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Dramatic Irony
Moll in Newgate Prison
Explanation and Analysis—The Midwife:
As Moll’s criminal accomplice who comes to feel sincerely remorseful for her immoral past, the Midwife (who Moll refers to as her "governess") acts as a foil to Moll. While Moll feels somewhat regretful once she is caught and imprisoned at Newgate Prison after years of thievery and cons, her feelings do not come close to those of the Midwife, as she explains in the following passage:
My poor Governess was utterly Disconsolate, and she that was my Comforter before, wanted Comfort now herself, and sometimes Mourning, sometimes Raging, was as much out of herself (as to all outward Appearance) as any mad Woman in Bedlam. Nor was she only Disconsolate as to me, but she was struck with Horror at the Sense of her own wicked Life, and began to look back upon it with a Taste quite different from mine; for she was Penitent to the highest Degree for her Sins, as well as Sorrowful for the Misfortune.
As Moll explains, the Midwife was “utterly Disconsolate,” “mourning,” “raging,” and “struck with Horror of the Sense of her own wicked Life.” In other words, her reaction to her past misdeeds was extreme and she was genuinely sorry.
The Midwife’s role as a foil comes across in the way that Moll contrasts the Midwife’s reaction with her own, describing how the Midwife’s sense of regret had “a Taste quite different from mine” because, unlike her, the Midwife was “Penitent to the highest Degree for her Sins.” A few paragraphs later, Moll even directly states that the Midwife was “a great deal more truly Penitent.” All of this language combines to make it clear that, while Moll claims to be penitent for her sins throughout the novel, she does not deeply regret her actions. This is because she knows that any immoral actions she took came not from choice but from need—any crime she engaged in was only to earn enough money to live off of as an oppressed woman in her society.
Related Themes:
