Fantomina: Where Does It Fit In the Conception Of English Literature?

Our class syllabus defines "English literature," at least for our purposes, as mainly dealing with "the established canon of English literature." The fact that Eliza Haywood's Fantomina is only now appearing in the Norton Anthology, in its eight edition and more than 4 decades after its original publication, demonstrates that it doesn't fall into the category of typical, or even canonical, English literature of its time. But why?

The "novel," as it is controversially referred to, was first published in 1725. It appears in Norton under the category of "The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century." One important aspect of this "canon" of British literature is that the great authors and their works correspond with and refer the political, religious, and social orders of their time. While it wasn't uncommon for them to challenge current standards, like the 17th and 18th century satirists, those who did so pointed out the flaws in current operations, pressing for what they deemed an appropriate change. Fantomina, on the other hand, is a blazoned depiction of promiscuity, as the protagonist dresses as a prostitute and has sex with a man named Beauplaisir, then continues to dress in different disguises in order to seduce him again and again. Not only is this controversial sexually, but it depicts men as unintellegent and inferior to women, as the female protagonist manages to dupe Beauplaisir again and again. She even assumes the name "Incognita" in one disguise, and Beauplaisir describes "the wonders of [her] wit" and refers to himself as "[her] everlasting slave" (Haywood 2580). Unlike satirists, who markedly demonstrate the flaws in the current system, Haywood seems to ignore the male-dominated social structure of her time altogether; in addition, to herald her supposition that women have great power and should carry a more dominating role in society, Haywood uses a promiscuous woman, one who literally appears as a whore in her first costume. Rather than critiquing the political or social structure of its time, Fantomina just seems determined to defy it altogether, using shocking, to some unacceptable, content to do so.

Also, while the novel was developed around this time, Fantomina's form alienates it from classic literature of the time. Poetry, in various forms, was predominant in this time period. Fantomina obviously cannot fall under this category, and it met difficulties in being categorized as a novel also. Many conflicts arose regarding the difference between a novel and a "romance," the latter referring to stories whose characters and plots seemed simple or predictable, lacking a deeper and more complex meaning or development. Fantomina seems to fall more into a category of its own, a piece too short and underdeveloped to be a true novel, but too verbose and written in prose, so not a poem, either. The moral of the story? Compared with other English literature, Haywood's Fantomina just doesn't seem to fit in.