Mary Davys, The Fugitive

Martha F. Bowden (Kennesaw State University)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error
The Fugitive

and its revised version,

The Merry Wanderer,

by Mary Davys (1674 [?] -1732) are difficult to pin down generically. They follow a picaresque heroine around the English countryside where she sees human nature displayed in all its amusing diversity. Because each episode encapsulates a moral lesson about greed, hypocrisy, parsimony, extravagance and so on, they bear a strong resemblance to the fables that were popular in England in the period; a resemblance that is emphasized in the earlier version by its use of poetic tags to point the tales. This resemblance is not accidental; there is a reference in both versions to Aesop's fable of the Dog and his Shadow. The stories possess a universal quality and would not be out of place in Chaucer or Boccacio. Indeed, one episode, in…

2353 words

Citation: Bowden, Martha F.. "The Fugitive". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 October 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=20618, accessed 22 November 2024.]

20618 The Fugitive 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.