Roxana by Daniel Defoe

First published: 1724

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Picaresque

Time of plot: Eighteenth century

Locale: England and continental Europe

Principal characters

• Roxana, a courtesan
• Amy, her maid
• Mr. ——, her landlord
• The Prince de ——,
• A Merchant,

The Story:

Born in France, from which her parents fled because of religious persecution, Roxana grew to adolescence in England. At the age of fifteen, she married a handsome but conceited man. After eight years of marriage, during which time her husband went through all of their money, Roxana is left penniless with five children. She appeals for aid to her husband’s relatives, all of whom refuse her except one old aunt, who is in no position to help her materially. Amy, Roxana’s maid, refuses to leave her mistress although she receives no wages for her work. Another poor old woman whom Roxana had aided during her former prosperity adds her efforts to those of the old aunt and Amy. These good people manage to extract money from the relatives of the children’s father, and all five of the little ones are given over to the care of the poor old woman.

Roxana is penniless and at the point of despair when Mr. ——, her landlord, after expressing his admiration for her, praises her fortitude under all of her difficulties and offers to set her up in housekeeping. He returns all the furniture he had confiscated, gives her food and money, and generally conducts himself with such kindness and candor that Amy urges Roxana to become the gentleman’s mistress should he ask it. Roxana, however, clings to her virtuous independence. Fearing that the gentleman’s kindness will go unrewarded, Amy, because she loves her mistress, offers to lie with the landlord in Roxana’s place. This offer, however, Roxana refuses to consider. The two women talk much about the merits of the landlord, his motive in befriending Roxana, and the moral implications of his attentions.

When the landlord comes to take residence as a boarder in Roxana’s house, he proposes, since his wife has deserted him, that he and Roxana live as husband and wife. To show his good faith, he offers to share his wealth with her, bequeathing her five hundred pounds in his will and promising seven thousand pounds if he leaves her. There is a festive celebration that evening and a little joking about Amy’s offer to lie with the gentleman. Finally Roxana, her conscience still bothering her, yields to his protestations of love and has sex with him.

After a year and a half has passed and Roxana has not conceived a child, Amy chides her mistress for her barrenness. Feeling that Mr. —— is not her true husband, Roxana sends Amy to him to beget a child. Amy does bear a child, which Roxana takes as her own to save the maid embarrassment. Two years later, Roxana has a daughter, who dies within six months. A year later, she pleases her lover with a son.

Mr. —— takes Roxana with him to Paris on business. There they live in great style until he is robbed and murdered for the jewels he carries on his person. Roxana manages to retain the gentleman’s wealth and secure it against the possible claims of his wife, who is still living.

In France, the Prince de —— hopes to make amends to Roxana for the murder of her protector by lavishing gifts upon her and flattering her beauty until she consents to be his mistress, this time allowing her virtue to be sullied not because of poverty but because of vanity. In order to suppress gossip, Roxana pretends that she has gone back to England on business, confines herself to her quarters, and instructs Amy to admit only Prince de ——.

Roxana’s new lover showers her bountifully with gifts. When she gives birth to a son, he promises to acknowledge the child as his own and to provide adequately for him. After the birth of the child, Roxana sees a man, a member of the gendarmes, whom she thinks she recognizes as her husband. Amy visits the man and finds him to be the same worthless scoundrel who, years before, had abandoned his wife and five children. When the prince has to go to Italy on an official assignment, he takes Roxana with him. They remain there for two years. She has another son, who lives only two months. Then the prince’s wife dies, and he, repenting his sins, parts from Roxana, who has been his faithful mistress for eight years.

Roxana and her maid sail for England after engaging a merchant to handle Roxana’s wealth. Roxana has to go to Holland to receive her money from the merchant, who arrives in Holland from Paris and takes lodgings in the same house as Roxana. He and Roxana become well acquainted. The merchant wants to marry her, but she, too avaricious and calculating to risk her wealth for a mere caprice of love, suspects his motives. She does allow him to seduce her, however, for she feels she owes him some token of gratitude for his assistance. She is already pregnant with his child when they part.

Returning to London, Roxana settles her financial affairs and gives birth to a boy. She establishes herself in a handsome apartment and is courted by numerous fortune hunters, but her philosophy, as she chooses to call it, will not permit her to marry anyone. As a wife, she would have to share her wealth; as a mistress, she receives riches, and she is determined to amass a fortune.

Roxana gives lavish parties that are attended by many of the fashionable people of London. Soon her name becomes famous, and her purpose is fulfilled when a rich lord offers her a substantial income if she will become his mistress. She retires from society, takes a new apartment, and sees only the lord. She passes several years in this fashion, by which time she is fifty years old. Tiring at last of her lover, she begins to see her friends again.

With Amy’s help, she begins to live a different kind of life so that eventually she can assist her children. She takes a room in another part of the city with a Quaker lady, and Amy lets people believe that her mistress has gone to Europe. By chance, Roxana meets the merchant whom she had known in Holland and whose son she had borne, and the merchant renews his suit. Although Amy sends word from Europe that Prince de —— is trying to find Roxana and wishes to marry her, Roxana, having learned that her husband is dead, accepts the merchant’s proposal. The pair plans to return to Holland and take residence there. They will declare themselves eleven years married in order to legitimate their son.

One of Roxana’s legitimate daughters is also her maid while Roxana lives in London. At first, Roxana tries to help her daughter by giving her, through Amy, money and advantages above her station. When the girl begins to suspect that her employer is her mother, Roxana is distressed, for she will be undone if her past is revealed. When Amy, infuriated with the prying girl, threatens to murder her, Roxana, after many years’ friendship, dismisses her faithful maid. At last, however, the persistent daughter’s inquiries are silenced, and Roxana is able to go to Holland with her new husband.

Bibliography

Backscheider, Paula R. Daniel Defoe: Ambition and Innovation. Louisville: University of Kentucky Press, 1986. Provides biographical information as well as critical interpretations of Defoe’s novels.

Bell, Ian A. Defoe’s Fiction. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1985. Examines the elements of Defoe’s writing style and discusses his characters, including Roxana.

Boardman, Michael M. Defoe and the Use of Narrative. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1985. Provides a discussion of Defoe’s technique of storytelling, with a focus on how the author structures his stories.

Lund, Roger D., ed. Critical Essays on Daniel Defoe. New York: G. K. Hall, 1997. Collection of essays addresses the full range of Defoe’s writings, including his domestic conduct manuals, his travel books, and his novels, with two essays devoted to Roxana. Among the topics discussed are Defoe’s treatment of slavery and his treatment of the city.

Novak, Maximillian E. Daniel Defoe: Master of Fictions—His Life and Ideas. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Comprehensive biographical study by a leading Defoe scholar places Defoe’s work within the context of the events of his life. Includes analysis of Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders, and other novels as well as discussion of Defoe’s works in other genres.

Richetti, John J. Daniel Defoe. Boston: Twayne, 1987. Looks at Defoe’s process of writing and his development of plot and characters, using Roxana and Moll Flanders as examples.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Life of Daniel Defoe: A Critical Biography. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2005. Presents a thorough examination of Defoe’s writing within the context of his life and opinions, including analysis of his fiction and his political and religious journalism. Focuses on Defoe’s distinctive literary style.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Daniel Defoe. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Collection of essays includes analyses of Defoe’s political and religious journalism as well as examinations of the topics of money and character in his fiction, Defoe as a narrative innovator, and gender issues in Moll Flanders and Roxana.