"I have outwitted even the most subtle of the deceiving kind, and while he thinks to fool me, is himself the only beguiled person," thinks Fantomina/Celia/Widow Bloomer to herself, at the bottom of p. 3092.
Whose behavior is more blameworthy, hers or Beauplaisir's?
Cite some evidence from the text to support your claim.
Deadline: Friday (8/28), start of class.
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Beauplaisir is a man who is willing to take advantage of any naive woman he is able to obtain. He charms them with his romantic rhetoric and heavenly beauty so that they remain within his spell. However, Beauplaisir's behavior is not most blameworthy. Instead, it is the young lady who is to blame for her reckless and passionate actions. For example: "immediately into her head, to dress herself as near as she could in the fashion of those women...at that time no other aim, than the gratification of an innocent curiosity" (3082). That innocent curiosity she possessed evolved into a disgraceful obsession which lead to her dishonor and poor quality. She could have stop her beguiling ways before they were out of her grasp, but she decided to continue. She couldn't resist the power she had over Beauplaisir. For example, she said "I have him always raving, wild, impatient, longing, dying" (3096). Her passions took hold of her and transformed her from a young lady of distinguished birth into one of her characters; she became Fantomina.
Although the young lady deserves some of the blame, I believe that she is not the most blameworthy out of the two. Although it was because of curiosity that the young lady invented the persona of Fantomina, it was because of love that she continued to invent new disguises. Despite losing her virtue of restraint, the young lady “had not also thrown off another virtue equally valuable, though generally unfortunate, constancy” (2802). It is her constancy which becomes her redeeming trait. Even though she changed from Fantomina to Celia to The Widow, the young lady never once entertained the idea of sleeping with any other man than Beauplaisir. In fact, the young lady would never have acquired such a passionate love any other way. Had she respectfully married him, “[she] should have had, at best, but a cold, insipid, husband-like lover in [her] arms” (2810).
Beauplaisir, on the other hand, lacked both the virtues of restraint and constancy. Although he remained true to one character for a while, Beauplaisir “prefer[ed] the last conquest, only because it [was] the last” (2807). Whereas the lady continued to passionately love Beauplaisir, he was not “able to prolong desire to any great length after possession” (2802). Once he tired of his latest mistress, Beauplaisir went looking for another passionate, fleeting, and disposable romance. Had he been capable of maintaining desire for one woman, the young lady would never have needed to invent so many different characters in order keep his love.
Neither Fantomina nor Beauplaisir are completely to blame, however, it is difficult to declare one more innocent than the other. Fantomina's intentions were far from honorable when she began dressing as a mistress, "having... no other aim than the gratification for an innocent curiousity" (227). However, upon meeting and conversing with the charming Beauplaisir, Fantomina finds herself both hopelessly in love, and completely obsessed, with him: "... she almost died for another opportunity of conversing with him" (229). It is thus a result of her love that she creates new identities and personalities to maintain the affections of this man. In contrast, Beauplaisir is a man who continues to abuse his charm and good looks to secure the affections of multiple women, all of whom he quickly tires of, to the extent that it was "but what she [the Widow Bloomer] expected" (240). As such, Beauplaisir's freedoms and assumed superiority to women make his behavior more dispicable than that of Fantomina.
I believe Beauplaisir is the more guilty of the the two characters of this story. Fantomina is constrained by her sex and must use her different identities to overcome them. Beauplaisir exploits the women in his life because he is a man and social stigmas do not prevent him from doing so. His boredom that arises after spending much time with a woman requires his lovers to think of creatives ways to keep them. Fantomina is a victim of Beauplaisir's boredom. After time spent with Fantomina, Beaplaisir "varied not so much from his sex as to be able to prolong desire to any great length after possession: the rifled charms of Fantomina soon lost their potency..." (3087). Fantomina was forced to meet the needs of the man she loved because he could not remain interested in any woman for an extended period of time. If Beauplaisir had been able to remain interested in one woman for an extended period of time, Fantomina not have had to use her disguises to seduce him over and over again.
