描摹狄福的女商人：《茉兒‧佛蘭德斯》與《蘿克珊娜》中的重商主義與性別議題

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(1)國立台灣師範大學英語學系博. 士. 論. 文. Doctoral Dissertation Graduate Institute of English National Taiwan Normal University. 描摹狄福的女商人：《茉兒‧佛蘭德斯》與《蘿克珊娜》中的重商主義與性別議題 Portraits of Women in Business: Mercantilism and Gender in Daniel Defoe’ s Moll Flanders and Roxana. 指導教授：宋美璍 Advisor: Dr. Mei-hwa Sung 研究生：葉采青. 中華民國九十七年七月 July, 2008.

(2) 1. 摘要本論文旨在探討丹尼爾‧狄福（1660-1731）作品中所呈現的重商主義和商人精神。狄福所處的時代面臨經濟結構的劇烈轉變，日漸式微的封建制度與新興的資本主義這兩股相對的力量，在經濟的觀念與商業的運作上，都有某種程度的影響。對於經濟議題的關注，為狄福作品的重要特色，也使得他與十八世紀其他的小說家有所區隔。雖然狄福的小說人物都以追求財富為主要目標，同時也具有商人的特質，但是直到 1725 年出版的《道地英國商人》，狄福始就「道地的商人」（“ complete tradesman” ）提出具體的定義，期許此書為年輕商人的從商指南，並宣揚商業為國家的致富之道。他不僅試圖要建立一種商人精神，也將這樣的想法落實到他的小說人物上，而這樣的概念同時也可以用來解讀《茉兒‧佛蘭德斯》（1722）與《蘿克珊娜》（1724）中極具爭議性的女性角色。本研究將分成三個章節：以馬克斯‧韋伯的宗教社會學為作為檢視的主軸，第一章首先要闡明狄福實為積極進取的資本主義者，藉以審視狄福在《道地英國商人》中所建構的商人精神；在接下來的兩章，本論文將強調茉兒和蘿克珊娜追求財富的企圖心，將她們定位為狄福的「女商人」（“ wome ni nbus i ne s s ” ），而非寡廉鮮恥的娼妓與交際花。狄福的女性角色以其財富管理的能力，試圖踰越社會對於女性的規範，並以其在商業運作上的成就，建立女性的主體性。因此透過時代歷史背景的探討，本論文亦將分析狄福對於貧困女子的同情，以討論小說中的性別議題以及狄福在此議題的立場。狄福其實欲藉由他的作品來建立有系統的經濟理論，本論文作者希望能就狄福在經濟方面的主張，做更深入的解釋，並針對他最受非議的小說角色，提出不同的解讀方式。. 關鍵字：重商主義、商人精神、道地的商人、女商人、性別.

(3) 2. Abstract. This dissertation aims to discuss mercantilism and the construction of tradesman mentality in Daniel Defoe (1660-1731). Defoe straddles an era of striking economic changes, in which the residual of feudalism still has its influence on conceptions of economics, while the rise of capitalism begins to impact on business operations in society. Conc e r ns f or e c onomi ci s s ue s di s t i n g ui s h De f oe ’ s wor ks f r om ot he r eighteenth-century novelists. Although his imaginative characters are pursuers of money and are businessman-like, not until the publication of The Complete English Tradesman i n1725doe shec l e a r l ypr of f e rhi sde f i ni t i onofa“ c ompl e t et r a de s ma n. ” Defoe regards The Complete English Tradesman as an instruction for a young tradesman and advocates business as the readiest way to enrich England. He not only attempts to construct a tradesman mentality but tries to apply this idea to his characters, including his intriguingly controversial female protagonists in Moll Flanders (1722) and Roxana (1724). The content is divided into three main chapters. In Chapter One, based on Max Weber’ s sociology of religion, the core of discussion centers on the justification of Defoe as a progressive mercantilist of a capitalistic mind, and the definition of a true tradesman discussed in The Complete English Tradesman. In the following chapters, instead of regarding Moll and Roxana as dishonorable women, the study tends to e mpha s i z emor eont he s ewome n’ smone y -oriented inclination and defines them as “ wome ni nbus i ne s s . ”Defoe’ s women characters are subversive figures who tend to transgress social norms with their capability of property management, and therefore construct a female subjectivity by means of success in business. By placing Moll and Roxa nai nc ont e xt ,t hes t udya l s oa t t e mpt st odi s c us sDe f oe ’ ss y mpa t hyf orwome ni n di s t r e s sa ndi de nt i f i e sDe f oe ’ spos i t i onwi t hr e g a r dt og e nde r ..

(4) 3. Through his works, Defoe intends to establish a systematic theory on economic issues. The dissertation writer hopes to offer deeper interpretations ofDe f oe ’ s economic contentions as well as a different reading of his most disputable characters.. Key words: mercantilism, tradesman mentality, complete tradesman, women in business, gender.

(5) 4. Acknowledgements. I am most grateful to my dissertation advisor, Professor Mei-hwa Sung (宋美璍教授), for her literary inspiration and continuing encouragement during this lengthy process. Without her guidance and support, this dissertation would never have been completed. What I have learned from Professor Sung are the ways not only to develop my ideas but to view literature from a wider perspective, which is a wonderful experience in my life. I wish to express my appreciation for my committee members, Professor I-chun Wang (王儀君教授), Professor Frank Stevenson, Professor Yuan-wen Chi (紀元文教授) and Professor Kuo-jung Chen (陳國榮教授). I am deeply touched by their attentiveness, and their valuable suggestions enrich my thoughts on Defoe’ s works. Lastly, I owe sincere thanks to Father Daniel Bauer, my family and Edward, for their sustaining concern and endless support..

(6) 5. Table of Contents. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..6 Chapter One. Defoe: Mercantilism and Tradesman Mentality……………….30. Chapter Two. Moll Flanders: Circulation and Social Mobility……………….79. Chapter Three. Roxana: The She-Merchant…………………………………..140. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….191 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………...199.

(7) 6. Introduction. Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the development of the English novel. Although the development of the genre involves many factors, Defoe is regarded as the most influential eighteenth-century novelist in the depiction of contemporary English society, especially the lives of the lower and middle classes. Compared with other writers of the era, Defoe expresses a consistent concern about the economy in his narratives, journals, and didactic books, focusing on state commerce as well as personal wealth. His works are characterized by a predominant emphasis on economic activities and financial issues, as many recent critics have pointed out. Money and trade are important motifs in his novels. Defoe presents the prevailing mercantilist ethos of his time by constructing a tradesman mentality, which privileges bourgeois “ worth”over aristocratic “ birth.” Instead of regarding trade as an exclusively male profession, Defoe displays an impartial attitude toward gender division in business activities. As a tradesman, he deems business to be an efficient and promising way to achieve affluence, while as a writer, Defoe endows his female protagonists, Moll Flanders and Roxana, with distinctive mercantilist attributes. When his adventurous male characters, Robinson Crusoe, Captain Singleton, and Colonel Jack, aim to explore the unknown world and establish their identity on overseas journeys, the marginalized yet ambitious women characters also attempt to transgress the geographic and social limits in pursuit of personal wellbeing. Defoe’ s adventurers are dynamic. What makes them impressive figures is a strong resolution for economic accomplishment. These characters, explicitly or implicitly, are employed by Defoe to embody particular work ethic that characterizes the Puritan mind. In addition, since Defoe lives in a time in which great changes in business operation occur, the ways that his characters conduct business.

