Historical Context
Roxana was published anonymously in 1721, during a time when there
was a marked increase in social fiction in England. Literary historians
distinguish between novels of action and adventure, and those of character. An
example of the former is Defoe's Roxana, while one of the latter would
be Pamela by Samuel Richardson.
Bonamy Dobree recounts in his Oxford History of English Literature
(1956) that when Defoe was writing his adventure stories like Robinson
Crusoe and Moll Flanders, many other authors, most of whom were
women, were writing romantic fiction. These stories, because they dealt with
women in love, had a fair amount of social interest among readers, especially
women. Female readership increased dramatically in England between 1700 and
1740, so much so that by 1721 thirty-seven percent of English women were able
to read and write, and women formed twenty percent of fiction readers. Thus,
Defoe's Moll Flanders and Roxana seem to have catered to
local taste except with one major difference: while stories written by women
writers tended to scare women by telling them how women were cheated in romance
and very often in money by horrible men, Roxana's lovers are mostly good men,
honorable and officious about Roxana's emotional and financial security.
Further, Roxana also seems to allay typical men's fears about women who can
argue logically and assertively. Defoe's Roxana is such a woman, but she is
also beautiful, kind, an excellent conversationalist and dancer, and, of
course, a good lover. In Defoe's story, none of the principal male personae are
afraid of Roxana. Rather, they love and respect her intelligence.
Defoe's Roxana is extremely financially oriented. Being the mistress
of her own house, Roxana is naturally parsimonious, extremely calculating about
money matters. To her, money is hard earned and has to be saved and judiciously
spent. Time and again in this story, there are long interludes during which
Roxana appraises us about her financial condition. There is even a section in
which Roxana learns from a respected economist about how to increase the value
of her money by investing it properly. London's economic atmosphere also lent
itself in producing small businesses and, in general, involving those outside
of the aristocracy to participate in business and commerce. Roxana is
a prime example of literature taking an active interest in commerce. At one
point, while praising her landlord and lover for his success in the jewelery
business, Roxana extols the virtues of men who have risen through successful
trade, men who work for their money as opposed to land-owning aristocrats who
do nothing except selfishly live off the labor of others. Defoe's views are in
stark contrast to those that might have been expressed by John Dryden, Charles
II's poet laureate, barely forty years before.
The literary setting in which Defoe wrote Roxana is remarkable for its
interest in the rise in social fiction where love and romance involving people
of the upper class automatically increased interest in the realistic aspects of
the lovers' relationship rather than some magical, mythical lovers' adventure
replete with elements of the supernatural. The writers of these stories were
mostly women. Defoe's contribution was to introduce realistic fiction involving
psychology and economics, and also the psychology of economics.
Narration also took a number of different approaches. Up until this point, romances and adventure stories were told by the narrator writing in indirect, third-person narration. With the rise in literacy among both sexes, and the corresponding rise in England's economic condition, and, equally important, with the advancement in scientific thinking that ushered in a rational intellectual climate, writers began to experiment with...
(This entire section contains 973 words.)
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narrative techniques in prose fiction. Defoe introduced the journalistic technique, and later Samuel Richardson began to experiment with the epistolary form, a letter-writing approach to fiction that automatically raised the level of realism in literature.
In Roxana, as in his other stories, Defoe narrates the story in the
first person; but in this work he also pretends to report a story about a real
person, Mary Carleton, who had somewhat similar experiences to Roxana's but for
which she was tried and executed in 1673. There does not, however, appear to be
anything in Carleton's life that would have warranted capital punishment. Thus,
Defoe might have felt that creating the story of Roxana, in sharp contrast to
Carleton's, would emphasize the unfairness of the court's decision to execute
her.
