An Unlucky Girl May Make A Good Woman

When observing the history of oppressed groups, it is imperative to maintain a proper perspective which focuses toward the group itself rather than its dominant oppressor.  Failure to do so can dangerously result in perpetuation of disparity because the observer then views the group through the lens of the dominant party.  In my observation of the representations of women in historic literature, I would be remiss to assume a "woe is me" type of response to the plight of the female in the face of patriarchy and male privilege.  The truth of the matter is that groups are oppressed not because of their inferiority, rather for fear of their potential excellence and power.  The curriculum of this course begs to examine the excellence and realized potential of powerful women who, without surviving text and oral tradition, would have slipped into anonymity centuries ago.  In saying this, I also realize the importance of the countless silenced women whose stories were never told.  I hold their legacy in my throat daily.

One woman who strongly exemplifies a rebel who would not go quietly into any good night is Mary Frith, also known as Moll Cutpurse.  Frith was a cunning pick-pocket turned fence woman in Britain during the 17th century.  I might reserve the term 'excellence' when describing Frith but, she was indeed powerful.  Her power did not show itself in the form of domination and rule over any other group.  Instead, it was manifested through her self-empowered sense of living and ability to thrive without notice of or attention to social norms for women.

Moll Frith smoked tobacco, drank in public, and dressed in men's clothing.  She was radical in her tendency to reject normative standards and live a lifestyle that she herself customized.  She was arrested for her first robbery at the age of fifteen.  It is recorded that on August 26, 1600, she and two other women were indicted for snatching "a purse kept in a breast pocket and containing 2 shillings and 11 pence from an unknown man at Clerkenwell" (Bennet, online).  Moll experienced several other minor scrapes with the law but managed to avoid imprisonment for any extended period of time.  Her activity advanced to "highway robbery" of rebel men.  In an attempted robbery of a certain General Fairfax, things went array and resulted in Moll shooting General Fairfax in the arm and killing two of his horses before absconding on horseback.  She was later apprehended and charged.  Instead of serving any time in prison, Frith paid two thousand pounds in restitution.  Reformed from hands-on burglary, Frith became a purveyor of stolen goods, or fence.  She specialized in the procurement and redistribution of valuable items and made a satisfactory life for herself doing so.  

At the time of her death, Moll Frith instructed her closest comrade to have her buried with her face down in the grave so that she “might be as preposterous in her death as she had been all along in her infamous life” (Newgate).  Frith did not leave behind any sizeable estate, but she did leave an indelible mark on English society and the history of women.  Her life has been romanticized and portrayed theatrically for centuries.  Perhaps infamously androgynous characters in modern pop culture like, Annie Hall, Prince, Grace Jones, and David Bowie owe a nod to Moll Frith for setting her own standards. 

From a feminist perspective, it is important to note the radical nature of Moll’s lifestyle.  In researching her past, one would expect to find stories of some severe consequence for her unladylike ways.  We become so used to hearing of the horrors that befall women who live outside of their gender’s expectations; take poor Joan of Arc for example.  But Moll was not burned at any stake or ostracized beyond the consequences of her criminal activity.  In fact, she existed so far removed from the confines of patriarchy, that she offered the world her backside even in death.  She was the mother of the self-empowerment movement that has yet to go full steam ahead some five centuries later.  The Newgate Calendar states that, “she had the power and strength to command her own pleasure of any person who had reasonable ability of body; and therefore she needed not to whine for it, as she was able to beat a fellow to compliance, without the unnecessary trouble of entreaties” (Newgate).  She was not a noble woman, by birth or practice, but Moll Frith lived life the way she deemed appropriate and sought no confirmation from any outside authority.  I celebrate the fact that her life ascended patriarchy and social expectations.