(8) 7. also reflect these changes. More than many eighteenth-century novelists, Defoe appears to have had a more positive perspective toward women. He attempted to depict his female characters as successful businesswomen, although they are morally flawed in a variety of interesting ways while achieving social mobility. It seems that for Defoe, participation in business activities guarantees a prosperous future, and this faith in trade as a social ladder permeates his portrayals of female characters. He promotes a tradesman mentality and tolerates certain shady dealings of the tradesman, regarding them as acceptable conduct in the practice of business. As I will show in the dissertation, Defoe’ s Moll and Roxana both display the true attributes of the tradesman. They are adventurous and their business dealings are lucrative and, most of all, as critics have pointed out, both are engaged in shady dealings which enable them to ultimately achieve respectability in society. They are the female counterparts of Defoe’ s ideal English tradesman. This study proposes to discuss mercantilism and the construction of tradesman mentality in Daniel Defoe. Defoe’ s ambition for business success is ubiquitous, and he tries to convey such concerns in most of his works. Although his imaginative characters are pursuers of money, not until the publication of The Complete English Tradesman in 1725 does he clearly proffer his definition of a model tradesman. In this “ businessman’ s conduct book”(Richetti, Life of Daniel Defoe 155), Defoe expresses consistent and systematic contentions on the cultivation of an ideal tradesman. Therefore, by first examining The Complete English Tradesman, this dissertation will investigate Defoe’ s standpoint with regard to tradesmen and their relation to the affluence of the state. In addition, the book provides the reader with the principles of how Defoe closely parallels his ideal tradesman with two female protagonists in his.

(9) 8. novels. For Defoe, the tradesman’ s devotion to his business is the most important element in business manipulation, and this profession enjoys a promising prospect both in the accumulation of wealth as well as the improvement of social status. It is not surprising that Defoe applies the idea to his male characters, since the rise of the middle class in the eighteenth century is an illustration of the trend. However, Defoe appears to have an unprejudiced attitude toward women’ s engagement in business, which is also suggested in The Complete English Tradesman. In his female-centered novels, Moll Flanders (1722) and Roxana (1724), Defoe appears to advocate similar propositions. Although Moll and Roxana are disputable women in society, Defoe endows them with fine skills for business, making them the prototypes of his “ complete tradesman.”Hence, taking Defoe’ s economic contentions proposed in The Complete English Tradesman as a point of departure, this study will discuss how Defoe defines his controversial women characters as women in business, instead of dishonorable prostitutes and thieves. On the other hand, Defoe seems to be a sympathizer of women. Although Moll and Roxana resort to ignominious dealings on their way up the social ladder, Defoe depicts and defines both women in terms of their talents in business manipulation. With. economic. prowess,. Moll. achieves. her. goal. of. becoming. a. gentlewoman-tradeswoman, and Roxana that of a free agent in the male-dominated business world. Defoe’ s sympathy for women in distress distinguishes his works from those of his contemporary male writers, for he emphasizes that women can be autonomous individuals as well. Economic independency is the ultimate goal for Moll and Roxana; hence money again is crucial in the formation of an individualistic identity. Apparently, Defoe’ s women characters are subversive figures who tend to transgress social norms with their capability of property management,.

(10) 9. and therefore construct a female subjectivity by means of success in business. Moll and Roxana are graphically situated in a society hostile to women, which serves as a clear indication of Defoe’ s position with regard to gender issues. Defoe was a prolific writer, and yet studies on Defoe have focused more on his novels. Born in London in 1660, Defoe was the son of James Foe,1 a tallow chandler and merchant. Although being educated at a Dissenting Academy in preparation for the career in a Presbyterian ministry, Defoe decided to follow his father and went into business as a wholesale haberdasher at first and subsequently in wine, tobacco and other branches of trade. In 1692, due to his being over-ambitious, Defoe was bankrupt with the debts amount e dt o₤17,000 and henceforth was rarely not in debt all his life. However, his ambitions were not only for business, for in addition to being a tradesman, he was also a poet, a political thinker, a pamphleteer, and a novelist. In 1703, Defoe was charged “ ffor publishing a Scandalous Booke”(qtd. in Backscheider, 103) and sent to Newgate Prison for the pamphlet entitled The Shortest Way with the Dissenters (1702), in which he mercilessly satirized the Tories and incurred himself to the punishment to stand in the pillory. As he was in prison, Defoe started a thrice-weekly newspaper, Review (1704-13), which was regarded in some aspects to be the forerunner of Tatler and Spectator. Hereafter, he was engaged in political journalism for more than ten years. Defoe’ s profession as a novelist started rather late in his life. In 1719, at the age of fifty-nine, he published the first volume of Robinson Crusoe, which was regarded by Ian Watt as the first realistic novel in English literature. In “ The Recent Critical Fortunes of Moll Flanders,”Watt says, “ Defoe, surely the most unromantic of writers, found his first great admirers among the Romantics, who welcomed him as a fellow 1. Daniel Foe renamed himself De Foe in 1690s..

(11) 10. rebel against the established literary decorum”(110). The triumph of Robinson Crusoe hinges on that Defoe successfully portrays the life journey of the adventurous hero Crusoe along with the eighteenth-century ethos—religious concerns, sailing knowledge and economic dealings. The devotion to the pursuit of wealth to Defoe’ s characters is an unceasing mission, and the seemingly irrational pursuit of wealth originates from a Protestant mind. Readers of Defoe are very impressed by the characters’utilitarian perspective of religion since their belief in God appears to be unpersuasive; however, Puritan spirit is ubiquitously expressed in Defoe’ s narratives, as Ian Watt indicates that “ economic individualism”expresses the dispositions of Defoe’ s characters while “ Puritan individualism”(Rise of Novel 74) controls their spiritual being. Defoe views Crusoe’ s adventure and struggle for survival as a process of spiritual journey toward God. In his twenty-eight-year solitary life on the island, Crusoe examines and contemplates the problems of his existence; in addition, Crusoe is in effect an everyman image, through which Defoe’ s contemporaries could have reflection upon their positions as social being. In “ Robinson Crusoe’ s Rebellion and Punishment,”J. Paul Hunter says, “ The simplified context of the island turns Crusoe’ s attention inward…. Defoe also uses the simplified context to alert the reader to the relationship between different levels of conflicts: man with God, man with nature, man with man, and man with himself”(68). On the other hand, ambitions for business success and self-accomplishment are remarkable attributes of Defoe’ s protagonists. In his subsequent novels, The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719), The Life, Adventures and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton (1720), The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, The History and Remarkable Life of the Truly Honourable Colonel Jacque, Commonly Called Colonel Jack (1722), and.

(12) 11. Roxana: The Fortune Mistress, Defoe’ s characters express similar concerns, although they come from different social ranks and have different life experiences. The Complete English Tradesman has received less attention than it deserves, while critics have generally understated its importance in their analyses of the mercantile mentality in Defoe’ s characters. Although John Richetti praises its value in the expression of Defoe’ s attitude toward commerce and the education of the tradesman, The Complete English Tradesman is very often taken to be a prose counterpart to the novelist’ s fictitious treatments of business operation in his novels. Critics like Maximillian Novak,2 Samuel L. Macey,3 Thomas Keith Meier,4 Bram Dijkstra, 5 and James Thompson 6 have all referred to The Complete English Tradesman as the source material for their discussions of Defoe’ s views of economy at the individual and state levels. Published one year after Defoe’ s last novel Roxana, The Complete English Tradesman provides the reader with a thorough perspective and systematic theory of Defoe’ s stance on trade issues, offering a definitive illustration of the mercantile attitude in his money-oriented characters such as Moll and Roxana, who in various ways prove their capabilities in trade. Financial profit is a recurrent motif of his novels. Whereas Defoe never directly tells his reader what makes an ideal tradesman in his works. In The Complete English Tradesman, he proposes explicitly his idea of a “ complete tradesman.”By elaborating the qualifications of a real tradesman, he in effect constructs a tradesman mentality, which can be applied to his novelistic. 2. Economics and the Fiction of Daniel Defoe (New York: Russell & Russell, 1976). Money and the Novel: Mercenary Motivation in Defoe and His Immediate Successors (Victoria: Sono Nis P, 1983); 4 Defoe and the Defense of Commerce (Victoria: U of Victoria P, 1987). 5 Defoe and Economics: The Fortunes of Roxana in the History of Interpretation (New York: St. Martin’ s, 1987). 6 Models of Value: Eighteenth-Century Political Economy and the Novel (Durham: Duke UP, 1996). 3.

