Essay Questions

Explore the character traits of Glicera as brought out in Eliza Haywood’s The City Jilt.

The City Jilt follows Glicera’s life and her quest for revenge. Because Glicera believes that she is a victim of circumstance having not benefited from her father’s wealth, she seeks out to reclaim herself. Her vengeful nature is brought out through her decision to revenge against her maltreatment, for instance, revenge for being sexually used by Malladore. Additionally, Glicera is manipulative and self-centered. Despite not having a shred of love for Grubguard, she manipulates and uses him for his wealth. She goes on to steal Malladore’s mortgage from the bank. In this line, she is painted as self-centered. Glicera’s character is well brought out in the work.

Manipulation is presented as a central theme in Haywood’s The City Jilt. Show how the writer presents this theme in the novel.

Manipulation is brought out in this work through the characters, Malladore and Glicera. Malladore uses Glicera and sexually exploits her. On the other hand, Glicera’s manipulative nature is brought to life when she manipulates Grubguard, asking him to get the money from Melladore’s mortgages and goes on to break his heart once she’s got the money. Through her deceptive tendencies in her quest for revenge, Glicera is also painted as a manipulative—a major theme that is also explored in this literary work.

Symbolism is a style that enables the indirect presentation of a theme in a literary work. Explore how symbolism is used in The City Jilt.

Symbolism in The City Jilt is explored profoundly. In tackling themes that are taboo or themes in which the writer does not want to directly put across to the reader, the use of symbolism is a major object of resort. In this work, the major theme of revenge is presented symbolically through the employment of the character, Glicera, who becomes an emblem of the theme. In her quest for revenge, Glicera is blinded such that she manipulates and uses other people. She does not care as long as she manages to make Melladore pay for using her sexually. Glicera, in this context, also becomes a symbol of manipulation. Symbolism is thus a well employed style technique in the work.