Fanny Hill

Women in Georgian England lacked opportunities for economic independence, particularly if they were not raised to do domestic labor. Given her constraints, was Fanny’s entrance into sex work avoidable or inevitable? Would it be appropriate to call Mrs. Brown a villain or a savior for Fanny? What are the implications of your conclusion for the question of the role of sex work in 18th-century England?

Perform a close reading of Phoebe and Fanny’s interactions, looking specifically at their perceptions of sexuality, their sexual behavior, and the promise of future sexual exploration. In what ways is Phoebe a guide for Fanny in a new territory? How might an 18th-century audience see Phoebe as a corrupting influence? What role does Fanny’s innocence play in these scenes?

After Charles takes Fanny to Mrs. Jones’s home, they live happily for 11 months. Why does Fanny omit the details of their life together? Why does Fanny omit the details of their marriage at the end of the novel? How would their inclusion change the novel’s presentation of sexual and gender dynamics?

Mr. H and the four men at Mrs. Cole’s home all seem to demand a kind of monogamy from Fanny and the other women at Mrs. Cole’s. Although the men maintain sexual relationships outside of their engagements with the women, they become upset at the idea of these women sleeping with other men. What does this overlap between sex work and conventional, heteronormative rules relationships suggest about the ways patriarchy and misogyny shape both licit and illicit sexuality?

Compare and contrast the virginity stories of Fanny, Louisa, Harriet, and Emily. What does each story have in common? Where do their stories differ? Compared to the expected sexual development of Georgian women, in which they should not acknowledge sex before marriage, what about these four women prevents them from following through on this social expectation?

Louisa and Harriet portray opposite ends of the range of possibilities leading to sex work in the 18th century, with Louisa expressing an early interest in sex, while Harriet resists sexual thoughts until she is assaulted. How do these two stories reveal critical information about women’s lives in the 18th century? Using evidence from the text, discuss how these characters’ lives might be different in a more modern context.

Two examples are given in the text of supposed sexual deviance: Mr. Barville’s interest in bondage play and the two gay men Fanny encounters at the inn. In judging the sexualities of others, can Fanny be a reliable narrator? Why might the 18th-century audience agree with Fanny and Mrs. Cole?

When Mrs. Cole retires, Fanny has saved 800 pounds of her own money. Before Fanny meets Charles again, she meets an older man who wills her his fortune, in part because he admires her thriftiness. How might this sudden turn of events be a way for Cleland to reestablish women’s dependence on men, and how might it be another instance of Fanny earning her independence?