(13) 12. characters for a better understanding of Defoe’ s intentions in the novels. In addition, Defoe uses some chapters of The Complete English Tradesman to delineate the prospects of inland trade and dignifies commerce as the most efficient way to enrich the individual as well as the state. Therefore, The Complete English Tradesman deserves more discussion for our understanding of Defoe’ s pursuers of money in Moll Flanders and Roxana. Discussions of Defoe’ s two female-centered novels mostly center on the heroine’ squest for material opulence and an independent selfhood. Among the critics, Ian Watt first proposes the idea of “ economic individualism”(Rise of Novel 67), focusing on the autonomy and mobility of the individual. In The Rise of the Novel (1957), Watt especially lauds Defoe’ sa c hi e ve me nti nhi sf i r s tnove l ,Robinson Crusoe, and which he regards as the herald of the English novel. He observes that Defoe, as a Puritan, creates a larger-than-life “ e c onomi cman”(Rise of Novel 63), whose main concern is mercantile interest. Watt s t a t e s ,“ De f oe ’ spl ot ,t he n,e xpr e s s e s some of the most important tendencies of the life of his t i me …. [P]r of i ti sCr us oe ’ s onl yvoc a t i on,a ndt hewhol ewor l di shi st e r r i t or y ”( Rise of Novel 67). Different from the travelers in previous prose fiction, Robinson Crusoe on the one hand is the embodiment of capitalist ideology of eighteenth-century England. On the other, he offers an economic and moral lesson from the Puritan perspective. Watt’ s assertion is inspiring and indicates a new perspective in the discussion of Defoe’ s money-oriented characters. Maximillian Novak, however, disapproves of this application, and tends to stress more the influence of social and economic background over Defoe’ s view of economics. In Economics and the Fiction of Daniel Defoe, Novak argues against Ian Watt’ s standpoint of discussing Robinson Crusoe in terms of capitalism and.

(14) 13. economic individualism. Novak holds that such an interpretation will lead to a conflict of “ Defoe’ s economic idea and Crusoe’ s fictional character,”for Crusoe’ s sin is his “ refusal to follow the ‘ calling’chosen for him”(Economics and Defoe 32). However, thirty-eight years later, in his “ Gendered Cultural Criticism and the Rise of the Novel: The Case of Defoe,”Novak acknowledged Watt’ s contribution instead. Novak states: I have never been entirely comfortable with the section of The Rise of the Novel devoted to economic individualism, and I expressed my disagreement in Economics and the Fiction of Daniel Defoe, but in viewing the notion of individualism through the lens of Watt’ s latest work, I now see it as proposing a method of speaking about character in a new way. Watt saw the economic conditions of the period as creating a new type of personality. (“ Gendered Cultural Criticism”245) The book that Novak here refers to is Watt’ s Myths of Modern Individualism: Faust, Don Quixote, Don Juan, Robinson Crusoe (1996). Watt apparently had noticed the opposite proposition of Novak on the issue of Crusoe’ s economic inclination and attempts to further justify his idea of regarding Crusoe as an embodiment of modern economic individualism. Watt states, “ However, even granting the force of Novak’ s arguments, it cannot be denied that Crusoe works hard, not out of his sense of ‘ calling,’but out of necessity, together with a liking for the result”(Myth of Modern Individualism 156). Although Watt acknowledges Defoe’ s intention of modeling the female characters on the economic man, he does not elaborate this point. He seems to be more interested in Defoe’ s depiction of women as criminals. Instead of viewing Moll Flanders as a spiritual biography as does G. A. Starr, or a form of “ c r i mi na l.

(15) 14. bi ogr a phy ”(33) as does Lincoln B. Faller, Watt considers the narrative to be closer to an “ authentic biography”(Rise of Novel 107), regarding it as a credible story based on real life. Stressing Moll’ s dual role as a wife and as a thief, Watt attempts to place his discussion of this notorious woman in context, highlighting the social and cultural conditions of Defoe’ s time. Watt’ s contention to view Defoe’ s characters as an embodiment of economic individualism is helpful to the study of Moll and Roxana, since both are money-oriented women who want to find success with their financial prowess regardless of social norms. In addition, the study will interpret Moll’ s and Roxana’ s capitalistic minds for a better understanding of these two female protagonists. Maximillian Novak, opposing Watt’ s proposition to view Defoe’ s novels as an illustration of a capitalistic mentality, contends that Defoe in effect expresses a rather conservative attitude toward the issue of commerce. Regarding Defoe as a traditional mercantilist, who privileges the prosperity and integrity of state finance over personal affluence, Novak reads Defoe’ s narratives as social fiction which reflects the economy of an earlier age. In Economics and the Fiction of Daniel Defoe, Novak states, “ Defoe was a mercantilist with few theories ahead of his time and many ideas that were more typical of the early seventeenth century than of the age in which he wrote. But the relation between Defoe and mercantilism is complicated by contradictions in both the man and the system of which he was an exponent”(5). According to Novak, Defoe manifests his stance as a traditional mercantilist in his first economic treatise, An Essay upon Projects (1697), for Defoe is concerned more about state finance and takes the economic structure of the country as a whole. Novak tries to pinpoint the ambivalence shown in Defoe as a modern economist who nevertheless retains some residual values from the past. Meanwhile, in Daniel Defoe: Master of Fictions (2001),.

(16) 15. Novak argues against abstract theorizings of Defoe’ s novels, indicating that as critics intend to apply post-colonialism or sociology of religion to the study of Defoe, they might misrepresent what the novelist really wants to express. Novak’ s discussion indeed presents a different view of Defoe’ s mercantile thinking. As this study focuses more on the capitalistic mind in Defoe’ s female protagonists, Novak’ s analysis of the traditional Mercantilism helps to have a better understanding of the economic changes of the era and his viewpoint offers another possibility to read Defoe. In addition to Novak, critics who are devoted to the study of economics and literature include Samuel L Macey, Thomas Keith Meier, David Trotter, 7 James Thompson, and Wolfram Schmidgen. 8 Basically, Meier agrees with Novak’ s proposition and considers Defoe to be a conservative mercantilist. Yet unlike Novak, he does not negate the relation between Defoe’ s economic view and the modern thought in the discussion of the shifting attitude toward economic development. This will be an important reference to the study in the analysis of Defoe’ s ambiguous attitude toward economic issues. Although Meier approves Watt’ s reading of Defoe in terms of Max Weber’ s sociology of religion, he does not further this application as he stresses more the traditional viewpoint of economic issues in Defoe. Therefore, this study attempts to extend Meier’ s contention to discuss Defoe’ s capitalistic mind from the Puritan work ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Trotter treats the importance of circulation in the operation of domestic trade in Defoe, and proposes “ the metaphor of circulation”(3) to interpret Defoe’ s concept of a complete economic system. Hence, in Trotter’ s study, both Moll and Roxana, as commodities to be consumed by men, face the pressure to discipline themselves for. 7 8. Circulation: Defoe, Dickens, and the Economies of the Novel (Houndmills: Macmillan, 1988). Eighteenth-Century Fiction and the Law of Property (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002)..

(17) 16. circulation, which is also the means to ensure a socially approved position for women. Trotter’ s argument is helpful in the discussion of Defoe’ s economic concerns applied to his female characters. With Trotter’ s combination of the idea of circulation and wome n’ s moving about different men, the study will also discuss Moll’ s and Roxana’ s relationships with men and how they transform themselves from being submissive women circulated by men into being autonomous businesswomen, who conduct circulation of their capital /feminine beauty. Furthermore, Macey proposes that the development of navigation and trade in the eighteenth century encouraged not only pursuit of wealth, but the rise of voyage literature. Defoe’ s characters, under such ethos, are motivated by money and are valiant in their pursuit of overseas journeys. As a result, Defoe’ s characters are adventurers of different types. Macey is also aware of Defoe’ s concerns for social mobility and focuses on this idea in his reading of Moll Flanders and Roxana. Macey’ s contentions are exploratory, offering an overview of the development of domestic trade in England as well as the exploitation of overseas business depicted in Defoe’ s novels. His viewpoint is in particular helpful to the analysis of Roxana as a “ She-Merchant”(Roxana 131), since Roxana is more like a traveler than Moll, and conducts her “ business”with men from different countries. Macey’ s discussions of the development of English shipping, people’ s devotion to voyage and trade, the financial institution in the eighteenth century, and the concerns about social mobility in Moll Flanders and Roxana provide practical approaches to discuss the interrelationships among trade, social mobility, and women as autonomous agents in the works of Defoe. Furthermore, Thompson investigates the interrelations between literary history and economy in his Marxist study of the eighteenth-century novel. He aims to.

