A Failed Attempt at Love

Was the woman's method truly better for fostering love?

"I have him always raving, wild, impatient, longing, dying -- O that all neglecting Wives,  and fond abandon'd Nymphs would take this Method! -- Men would be caught in their own Snare, and have no Cause to scorn our easy, weeping, wailing Sex!" (Haywood 14)

"at the end of the century curiosity was represented as a rebellious impulse that could endanger the state and the individual and that consequently required defusing through ridicule and reproof, spectacle and sententiousness. [...] curiosity appears as a tyrannical desire to control others that creates monsters." (Benedict 22)

The woman of Fanomina believes that her wit has devised a superior way to court men. The second sentence, isolated by dashes, emphasizes her belief that she has discovered the ultimate solution for women. She switches from objectifying the state she has Beauplaisir in to mourning that women don't have the same designs, they are poor "abandon'd Nymphs." This lamenting tone is further exemplified through her use of "our easy, weeping, wailing Sex!," which is also an ironic satire because she believes herself to not be of that disposition, but, her obsession for Beauplaisir proves otherwise.

 She successfully takes advantage of man's wondering fancy for women. She has Beauplaisir "caught in [his] own snare." She has him "raving," "impatient," and "longing," but doesn't recognize that he longs for different women, not her specifically. Ironically, she is the one who is truly "raving." She does everything in her power to manipulate Beauplaisir into more passionate ventures.

The woman's schemes do not truly represent love. She is not caring for Beauplaisir's well-being and he doesn't know that she is the same woman. The passion that they share is completely superficial unable to penetrate past the physical. The woman's curiosity is fueled by a "rebellious impulse" to reject the social norm for courting and developing relationships. She refuses to be the second class sex and submit to men. However, through her ingenious plots she becomes the "monster," in a sense, that Benedict portrays.

We see a clear example of Enlightenment discourse in Fantomina. Curiosity is fueling the drive to break social boundaries and experiment in new ways of thought. Gender roles are broken down and the woman is portrayed as intelligent, having the upper hand over the man. However, we are reminded that these ways of thought are still breaking into the culture. Even though the woman is crafty, she is still bound to the culture she lives in. She is not able to get away with her craft and ends up pregnant and sent to a monastery.