On the top of page 3093 ...while the knowledge of his inconsistency and levity of nature kept her from having that real tenderness she would else have had..." p.3093 We can se that Fantomina realizes that no matter how excellent her deceiving talents are, there will never be a true feeling of love between her and Beaplaisir. So the fact of the matter is certainly that no matter how hard Fantomina will try to manipulate her relationship, the man that she loves so dearly will never lover her back the same, and so I believe that it is Fantomina's state of denial and obsession, that ultimately puts her at blame. If it wasn't for her insoluble addiction to Beaplaisir then there wouldn't really be a reason for the dramatic cycle of romance to continue. Beaplaisir is definitely not to blame because he understands and accepts his mannerism and knows already that he likes to sleep with various women, the person that can not accept it however is Fantomina.
Beauplaisir and Fantomina work to make each other guilty. I believe one should also view each character more broadly as a man and a woman in this period.
Men are guilty of being able to make a woman change and behave in certain ways while women are guilty of conforming to that standard. But did either sex no anything different?
Fantomina is described as being "skilled in the art of feigning, that she had the power of putting on almost what face she pleased, and knew so exactly how to form her behavior to the character she represented..." (3091). It seems as though Fantomina and women are guilty of possessing another personality so well that they lose sight of their individuality.
I agree with Cara's statement: "If Beauplaisir had been able to remain interested in one woman for an extended period of time, Fantomina not have had to use her disguises to seduce him over and over again."
It is a cause and effect relationship that develops throughout the plot yet leaves a burden, guilt on Fantomina with the pregnancy. In this sense, the reader could reconsider Beauplaisir's guilt since there is an obvious weight dropped on Fantomina.
I find the number of responses declaring equal guilt interesting. There are many solid arguments posited by their authors, however, most of them fail to look at the genesis of the issue, the young lady's first night at the playhouse. There we see that there is no question of who was the instigator of the whole situation; it was Fantomina, with her "curiosity" (3082). It is noted that there were "several gentlemen" (3082) talking to the prostitutes at the time.Thus it is shown that the solicitation of prostitutes was a custom at the time, something Beauplaisir was used to doing, whether it is moral or not. So is he to be blamed that he simply fell into the rut of his customary, socially allowed, habits and not notice the cries of "she is mighty like my fine Lady Such-a-one" (3083)? Now, to say the blame rests on Fantomina is actually a trickier matter. If you believe in the doctrine of cultural relativism, then certainly, she is in the wrong as she has violated her time's social customs and norms. However, as modern readers, we can realize the extent of the injustice inherit in such a society, and realize that while Fantomina's curiosity may have the instigating factor, perhaps it is society, and not her, we should blame.
I will note that the woman known as "Fantomina" instigated the greater portion of the events; however Beauplaisir is guilty because he was the party initiating the beginning of each action. "Fantomina" entered disguised as a prostitute to satisfy her curiosity and vanity. Catching the eye of Beauplaisir was the unintended consequence of her disguise. Further interactions between the "well versed" hustler and the young women is the responsibility of veteran patron Beauplaisir.
Some can argue that his forcefulness in raping “Fantomina” is a result of cultural norms and moral ambiguity towards men and prostitution. However, inflicting direct and undue pain, misery, and torture towards any class is against upper social morality.
This is the case against Beauplaisir when “she told him, that she was a virgin, and had assumed this manner of behavior only to engage him” but still raped her (Longman 3085). Even with “the knowledge of her birth” it wouldn’t have “curbed the wild exuberance of his luxurious wishes (Longman 3085).”
Now further instances of Bauplaisir’s responsibility predating actions would be his plan to see both “Fantomina” and the widow “Mrs. Bloomer” for his own satisfactions. His written letters depict a man that is playing the heart strings of two women in order to satisfy his own indignations. It is shown in the letters that Beauplaisir was lying about a business meeting to “Fantomina” in order to spend a day with the widow “Mrs. Bloomer”. This evidence of a pre-meditated plan to seek the relations of multiple women pins the blame on the womanizing Beauplaisir.
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