Beauplaisir's state of mind after he has sex with Fantomina.

Beauplaisir's state of mind after he has sex with Fantomina.

This quotation reveals Beauplaisir's state of mind the first time he and the protagonist have sex, and reveals the ambiguity around power and consent in this moment. The narrator notes that by this point Beauplaisir is so determined to have sex with the protagonist that even if he had known that she was a aristocratic woman, he would likely not have stopped. It remains unclear whether the forceful, vigorous language such as "eagerness" and "impatience" is meant to signal strenuous persuasion or outright force, but it is very clear that Beauplaisir does not take no for an answer, and persists in pressuring the protagonist to have sex even when she clearly indicates she does not want to. Other words also signal that even though the protagonist has displayed agency in masterminding the plan to get to this point, she ends up losing power and being placed in a vulnerable position. "Undone" suggests the potential consequences of this sexual act for the protagonist, while the description of Beauplaisir's "victory" implies that he has defeated or conquered her in some way, not that this was an act they mutually chose to engage in.

Eliza Haywood

Fantomina

1725

Aryaan Mehra

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English

Text

In the present burning eagerness of desire, 'tis probable, that had he been acquainted both with who and what she really was, the knowledge of her birth would not have influenced him with respect sufficient to have curbed the wild exuberance of his luxurious wishes, or made him in that longing, — that impatient moment, change the form of his addresses. In fine, she was undone; and he gained a victory so highly rapturous that had he known over whom, scarce could he have triumphed more.

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