A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
The Lady often congratulates herself, throughout this story, for having found the perfect way to keep Beauplaisir entranced with her. To what degree do you think that her deceptions work? To what degree do you think that she is deluding herself?
At the beginning of the story, the Lady is described as both unworldly and unsupervised; we are told that it is for these reasons that she decides to disguise herself as a prostitute. What do her social circumstances have to do with her behavior?
What is your sense of Beauplaisir, as a character? Do you think that he is caddish, decent, or both? Why do you think that the Lady is so drawn to him, being that she has very few illusions about him?
The Lady experiences worry about her reputation after her first encounter with Beauplaisir, but she does not worry at all about her virtue. What do you think is meant by virtue in this context? Do you think that the author is referring only to sexual virtue?
The Lady is initially angered when Beauplaisir seems to be rejecting her both in her Fantomina and her Widow Boomer disguises. She then calms down and reminds herself that she is the one who has the upper hand, because she is the one who is fooling Beauplaisir. Do you agree with this? How in control do you think that she really is?
What do you think is the Lady’s attitude towards her own gender? What are some things about being a woman that she seems to find advantageous and enjoyable? What are some things about being a woman that she finds limiting?
The Lady’s disguise as Incognita is her most elaborate, yet it is also her strangest. Why do you think she arrives at this disguise, and what does it reveal about her? Why is Beauplaisir intrigued by it, and then finally frustrated?
