“It may perhaps seem strange that Beauplaisir should in such near intimacies continue still deceived. I know there are men who will swear it is an impossibility, and that no disguise could hinder them from knowing a women they had once enjoyed. In answer to these scruples, I can only say that besides the alteration which the change of dress made in her, she was so admirably skilled in the art of feigning that she had the power of putting on almost what face she pleased, and knew so exactly how to form her behavior to the character she represented[...]”
- Fantomina by Eliza Haywood
Haywood is very aware of her audience and the questions her narration raises regarding deception and Beauplaisir’s gullibility in being deceived every time. As the all-knowing speaker, she addresses this issue by directly pointing out Beauplaisir’s folly and highlighting Fantomina’s skillfulness. She subverts the formulaic genre’s conventions by having the man deceived by a woman rather than the opposite.
Haywood continues with a criticism on men’s pride in knowing their women. Despite this, the power of masquerade as well as Fantomina’s skillfulness in effective disguise and performance suggest a subversive quality: does masquerade offer a gateway women’s liberation? It seems so, as masks establish the power dynamic within the novella.
While I wrote about Fantomina’s naivete in my last post, she is also, as we see here in the above quote, resourceful and knowledgeable. She attends plays, and therefore is aware of the power of acting and theatricality in convincing an audience of another presented persona. She is well-read and aristocratic, but possesses a perverted imagination, with many thoughts but limited experiences.