(18) 17. scrutinize how “ the novel tells one kind of story about early modern value and how political economy tells another” (3), since economic discourse and novelistic discourse are both “ forms of ideological expression”(30). With the interpretation of the changing attitude toward the concepts of “ money”and “ value,”Thompson interprets Defoe’ s works on the basis of the conception of “ exchange,”focusing on the interrelation between gender and finance in Defoe. On the other hand, Schmidgen’ s argument also rests on the Marxist assumption, with the emphasis on interaction between the individual and material objects. He proffers the idea of the movable forms of property as a contrast to the landed or immovable estate. Although the rise of the movable forms of property in the eighteenth century indicated a change of business operation, the immovable still had an undisputed position. Regarding the manor as a communal system, Schmidgen points to the superiority of landed property over “ movables”for eighteenth-century people, including Defoe. In his study of Defoe, Schimidgen centers on an analysis of Crusoe’ s experience on the seemingly uninhabited island. Even if Moll Flanders and Roxana are not included in Schmidgen’ s discussion of Defoe, his observation of the changing concepts of property offers a useful approach to investigate Moll’ s obsession of material objects. Similarly concerned with the genre’ s socio-economic referentiality, John Richetti cautions that eighteenth-century novels tend t oof f e r“ a nove r -simplification of the structure of the society and the moral universe which allowed the reader to place himself in a world of intelligible values where right and wrong were clearly and unmistakabl yl a be l e d”( Popular Fiction 1 1) .Thepopul a r i t yofDe f oe ’ sfiction has to do with the fact that the master novelist outdid his fellow novelists in his manipulation of“ r a w ma t e r i a l s ,”such as “ ideas, attitudes, ‘ myths’ ”(Popular Fiction 5). Thus for Richetti, the text is valid evidence for analyzing t hea udi e nc e ’ sme nt a l i t ys i nc et he.

(19) 18. text conveys a social representation, reflecting the general concerns of that specific period of time. He especially emphasizes the individual’ s relationship to society and interprets the cases of Moll Flanders and Roxana as showing the intertwining of “ sexual and social necessity”(English Novel 61). According to Richetti, Defoe’ s characters endeavor to fit themselves into that social totality and the construction of identity is a priority for Defoe’ s women. With Richetti’ s concept of social totality, the investigation will try to interpret Moll and Roxana’ s persistent pursuit of a better position on the social ladder as an illustration of Defoe’ s stance to regard the society as a whole. Being wanderers of society in the very beginning, Moll and Roxana conform to the established social order as they respectively find success with financial prowess and return to that order. Yet it is noteworthy that neither Defoe nor his characters are submissive figures, and they tend to transgress hierarchical boundaries in different ways. Hence, taking Richetti’ s idea as a point of departure, this study also attempts to investigate the transgressive inclination in Defoe’ s women characters. Among the few critics focusing on Defoe’ s female-centered novels, Mona Scheuermann in particular concentrates on the topic of money in Moll Flanders and Roxana, attempting to analyze these two novels in terms of Defoe’ s as well as the characters’obsession with commerce and its relations to gender negotiation. Scheuermann regards Moll Flanders and Roxana as important illustrations of Defoe’ s feminist thinking. She recognizes the limitations set upon women in the eighteenth-century English society and tries to interpret Defoe’ s female characters as women with the caliber to achieve economic independence. In Her Bread to Earn: Women, Money, and Society from Defoe to Austen (1993), she states, “ Defoe … has the most positive view of woman and her capabilities, insisting in both Moll Flanders and Roxana that a woman’ s talent for productive work is limited only by society’ s.

(20) 19. definition of what avenues for earning money are available to her”(2). Scheuermann aims to redefine Defoe’ s female characters as autonomous agents concerning their financial status. In addition, in the journal articles “ Women and Money in Eighteenth-Century Fiction”(1987) and “ An Income of One’ s Own: Women and Money in Moll Flanders and Roxana”(1988), she in particular emphasizes the male-female relationships in the two novels as the core of discussion, contending that both Moll and Roxana are “ empowered”women with the ambition to achieve “ a bs ol ut eequality”(Her Bread 5) with men. Explicitly, Scheuermann regards Moll and Roxana as eighteenth-century feminists, which offers a good point to investigate the transgressiveness of Defoe’ s women characters. Although Scheuermann observes the male-dominated culture as an obstacle that prevents Moll and Roxana from making themselves independent women, she falls short of elaborating this idea. Hence, the discussion of Defoe’ s feminist thinking in this study will stress these women’ s progressive spirit and transgressive nature by placing Moll and Roxana in context, to define the disputable women as proto-feminists in Defoe’ s portrayal. In addition, Rebecca Elisabeth Connor attempts to apply the concept of accounting to the reading of Moll Flanders, observing it as the means for Moll to construct a female subjectivity. In the article “ ‘ Ca nyou apply Arithmetick to Every Thi ng ? ’ ”(1998), Connor proposes that accounting presupposes the existence of “ fixed value”(176), and therefore signifies the “ Somebodiness”of Moll. She states, “ Moll … seeks to articulate herself out of economic anonymity. The ‘ Somebodiness’ that Moll desires is, in other words, a quantified state, a body almost solely and at times literally defined by numbers”(“ Social Accounting”173). She further elaborates this proposition in Women, Accounting, and Narrative (2004), and views Defoe as an advocate of women’ s engagement in commercial activities. Conner’ s works offer.

(21) 20. abundant. and. useful. materials. of. the. changing. economic. concepts. in. eighteenth-century England. Her discussion of Moll’ s obsession with objects and numbers will be a good point to the study of “ circulation”in Chapter Two. Although Connor still tries to stress economic significance for the way that Defoe molds Moll, her contention offers a different interpretation of Moll Flanders and is therefore valuable to the discussion of Moll’ s dedication to pursuit of wealth. As for the discussion of Defoe’ s economic thoughts presented in Roxana, Bram Di j ks t r a ’ s Defoe and Economics provides the reader with a useful approach for a comprehensive understanding of Defoe’ s economic theory in the novel. Dijkstra aims to explore “ the actual historical interaction in the thought of Daniel Defoe, of certain economic and moral considerations”(xiv). He considers the novel to be an allegory of economic progress, while paying little attention to the issue of gender. According to Dijkstra, Defoe’ s respect for the capable woman in business mainly rests upon her economic prowess; therefore, Defoe’ s sympathy for Roxana also hinges on her financial success. Dijkstra’ s standpoint to view Roxana as a pursuer of money is very similar to Scheuermann’ s interpretation of the money-oriented mentality in Moll and Roxana—both critics stress more of the female protagonists’talent in business manipulation. Such a reading, though inspiring, seems to understate Defoe’ s feminist thinking in the novel as well as Moll and Roxana’ s stance as proto-feminists. Nonetheless, Dijkstra’ s study offers an effective viewpoint to the discussion of Roxana’ s business(wo)manlike inclination. In addition to regarding Roxana as an illustration of Defoe’ s ambition for formulating an economic theory, Dijkstra also attempts to manifest Defoe’ s capitalistic mind presented in Roxana. This contention is in particular contributive to the investigation of Roxana as a further demonstration of Defoe’ s capitalistic mind in Chapter Three..

