... re-telling of a good girl gone bad tale, Delarivier Manley's The Wife's Resentment engages with 18th-century notions of female identity, sexuality, and criminality, using a subtle mixture of counter-arguments to successfully flip the early conventions on their heads. Through her (very appropriately named) heroine Violenta, Manley examines the lack of options and loss of power women of the 18th century faced in a unforgivingly patriarchal ... of death by simply stating, "You very eloquently tell me you shall die if I continue unkind; but I very plainly tell your Lordship, that I must per...

• Word Count: 1986
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Graduate