Fanny Hill

Fanny Hill depicts the hypocrisy of 18th-century society regarding sexuality. Part of what Cleland criticizes in the novel is the success of traditional conduct novels, like Pamela by Samuel Richardson, which are focused on erotic themes and scenes, but which mask themselves as moral lessons against vice. Fanny Hill is deliberately pornographic, and its success, selling widely in multiple editions and as a pirated work, shows society’s fascination with and enjoyment of sexuality in art. Furthermore, the novel repeatedly depicts men exploring sexuality with sex workers and then returning to their social positions without stigma, while women in sex work are forced to remain out of the public eye. Overall, the novel shows how society’s outward push for modesty and repression of sexuality is hypocritical, concealing the continuing interest in and desire for exploration of sex and lust. Those who fulfill men’s sexual interests—particularly vulnerable people and sex workers—absorb the shame and stigma that the disavowal of sexuality creates.

A key example of the hypocrisy within the novel is Mr. H, who is wealthy and socially successful despite keeping Fanny as his mistress for an extended period. Like Charles before him, Mr. H experiences no adverse social consequences for being known to engage in extramarital sex or engage with sex workers.