(22) 21. Shawn Lisa Maurer’ s “ ‘ Iwou’ d be a Man-Woman’ ”(2004) focuses on the feminist thinking in the novel. Maurer regards Roxana as a subversive woman with a distinctive femininity, trying to stress the character’ s controversial attitude toward matrimony and styling Roxana as an “ economic Amazon”with the emphasis of her economic prowess. She includes contextual conditions as the bases of discussion and acknowledges Roxana as a proto-feminist in her society. Therefore, Maurer disagrees with Dijkstra’ s and Scheuermann’ s standpoints to neutralize Roxana’ s sex. Instead, she identifies with Robyn Wiegman’ s standpoint to consider Roxana’ s business success as part of the “ multiple contradictions … [that] no woman outside her proper role as man’ s wife escapes misfortune”(39) in “ Economies of the Body”(1989). Maurer indeed offers a different view to observe Roxana as a feminist, and the discussion of her rejection of marriage is a valuable approach to the interpretation of Roxana’ s feminist thinking in Chapter Three. However, Maurer’ s contention, though persuasive, focuses more on Roxana’ s rejection of matrimony. She proposes that only by refusing to get married can Roxana establish her female autonomy. Yet it seems that Maurer does not observe Roxana’ s financial prowess with equal appreciation. In the study, the emphasis on Roxana’ s ambition in business will be a crucial concern, because in Defoe, pursuit of financial success is the ultimate goal. Other critics devoted to the study of Defoe on the topic are Dorothy Van Ghent and Everett Zimmerman, for the one centers on the interrelationship between the individual and material world, while the other aims to investigate the way Defoe’ s women construct their female identity in relation to the hostile society. In order to have a better understanding of Defoe’ s economic theory and mercantile thinking in his female-centered novels, the discussion of the proposed study will be divided into two parts. To offer a more comprehensive investigation of.

(23) 22. mercantilism in Defoe and the influence of his capitalistic mind, I would like to analyze Defoe’ s observations on economics and his unceasingly industrious tradesman from the perspective of Max Weber’ s sociology of religion, and his conceptions of economic sociology. In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber elaborates on the development of modern capitalism with the doctrines and work ethic of Protestantism, providing an overview of the formation of a capitalistic mentality. The conception of capitalism that Weber’ s sociology intends to justify is characterized by an e w“ e nt r e pr e ne ur i a ls pi r i t ”i npolitical and cultural history, and the combination of religious doctrine, and economic order in the formulation of Weberian sociology of religion offers an extensive view of apparently conflicting principles and the way it practices in society. According to Weber, the individual’ s devotion to a worldly calling in the capitalistic society can be traced back to Calvinism, in which the individual is regarded as God’ s agent to be devoted to his delegated task, and only through the performance of this duty can he prove genuine faith. Hence, hard work is the way to glorify and deserve the grace of God. Weber states, “ [I]t was in the ethic of ascetic Protestantism that it first found a consistent ethical foundation. Its significance for the development of capitalism is obvious”(Social Reality 172). Based on this contention, Weber attempts to offer a rational explanation to interpret the seemingly irrational pursuit of wealth in capitalism. Weber proposes: [T]he religious valuation of restless, continuous, systematic work in a worldly calling, as the highest means to asceticism, and at the same time the surest and most evident proof of rebirth and genuine faith, must have been the most powerful conceivable lever for the expansion of that attitude toward life which we have here called the spirit of capitalism. (Social.

(24) 23. Reality 174) Ostensibly, the capitalistic spirit in ascetically pursuing and accumulating wealth seems to violate and conflict with the fulfillment of spiritual accomplishment. Yet, Weber regards the formation of the capitalist mentality as one of the results of Protestant thinking. C. Antoni points out that: But for Weber the special note in Western capitalism was the organization of a formally free labor which alone allowed for exact calculation. Thus, a history of modern capitalism would have had to consist of a history of individual liberty…. It is more correct to see him as the formulator of a sociological theory of the irrational stimuli which contribute to the breakdown of traditional restraints…. (148) Weber proffers a new method of interpretation and analysis based on historical background. His theory is helpful to the study of the works of Defoe, who possesses both the distinctive characteristics of Puritanical thinking as well as a money-oriented inclination under the influence of the rising capitalism of his time. The combination of religious devotion and mercenary motive is obvious in Defoe. In his novels, the characters, both male and female, present an ambitious and unceasing determination in the accumulation of wealth; in addition, as the novelist straddles two eras of remarkable economic changes, the characters also express a new mentality in their business maneuvering, which is a manifestation of Defoe’ s progressive attitude toward economy. Defoe possesses a secularized standpoint toward pursuit of wealth, and his protagonists are characterized by a progressive spirit as enterprising individuals. However, Defoe is never an absolute moralist, and he takes a casuistic attitude toward the means for success. His characters are industrious.

(25) 24. trades(wo)men, and yet they are not necessarily morally flawless “ complete tradesman.”Therefore, the discussion of The Complete English Tradesman will be conducted in terms of Weber’ s sociology of religion for a better understanding of Defoe’ s position on commercial activities and his perspectives on economic issues. In addition to an analysis of Defoe’ s definition of “ the complete tradesman,”this study will also center on Defoe’ s characterization of “ women in business”in Moll Flanders and Roxana for the purpose of offering a more complete view of mercantilism in Defoe. The so-called dishonorable women in Defoe have long been a controversial issue among critics. The novelist apparently has special sympathy for women in distress, and endows them with the capability for survival and thrival as independent women. Compared with his contemporary novelists, Defoe indeed takes a rather tolerant attitude toward the issue of female subjectivity. The transgressive nature of Defoe’ s women makes them quite unique characters in the eighteenth-century novels. Instead of submitting themselves to masculine power, Moll and Roxana manipulate men to make profits and to compete with men in the business market. Rather than yielding themselves to their destiny as marginalized woman, these women present remarkable ambitions and abilities by their economic prowess. This study discusses how Defoe’ s female characters construct their female subjectivity by placing Defoe and his female protagonists in context. Critics contributing to the social and economic backgrounds of eighteenth-century England include Lawrence Stone,9 Susan Dwyer Amussen,10 Bridget Hill,11 Roy Porter,12. 9. The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800 (New York: Harper & Row, 1979). An Ordered Society: Gender and Class in Early Modern England (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988). 11 Women, Work, and Sexual Politics in Eighteenth-Century England (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989). 12 English Society in the Eighteenth Century (London: Penguin, 1990). 10.

(26) 25. and Helene Moglen.13 Focusing on a discussion of women’ s prescribed destiny and Defoe’ s sympathy for women in distress, the study attempts to probe proto-feminist thinking in the context of Defoe’ s disreputable female characters. Chapter One will argue that Defoe is a modern mercantilist. Drawing on Max Weber’ s theory of the connection between the Puritan work ethic and the spirit of capitalism, this chapter aims to analyze Defoe’ s mercantile thinking in terms of his religious background and economic treatises. Mercantilism has been one of the foci in the various studies of Defoe. His advocacy of business activities deserves further discussions. The lack of critics on Defoe’ s standpoint of economy is evidence of this issue. I would therefore like to clarify this problem by discussing Defoe’ s first treatise on state finance, An Essay upon Projects (1697), the journals concerning economic issues in Review, and his businessman’ s conduct book, The Complete English Tradesman. This approach offers a comprehensive understanding of Defoe’ s attitude toward the development of economy in his society. In addition, Defoe’ s intention to construct a tradesman mentality in The Complete English Tradesman will be another focus. His ideal tradesman is not a morally flawless figure, but rather an adaptable pursuer of money with great ambition for business success. Defoe boldly claims, “ I nde e d…,t ha tt r a dei t s e l fi nEng l a ndi s… 14 the readiest way for men to raise their fortunes and f a mi l i e s ….” He, in fact, intends. to introduce a new type of tradesman, who not only manipulates the function of money but endeavors to create more opportunities to accumulate wealth, with the ultimate goal to achieve affluence and gain a better position in society. Therefore, the study will also further investigate the feasibility of the complete tradesman’ s 13. The Trauma of Gender: A Feminist Theory of the English Novel (Berkeley, U of California P, 2001). Defoe, The Complete English Tradesman, (London: BiblioBazaar, 2006) 263. Subsequent quotations will be from this edition. Page numbers will be inserted parenthetically in the text, and The Compleat English Tradesman will be abbreviated as CET. 14.

