ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book looks at three of Defoe’s narratives and draws attention to others in passing, author's analysis of his writing has become increasingly progressivist. A different way of putting the same point is to claim that the principle of connection in Defoe’s narratives changed from 1719 to 1724. The principle of connection in the earlier tales can be called the ‘and then’ principle, where events are presented sequentially. For readers, Defoe’s narratives not only offer versions of their own lives, outside the operative constraints, they also provide accessible ways of debating issues of general moral concern, outside political faction. Even Crusoe offers some discussion of patriarchy and sovereignty, and where Defoe’s narratives emerge from the popular genres in which they awkwardly reside is in their insistent address to general issues of the day.
