Love in Excess

Over the course of the plot, virtually every woman who meets Count D’elmont falls wildly in love with him. How does he conform to the 18th-century literary trope of “the rake” in the early part of the novel, and how does he complicate this trope as the text progresses?

Alovisa and Melantha are distinguished as bold women who openly assert their desires, yet they meet very different fates. How are these two women different or similar in their personalities, situations, and/or experiences? What is the significance of these similarities and contrasts in Haywood’s exploration of feminine agency?

Haywood repeatedly creates love triangles, in which two rivals compete for the affection of a single individual. How does this device impact the structure and themes of the novel? What common features tend to repeat in the different love triangles? How and why?