(27) 26. expectation and the ambiguity of Defoe’ s approach to economic and social status. Chapter Two will deal with the changing concept of money as well as Defoe’ s standpoint on women’ s participation in business manipulation. The rise of capitalism and the changing attitude toward money since the sixteenth century had an impact upon the value judgment of eighteenth-century society. With the decline of feudalism, the concept of value encountered an evolution, and through a series of developments, money became closely connected with exchange and circulation. In Models of Value, James Thompson regards the eighteenth century as an age “ confronting money as capital, no longer as treasure, but as money in motion, where the dynamism of capitalist exchange can be linked to narratives of change, transformation, and development”(9). Such a shift also encouraged people’ s engagement in commercial activities and consequently stimulated circulations of commodities and capital. As business activity becomes an important avenue to affluence for commoners, Defoe adopts a flexible attitude in rendering his controversial female characters as businesswomen. The focus for discussion in this chapter is Defoe’ s most notorious woman in Moll Flanders. Rising from the lower classes, Moll as a picara engages herself in the 15 professions of a “ WHORE and THIEF.” However, Defoe seems to model Moll on. the image of his ideal tradesman and equips her with the capability of business management. Through circulation in a metaphorical sense, Moll moves about different men and eventually achieves her aim to be a prosperous middle-class woman. Defoe’ s ambition for social mobility finds the best examples in his women characters, while his tradesman mentality is displayed in Moll in a different sense. Moll’ s. 15. Defoe, Moll Flanders: An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism, ed. Edward Kelly (New York: Norton, 1973) 71. Subsequent quotations will be from this edition and Moll Flanders will be abbreviated as MF..

(28) 27. dedication to her indecent occupations and the way that she accomplishes herself as a gentlewoman-tradeswoman deserve more discussion to justify Moll’ s status as a woman in business. In addition, the transgressiveness in Moll and her construction of a female subjectivity is another interesting concern. Defoe scholars are mostly engaged in investigating his women characters as agents responding to the maneuverings of social institutions. However, being a wife is never the means for Moll to define herself. Moll is a self-made gentlewoman-tradeswoman owing to her business success as a plantation owner instead. Through the study of lower-class women in eighteenth-century English society, the dissertation writer hopes to offer a practical observation of gender negotiation in Moll Flanders. Chapter Three will focus on De f oe ’ sa not he rf e ma l e -centered narrative, Roxana. Defoe depicts a different realm of business operation in Roxana, with which he attempts to introduce new methods of investment, such as the manipulations of banks and mortgages, that are popular in his time. In addition, he also makes a contrast between the old-line aristocracy and the progressive capitalistic mentality. In the novel, Defoe points out: “ Tha ta nEs t a t ei saPond;butt ha taTr a dewa sa Spr i ng ” (Roxana 170). Using the metaphors of the stagnant pond and the inexhaustible spring, Defoe further expresses his advocacy of trade and regards which as a more promising way of achieving personal affluence. In this chapter, Roxana’ s status as a businesswoman of a capitalistic mind will be the core of the argument. Similar to Moll, Roxana trades her feminine beauty for survival but, different from Moll, Roxana, as a middle-class woman, only gains a socially approved position as a wife, although she displays remarkable economic prowess as a successful “ She-Merchant”(Roxana 131). Roxana’ s refusal of matrimony makes.

(29) 28. her a distinctive woman, while the caliber of her business acumen shows her masculine disposition to compete with men. Therefore, the polemical issue whether Roxana is an autonomous individual, and the way she establishes her subjectivity will also be discussed. Critics acknowledge the capabilities of Defoe’ s women in the management of economic profits; however, they fall short of placing these women in contemporary socio-economic contexts, and also in Defoe’ s sustained mercantilist agenda, to discuss them as “ women in business.”Through the systematic theorization of the cultivation of a complete tradesman in The Complete English Tradesman, which preaches didactic lessons to Defoe’ s readers as well as serves as an annotation of his fictional characters, Defoe proposes a flexible and practicable proposition that can be applied to his money-oriented characters in their quest of prosperity. It is not a coincidence that Defoe’ s female characters display the traits possessed by his ideal tradesman. It is cogent to read The Complete English Tradesman as Defoe’ s definitive work on his construction of tradesman mentality and advocacy of commerce. Through an analysis of The Complete English Tradesman, this study hopes to discuss Defoe’ s contentions on the formation of tradesman mentality in relation to his construction of business(wo)men in his novels. In addition, this study also intends to investigate Defoe’ s ambivalent position in an epoch of economic evolution when old and new ideas, such as material gain and traditional mores, meet and clash. In his women characters, Defoe embodies such an age in conflict with itself. On the other hand, this dissertation hopes to identify Defoe’ s women as proto-feminists. It is debatable whether Moll Flanders and Roxana are feminists by modern standards since their notorious conduct cannot be properly correlated with feminism; however, there is no doubt that Defoe takes a flexible standpoint toward.

(30) 29. female subjectivity in his society. Defoe’ s attempt to emphasize female autonomy and mobility is manifest in these two novels. Sa mue lL.Ma c e ys t a t e s ,“ De f oe ’ se mpa t hy with women comes through both explicitly and implicitly in the novels ….De f oe s e e msa bl et os ubs umewi t hi nhi ms e l ft hec ha r a c t e rofaf e ma l epr ot a g oni s t ”( 32) . Defoe indeed endows his women with a high degree of autonomy and transgressiveness which distinguish them from most other women characters in eighteenth-century novels. By studying Moll Flanders and Roxana in the light of their author’ s tradesman mentality and their subversive nature, this study proposes to discuss Defoe’ s feminist thinking in the eighteenth-century social and economic context..

(31) 30. Chapter One Defoe: Mercantilism and Tradesman Mentality. The relationship between the social position of a gentleman and the profession of a tradesman is reciprocal and inseparable in the works of Daniel Defoe. He conveys to his contemporaries his concern for an accumulation of personal wealth and an opportunity to improve social status as a means to advocate the importance of commercial activities in self-accomplishment. The inclination for the embodiment of mercantilism seems to be an encouragement for the middle class to hope for a promising future as well as a reflection on Defoe’ s part of the ethos of the pursuit of capitalist interests in eighteenth-century England. In The Complete English Tradesman,De f oes t a t e s ,“ I nde e d…,t ha tt r a dei t s e l fi nEng l a ndi s… t her e a di e s twa y f orme nt or a i s et he i rf or t une sa ndf a mi l i e s …”( 263) .De f oei spr oudoft hea f f l ue nc e brought forth by business, taking it as a universal interest among most eighteenth-century Britons, as he elaborates the idea with a more optimistic attitude and envisions a rosy prospect for his fellow citizens. The attempt to elevate the status of tradesman is rather obvious in Defoe, and the intention to animate business activities is a manifestation of his ambition to emphasize t hef a c tt ha tEng l a ndi sat r a di ngc ount r y .I a nWa t ts a y s ,“ [ De f oe ’ s ]f i c t i oni st hef i r s t which presents us with a picture both of the individual life in its larger perspectives as a historical process, and in its closer view which shows the process being acted out a ga i ns tt heba c kg r oundoft hemos te phe me r a lt houg ht sa nda c t i ons ”( Rise of Novel 24). Compared with other eighteenth-century novelists, the trait that distinguishes De f oe ’ sna r r a t i ve sf r om those of his contemporary writers is that Defoe stresses more the problems caused by society and the close relationship between the individual and society, while writers like Richardson focus mainly on domestic stories, as economic.

