Critique of Moll FlandersHow should readers interpret the seemingly contradictory character that Daniel Defoe presents in Moll Flanders? Is his penance a construction of irony? Although the question of irony was prominent in earlier criticism of the 1950s and 1960s, most scholars have moved away from that question, recognizing the existence of various types of irony and validating Moll's true reform. Critics are now articulating other subtle and complex authorial strategies in Moll Flanders beyond the use of irony, crediting Defoe with more than what it takes to be a "father of the novel". New critical methodologies involving class and gender are also playing a role in establishing Defoe as an advocate for social change. Unfortunately, critics of Moll Flanders do not yet have a truly definitive text to work from. The best thing that can be done is to stick with texts based on the first edition of 1722. Texts taken from later editions, the second and third and later, may be abridged, and scholars have argued convincingly that such editions do not reflect Defoe's intentions or revisions. Despite the deficiencies in textual studies of the novel, there has been no shortage of literary criticism in recent years. Defoe as an innovative developer of narrative technique in the novel is a topic of considerable conversation in critical circles. We no longer hear complaints about episodic, artificially linked writing and plot inconsistencies. Ian Watt notes a “lack of coordination between different aspects of [Defoe's] narrative purpose” (118) in “Moll Flanders•, as well as denying a conscious and consistent use of irony, but also praises Defoe for… . ...half of the newspaper ...ect or influence the opinions of her audience? Moll's ties to America involve corruption and incest, which she escapes and later embraces in England he spends his last years. This is how Defoe describes the correct approach to colonial existence. What further implications are there in the colonial experiences presented in "Moll Flanders•? Addressing these issues involving feminist and postcolonial studies will likely yield enriching scholarship in the critique of Daniel Defoe's "Moll Flanders." Works Cited: Defoe, Daniel. "The fortunes and misfortunes of the famous Moll Flanders•. 1722. Ed. And introduction. David Blewett. London: Penguin Books, 1989. Defoe, Daniel. "Moll Flanders•. Ed. and introduction. J. Paul Hunter. The Crowell Critical Library. New York: Y. Crowell Co., 1970.