A BIOCULTURAL EXPLORATION OF RISK, RISK-TAKING, AND FEMALE SEXUAL ENGAGEMENT IN BRITISH NARRATIVES, 1683-1740 by Lauri Denise Jang A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (English) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2018 © Lauri Denise Jang, 2018 Abstract This dissertation explores the role of risk, the function of risk-taking, and women’s sexual behaviour as expressed in British narratives published between 1683 and 1740. I adopt a biocultural approach — namely, a consilient perspective that gives primacy to how human nature developed through the coevolution of biology and culture. Hitherto, most eighteenth-century literary and cultural critics have not taken advantage of the explanatory and revelatory power of the biocultural approach. The four case studies I present here explore the function of women’s risk-taking in my chosen texts. I focus on possibilities that emerge for heroines at the risk of being raped, being socially or sexually abandoned, suffering loss of financial security, facing poor marriage prospects, ruining romantic attachments, and being deprived of sexual gratification. My introductory chapter lays out the biocultural approach and details some of the key features of our evolved psychology that inform human sexual behaviour. Chapter One explores a much-neglected novel, The London Jilt. In this chapter, I argue that the novel’s heroine emerges as a prosocial whore who willingly incorporates altruistic punishment as a strategy for managing intersexual conflict, even as her prosociality is continually offset by her own opportunism. Chapter Two examines Daniel Defoe’s sexualized characterization of Lady Credit who, I argue, deploys a whore’s stratagem to recruit bipartisan support for England’s nascent credit system. Through Lady Credit, homosocial cooperation is made possible despite distrust between warring political factions. Chapter Three considers the effects of loss aversion and intrasexual competition on female sexual risk-taking in Eliza Haywood’s Love in Excess. In this chapter, I also detail how sexually climactic possibilities might emerge from intentional delay of sexual gratification. Chapter Four investigates ii Samuel Richardson’s Pamela. I assert that Pamela’s self-deception is an intrasexually competitive strategy that allows Pamela to increase sexual risk-taking while avoiding social and parental punishment. And ironically, Pamela’s self-deceptive tactics allow this heroine to win over the man who continually threatens Pamela with rape. Ultimately, my dissertation reveals that, by way of a biocultural perspective, risk and risk-taking bring out new facets and dimensions of women’s sexual nature thus far overlooked and undiscovered. iii Lay Summary My dissertation is an exploration of risk, risk-taking, and women’s sexual behaviour as depicted in British narratives published between 1683 and 1740. I adopt a biocultural approach to inform my analyses, integrating behavioural research on altruistic punishment, intersexual conflict, trust, cooperation, loss aversion, intrasexual competition, and self- deception. Primarily, my study is an experiment in applying a biocultural perspective to my readings of the anonymously published The London Jilt, Daniel Defoe’s characterization of Lady Credit in his A Review of the State of the British Nation, Eliza Haywood’s Love in Excess, and Samuel Richardson’s Pamela. Until now, the topic of risk and women’s sexual behaviour has been much neglected in Restoration and early eighteenth-century literary studies. My use of a biocultural theoretical lens contributes new insight into our thinking about the role of risk and the function of women’s risk-taking in these narratives that detail women’s sexual nature. iv Preface This dissertation is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Lauri Denise Jang. v Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................ii Lay Summary..........................................................................................................................iv Preface ......................................................................................................................................v Table of Contents....................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................vii Dedication................................................................................................................................ix Introduction .............................................................................................................................1 Imagining a Different Direction ..................................................................................7 Considering the “Bio” in Biocultural ........................................................................22 Chapter 1: The Prosocial Whore: On The London Jilt, Intersexual Conflict, and Altruistic Punishment.............................................................................................37 Paying to Punish........................................................................................................41 Conduct of Whores....................................................................................................48 “Though It Might Have Cost Me Dear”....................................................................54 Balancing Upon the High Rope.................................................................................62 Seeking Reparation....................................................................................................68 Chapter 2: “To Make a Whore an Honest Woman”: On Daniel Defoe’s Lady Credit as an Agent for Homosocial Cooperation ..............................................79 Born in the House of Trade .......................................................................................84 “A War of Parties” ....................................................................................................90 A Whore’s Stratagem ................................................................................................94 Homosocial Cooperation.........................................................................................104 “A Most Nice Punctual Preserver of Honour” ........................................................109 Trust Without Trust .................................................................................................116 Chapter 3: “How Dangerous It Is to Give Way to Passion”: Loss Aversion and Delaying Gratification in Eliza Haywood’s Love in Excess......................................126 “Great Arbitress of Passion” ...................................................................................130 “Alas! I Want It, At Least, Every Day!” ................................................................135 “Losses Loom Larger than Gains” ..........................................................................144 All to Pursue a Name...............................................................................................149 “Warm and Full of Amorous Desires” ....................................................................155 Forever at the Brink of Ruin....................................................................................159 Chapter 4: The Subtle Game: Samuel Richardson’s Pamela and Sexual Risk-Taking Through Self-Deception............................................................169 Cunning Virtue ........................................................................................................174 “Certain Ruin if I Stay” ...........................................................................................181 “To Him That Looks Behind the Scene”.................................................................193 “How Finely Thou Canst Act the Theatrical Part”..................................................200 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................212 Imagining Future Directions ...................................................................................217 Works Cited .........................................................................................................................221 vi Acknowledgements For me, pursuing a doctoral degree has been a journey in self-actualization. And the writing of this dissertation has been a great adventure in learning what that means. For helping me to do this with strength and resolve, I would like to thank my supervisor, Nicholas Hudson, who not only welcomed and championed my study from the very start, but whose intellectual guidance throughout has been invaluable. Anyone else would have lost patience with me long ago, but Nick recognized the challenges of my personal circumstances and was steadfast in his encouragement. Thanks also to my committee members, Adam Frank and Edward Slingerland, both of whom offered important insights and suggestions that helped to ground my study. Here, too, I extend my gratitude to the UBC Department of English for providing financial funding during my program. I am incredibly fortunate to have many supportive