(32) 31. issues catch less attention. In Economics and the Fiction of Daniel Defoe, Ma xi mi l l i a nE.Nova ks a y s ,“ De f oe ’ snove l sa r enotme r e l y‘ e c onomi c ’i nt hes e ns e t ha tt he yc ont a i ne c onomi ct he me s ….Butwha ti smor ei mpor t a nti shi st e nde nc yt o look at human beings and their environment from the viewpoint of a mercantilist e c onomi s t ”( vi i ) .Mone yi sac r uc i a li s s uebot ht oDe f oea ndhi swor ks ,and John Richetti even regards it as the main motive for Defoe to produce his imaginative writings at the age of fifty-nine in 1719 (Richetti, Life of Daniel Defoe 174-75). In Review, Defoe claims emphatically that poverty is the ruin for humanity. He says, “ [I]f I am poor I shall be a thief. I tell you all, gentlemen, in your poverty the best of you will rob your neighbor; na y ,t og of a r t he r… y ouwi l lnotonl yr oby ourne i g hbour , buti fi ndi s t r e s sy ouwi l lEATy ourne i g hbour ,a y ,a nds a yg r a c et oy ourme a tt oo” (271).. 16. Suc hac a nni ba l i s t i c de c l a r a t i on e xpr e s s e s De f oe ’ sa nxi e t y about. impoverishment and proves his awareness as well of economic problems both for the individual and his country. Defoe’ s concern for money helps him develop specific perceptions on economics in the later part of his life. Although this announcement in Review seems to be ironic, it is a response to his real life situation. Like the recurrent theme in several of his novels that man has to fight against trials and hostility of society and then achieve a kind of balance to conform to that order, Defoe confronted financial predicaments in most of his life. His engagement in 1719 as a tradesman, a middleman, and a manufacturer of both linen and tiles was evidence of his alliance with the arduous eighteenth-century middle class. De f oe ’ s efforts in the investigation of economics are conspicuous. As a mercantilist, he proposes that trade enriches England and deems tradesmen to be in the crucial role leading the country toward prosperity. In addition, he attempts to. 16. “ Gi v eMeNotPov e r t y ,Le s tISt e a l ! ”ⅤⅢ, no. 75 (Saturday, September 15, 1711)..

(33) 32. subvert the existing hierarchical system with the bold suggestion that after a few decades, the de s c e nde nt soft r a de s me nwi l lbe c omet hege nt r yoft hec ount r y .De f oe ’ s thesis seems surprising, yet confronting the changing attitudes toward money and living under the influence of the early development of capitalism in the era, Defoe establishes a specific mentality, advocating trade to be a superior profession that benefits not only the individual, but the country, too, and further illustrates the proposition in his works. I nt hi sc ha pt e r ,t hedi s c us s i onofDe f oe ’ spos i t i ona same r c a nt i l i s ta ndt he construction of a tradesman mentality will be the main focus. The study will begin with an analysis of the inheritance of Puritan mentality in Defoe as an indication of how the writer constructs a specific perspective to observe trade and apply such a mentality to his writing. Based on the conception of the German sociologist, Max Weber, the development of the discussion will focus on the theory of the transformation of capitalism and the formation of Puritan work ethic in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, in order to follow the interrelationship between Defoe’ s mercantilism and Puritanism as well as to survey the establishment of the tradesman mentality in Defoe. Another concern will be the cultivation of a true tradesman and the concern of economics in The Complete English Tradesman, in which Defoe thoroughly expressed his mercantilist thinking. I would like to extend t hedi s c us s i on t oa na l y z eDe f oe ’ spos i t i on t o wa r dc omme r c i a lc onduc ta nd hi s de f i ni t i onofa“ c ompl e t et r a de s ma n, ”whi c hwoul dbeac ombi na t i onof“ ge nt l e ma n” a nd“ t r a de s ma n, ”ac ompl i c a t i onoft hepur s ui to fbot hs t a t usa ndwe a l t h,f orabe t t e r understanding of mercantilism in Daniel Defoe. Capitalism and Puritanism, seemingly diametric contentions, achieve a concordant state in Daniel Defoe the writer and his works, as the former encourages.

(34) 33. social mobility and the latter regulates personal conduct. In his autobiographical na r r a t i ve s ,De f oe ’ sc ha r a c t e r sa r e de pi c t e da sa n“ e mbodi me nt of e c onomi c i ndi vi dua l i s m”( Wa t t ,Rise of Novel 63), in which labor and the pursuit of money receive equal attention in self accomplishment, yet the quest of the secular interest in Defoe reconciles with spiritual aspiration. Issues concerning economic advance seem to be contradictory to religious morality; however, it is hard to neglect the influence of religious coalition on social institutions. In the discussion of the development of modern capitalism, Max Weber points out the difficulty whenever people assume an absolute detachment of religion from business activity because religion appears to be “ ame a nsofdr a wi ngpe opl ea wa yf r om l a bouri nt hi swor l d”( Economic Sociology 68). It might, after all, seem irrational that an individual exists for his business instead of happiness. Yet according to Weber, the interrelationship between business and religion is rather intimate, s i nc e“ r e l i g i ousa f f i l i a t i oni snotac a us eoft h ee c onomi c c ondi t i ons ,butt oac e r t a i ne xt e nta ppe a r st obear e s ul toft he m”( Protestant Ethic 35). We intend here to observe the issue in terms of historical circumstances. Since the Reformation (1517-1648) beganwi t hMa r t i nLut he r ’ sposting of his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power of Indulgences, Protestants meant to rectify the corruption and malpractice of the Catholic Church, advocating that God speaks plainly to the whole world instead of through the church, and considering the Bible as the main source of revealed truth. In the eighteenth-century England, as Dissenters and Nonconformists refused to conform to the religious rites and exact beliefs of the Church of England, and endeavored to oppose its hierarchical system, Puritans tended to purify the Church as they believed themselves able to maintain contact with God directly, and took the church institution to be dispensable (Green 22-24). While discarding the intermediation of the church and the priest as the only means for.

(35) 34. laymen to communicate with God, the Protestant convictions allowed people to have a direct approach to God. The changes in the attitude toward ecclesiastical system and the skepticism of the authority of the church as an institution helped the secularization of Christianity, since the Protestants emphasized the priesthood of all believers, and regarded faith as the means of justification. In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber indicates that Protestant doctrines and education cultivate laborers whose working spirit would advance the animation of the capitalist society. Based on the contention of Martin Luther (1483-1546), which views the performance of worldly duties as the means to ma ni f e s tt he i ndi vi dua l ’ sf a i t hi n God,We be rs i g ni f i c a nt l yi nt r oduc e sr e l i g i ous adherence into the formulation of the economic motive. It is noteworthy that the pursuit of material gains has long been considered as a detachment from religious loyalties, as such contentment would impede the access to transcendent experiences. Wa t ts a y s ,“ Thehy pos t a s i soft hee c onomi cmot i vel og i c a l l ye nt a i l sade va l ua t i onof ot he rmode soft houg ht ,f e e l i nga n da c t i on… a nds o, too, are the competing claims of non-economic individual achievement and enjoyment, ranging from spiritual s a l va t i ont ot hepl e a s ur e sofr e c r e a t i on”( Rise of Novel 64). However, endowing the t e r m“ Be r uf , ”or“ c a l l i ng , ”wi t hane w me a ni ng —a task imposed by God, which induces the central dogma of Protestant denominations, Luther the reformer takes a different attitude toward mundane duties and thus rationalizes the combination of work e t hi ca ndt hea mbi t i onofs pi r i t ua ls a t i s f a c t i on.We be rs t a t e s ,“ Theonl y way of living acceptably to God was not to surpass worldly morality in monastic asceticism, but solely through the fulfillment of the obligations imposed upon the individual by hi spos i t i oni nt hewor l d.Tha twa shi s[ Lut he r ’ s ]c a l l i ng ”( Protestant Ethic 80). Compa r e dwi t ht heCa t hol i ca t t i t ude ,Lut he r ’ sc onc e pt i onoft hec a l l i ngof f e r sa.