The preface, which is the only place we hear the author's own voice, has
important implications for narrative development in eighteenth-century English
prose fiction. Literary theorists like Cleanth Brooks and literary historians
like Percy Lubbock have made us ask questions about narratology itself: is it
better or worse if the novelist adopts a narrative voice as Defoe does in
Roxana? Lubbock is against such adoption of voices. He believes that
novelists should be "honest" and tell the story of the novel as a third person
outside the story. Brooks, however, says that even if the novelist adopts the
indirect narrative style, there is still the "implied" author imposing herself
or himself through the manipulation of the story—playing God, as it were. All
of Defoe's fictional works, but especially Roxana, raise interesting
questions about the implied author.
It is important to note here that the England in which Defoe flourished as a
writer was markedly different from England in the 1660s—Restoration England. In
1721 King George I was on the English throne. He was a Hanover from Germany and
could not speak a word of English. Consequently, unlike Charles II, George I
took absolutely no interest in the English language or in its literature.
Whereas Charles was actively interested in poets and writers, and even advised
his poet laureate on what and how he should write, George stayed away from
them. England's literary milieu, therefore, tried to manage without its
king. Lacking the monarch's involvement in letters, royalism in literature
declined sharply.
Setting
The novel Roxana by Daniel Defoe uses its settings to explore themes of wealth, commerce, and the impact of capitalist society on personal relationships. Each city—London, Paris, and Amsterdam—serves as a backdrop that reflects and magnifies the protagonist's pursuits and moral dilemmas. These settings not only highlight the characters' interactions but also symbolize the varying attitudes toward wealth and social status prevalent in 17th-century Europe.
London
London, during the late seventeenth century, stood as the epicenter of global trade and burgeoning capitalism, a world that Defoe intricately weaves into the fabric of Roxana. It is a place where money reigns supreme, overshadowing personal relationships and moral considerations. Roxana’s journey begins here, where, after being abandoned by her husband, she adopts a pragmatic approach to survival, treating love as a transaction. She transforms herself into a commodity, entering into agreements with wealthy suitors much like a merchant dealing in goods. This adaptation to her environment highlights the cutthroat and materialistic society of the time.
In her pursuit of wealth and social ascension, Roxana takes up residence in Pall Mall, an area synonymous with luxury and intrigue. Here, she hosts extravagant masquerade parties, mingling with London's elite, and even enjoys a lengthy liaison with an enigmatic aristocrat, possibly the monarch himself. Through these affairs, her fortune multiplies, illustrating the lucrative yet hollow nature of her endeavors in London.
Paris
When the narrative shifts to Paris, Defoe uses the city as a foil to London, depicting it as a place of deception and moral ambiguity. Paris represents a departure from the familiar, offering Roxana a chance to reinvent herself while escaping her past. Her journey is marked by the acquisition of wealth through dubious means, starting with her landlord and lover, a jewel merchant, whose murder catalyzes her further descent into deceit. The jewels he leaves behind, initially thought to be his, are revealed as stolen, compelling Roxana to orchestrate a life of lies and manipulation.
In Paris, Roxana continues to climb the social ladder by becoming the mistress of a French prince, extending the theme of wealth without moral constraint. This city, with its decadent aristocracy, serves as a critique of lavish lifestyles unanchored by the industriousness seen in London. Paris is a place where Roxana's dreams of high social standing and opulence overshadow her sense of integrity, leading her to ultimately flee to Amsterdam to evade exposure and potential ruin.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam offers a stark contrast to both London and Paris, embodying the virtues of honesty, hard work, and Protestant work ethics. It signifies a realm where wealth is obtained through ethical means, free from the taint of corruption. Here, Roxana encounters a Dutch merchant who epitomizes these values and becomes her savior, helping her escape the repercussions of her past misdeeds. Despite his offer of marriage, Roxana chooses to maintain her financial autonomy, highlighting her deep-rooted desire for independence.
Roxana's time in Amsterdam presents a moral conundrum as she oscillates between aspirations of prosperity and moments of spiritual reflection. Her Dutch merchant continues to thrive through legitimate endeavors, eventually acquiring a noble title that entices Roxana into marriage, only after her past is cleared by the death of her legal husband. Amsterdam, thus, stands as a beacon of virtue in Defoe's narrative, contrasting the deceitful and indulgent atmospheres of London and Paris.
