Social Gender, Morality, And Identity, By Eliza Haywood

A disguise is used to mask a person’s identity and it is used as a tool to aid a person’s escape from reality. In Eliza Haywood’s novel Fantomina or Love in a Maze, the main character’s true identity is unknown to the reader and the characters featured in Haywood’s novel are fabricated personas. As the title suggests, the main character finds herself in a love maze. Fantomina’s disguises help guide her through this maze to an end goal. Whether this goal is to fulfill her own desires or to find love is unclear however, Fantomina will stop at nothing and the choices she makes reflect this. Eliza Haywood uses her masquerade novel, Fantomina, to challenge common misconceptions for women in social positions, gender, morality and identity. Fantomina was a novel written in 1725 by Eliza Haywood. It was not the norm during this time period for women to have successful careers as an author. Contrary to writers before her, Eliza Haywood was one of the first women to publish a successful novel (Eliza Haywood Biography 1). Haywood typically published her stories using an anonymous name (1). Unlike other novels, Fantomina breaks norms with its short length and the ambiguity of the characters. Haywood does not give the characters formal names and the names are never revealed. The novel can be categorized as a masquerade novel because of Fantomina’s disguises and the underlying message regarding social change during the eighteenth century. According to Booth, â€Å"Haywood also explores theShow MoreRelatedComparing Haywood s And The Allure Of Masquerade Essay1560 Words   |  7 Pagesin sexual activity are stigmatized as undesirable for ‘serious’ relationships. Meanwhile, the virtuous relationship women is seen as less sexual and as needing help to spice up her sex live and hold the attention of her partner. These two female identities are put at odds with each other, but just as Haywood’s protagonist attempts to stay the virtuous woman while playing as a seductress, today’s modern woman is expected to play both roles. The introduction t o â€Å"Fantomina: or, Love in a Maze† in ourRead MoreAnna Haywood s The Maze 2159 Words   |  9 PagesWhen it comes to Eliza Haywood, most scholars and students are more inclined to study her representative work Love in Excess, which is one her outstanding periodicals, and use it as an entrance for the deeper study of this famous Eighteenth Century female writer. In comparison, Fantomina has created a female character who has her own perspective and her own initiative in love. The preceding plots, the tragic ending and the individualism in the protagonist make this short story more influential and