(36) 35. reason for labor, and the profit made from hard work thus becomes the manifestation oft hei ndi vi dua l ’ sde vot i ont oreligious loyalty. Luther attempts to internalize the achievement of secular success as a representation of worship of God, which approves the valuation of worldly routines. A Lutheran conception of worldly duties, however, is not unassailable. Emphasizing the significance of the moral justification for the fulfillment of secular dut y ,We be ront heot he rha ndc ont e ndst ha tLut he r ’ spr opos i t i ont oobs e r vet he obligation of working in terms of the division of labor as an expression of brotherly love is rather naïve (Weber, Protestant Ethics 81). Nonetheless, he still highly e ndor s e st hene w me a ni ngof“ c a l l i ng ”Lut he rs ugg e s t s ,whi c hr a t i ona l i z e sma t e r i a l g a i nsa n dr out i nea c t i vi t i e sa st het a s ksi mpos e dbyGod.Hes a y s ,“ Tha tt hi smor a l justification of worldly activities was one of the most important results of the Re f or ma t i on,e s pe c i a l l yofLut he r ’ spa r ti ni t ,i sbe y onddoubt ,a ndma ye ve nbe c ons i de r e d apl a t i t ude ”( Protestant Ethic 81). Yet Weber also acknowledges the l i mi t a t i o nofLut he r ’ sc a l l i ng17 in the establishment of a new connection between capitalism and religious doctrines as he questions the feasibility of discussing the influence of Lutheran conceptions in what he regards as the spirit of capitalism. It is doubtless that Luther and his Church do introduce a new perspective to interpret the significance of secular duty, although the concept inevitably retreats to a more providential spectrum as he attempts to explain worldly affairs in terms of the assignment of the divine will. However, Weber also indicates that it would be far-fetching if we intend to attribute the development of the spirit of capitalism or e c onomi ce vol ut i ont or e l i g i ousmove me nt ss i nc e“ pr og r a mme sofe t hi c a lr e f or m 17. Weber indicates that although Luther endows the calling with a new meaning, it remains traditionalistic because under the principle, the individual has to accept the position assigned by God, and Lutheran calling in effect tends to further stress providential elements instead. See The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism 84-86..

(37) 36. ne ve rwe r ea tt hec e nt e rofi nt e r e s tf ora nyoft her e l i g i ousr e f or me r s ”( Protestant Ethic 89), and what he tries to investigate is the extent of the cultural consequences of the Reformation. Weber acc ount s ,“ [ W] ea r eme r e l ya t t e mpt i ngt oc l a r i f yt hepa r t which religious forces have played in forming the developing web of our specifically worldly modern culture, in the complex interaction of innumerable different historical f a c t or s ”( Protestant Ethic 90). It is true that before the Reformation came to be a claim, the capitalistic culture had long existed, and thus it would be fallacious to consider the issue of economic changes solely from the perspective of religious belief. Weber in effect tries to discuss a more complicated cultural phenomenon, in which the formulation of a capitalistic spirit correlates with the religious influence, with the intention of providing the reader with a direction to analyze to what extent the religious movements have had an impact upon the changing attitudes of material concerns. In the investigation of the relationship between Protestant justification and capitalistic mentality, Weber regards Calvinism as the most influential sect in this formulation,18 while the Lut he r a nc onc e pt i onof“ c a l l i ng ”of f e r sas t a r t i ngpoi ntt o observe the achievement of mundane duties as an access to God. Luther the reformer introduces a new viewpoint promoting the valuation of labor with religious reward, since all worldly duties enjoy equal importance in the sight of God; Calvinism, on the other hand, further ascertains its position with religious convictions that have a great. 18. Weber enumerates four denominations—Calvinism, Pietism, Methodism, and Baptist—in the discussion of worldly asceticism, and yet there is, in effect, no clear demarcation among the movements of the four sects and the religious justifications are sometimes very similar, while Weber also admits that “ even the distinction from the non-ascetic Church of the Reformation is never perfectly clear”(Protestant Ethic 95). However, as a branch of Luther’ s successors, Calvinism presents a rather non-compromising attitude and displays its determination to break off from the traditionalism. Weber regards the doctrine of predestination in Calvinism to be a significant contention because “ it had not only a quite unique consistency, but … its psychological effect was extraordinarily powerful” (Protestant Ethic 128). Thus this study will focus mainly on the influence of Calvinism in the investigation of the interrelationship between the religious forces and the material culture..

(38) 37. impact upon both the individual and the community. Yet what Weber attempts to discuss is not Calvinistic doctrines and its ethical sketches; instead, the purpose i nt e r e s t shi m mor ei st hei nf l ue nc eofi t s“ ps y c hol og i c a ls a nc t i ons ”( Protestant Ethic 97) in the followers. The principle of predestination distinguishes Calvinism from Lutheranism, since God in Calvinistic doctrines is more like the strict one of the Old Testament that offers little mercy to His people. In Lutheranism, the grace of God, which consists in His secret decree, is revocable and could be won again by humility and trust in the sacrament and the word of God. Lutheran doctrine emphasizes faith alone, repudiating the ascetic tendency in the layman as a manifestation of faith in God and viewing the issue of salvation with much more tolerance. On the contrary, God in Calvinism is a transcendental being beyond the understanding of the layman and His grace is a product of an objective power that is hard to pierce. Divine Will cannot be changed by the effort of the individual, since his destiny, either saved or condemned, is ordained when he is created. Calvinism refutes any means for salvation and thus determines the inevitable inner loneliness19 in its follower, for the existence of God is to prove His glory, not for the sake of men. Weber indicates: That great historic process in the development of religion, the elimination of magic from the world which had begun with the old Hebrew prophets and, in conjunction with Hellenistic scientific thought, had repudiated all magical means to salvation as superstition and sin, came here to its logical conclusion. The genuine Puritan even rejected all signs of religious c e r e mony… i nor de rt ha tnos upe r s t i t i on,not r us ti nt hee f f e c tofma g i c a l and sacramental forces on salvation, should creep in. (Protestant Ethic 19. According to the doctrine of Calvinism, man has to completely subordinate all his interest to Divine Will since no one can help him. So Calvinistic mentality rejects any forms of intermediation between the individual and God, and the individual is always alone while there will be no priest, no sacraments, no Church, and even no God. See Protestant Ethic 103-05..

(39) 38. 105) Di s e nc h a nt me nt( “ e nt z a ube r ung ” )i st hec r uc i a lc onc e pti nWe be r ’ si nve s t i g a t i onof the influence of the religious force in the formation of the social standard, since it helps Calvinism discard the manipulation of religious measures, which once appeared i nt he Ca t hol i c Chur c h,a nd s t r e s s e st he “ a bs ol ut et r a ns c e nde nt a l i t y ”( We be r , Protestant Ethic 105) of God, negating the sensuous and emotional issues in culture and in religion. Such a spiritual isolation encourages the ethical attitude of the faithful Puritan to think only of his salvation, and according to Weber, the Calvinistic worldly asceticism is thus completely expressed in the practice and fulfillment of the daily task. He states: God requires social achievement of the Christian because He wills that social life shall be organized according to His commandments, in accordance with that purpose. The social activity of the Christian in the world is solely activity in majorem gloriam Dei. That character is hence shared by labour in a calling which serves the mundane life of the community. (Protestant Ethic 108) In Calvinism, the elect considers himself to be a chosen agent and is sure of his salvation, and only through the conscientious trust in God and the achievement of the secular duty as the means to glorify the grace of God can the individual ascertain his s t a t usa s“ God’ si nvi s i bl eChur c h”( We be r ,Protestant Ethic 110), instead of appealing t ot heme di um ofe c c l e s i a s t i c a lme a ns .We be rpoi nt sout ,“ Thee xhor t a t ion of the a pos t l et oma kef a s tone ’ sownc a l li she r ei nt e r pr e t e da sadut yt oa t t a i nc e r t a i nt yof one ’ so wne l e c t i ona ndj us t i f i c a t i oni nt heda i l ys t r ugg l eofl i f e ”( Protestant Ethic.