By transforming herself to create a new sensory experience for Beauplaisir, Fantomina uses metaphorical sensual capital to confuse Beauplaisir's literal and sexual capital. Haywood writes: “It must be confessed, indeed, that [Fantomina] preserved an economy in the management of this plot beyond what almost any woman, except herself, ever did” (233). Connecting the two tropes, Fantomina's sensual identity and the plot that accompanies it are crucial to deal with. Because she manages this identity through the manipulation of Beauplaisir's male gaze, the narrative situates the two characters as trading in goods of equal value. Upon meeting, Beauplaisir “was transported to find so much beauty and spirit in a woman,” while Fantomina “found great pleasure in conversing with him in this free and unrestrained manner” (228). Notably, “they spent their time throughout the game with equal satisfaction” (228). The "equal" satisfaction of their subsequent sexual relationship is ambiguous, but after this episode the dynamic of desire is clear: Fantomina wishes to continue the sexual relationship, while Beauplaisir's passion has cooled. After her first meeting with Beauplaisir, Fantomina recognizes that simply changing her appearance won't be enough. Her transformation into Célia takes place on multiple sensual levels, the first of which serves to confuse Beauplaisir's hearing: "[A]ll the rest of her outfits responded to these and joined a broad country dialect, a coarse and unpolished air, which she, having been brought up in these regions, knew how to imitate very well” (234). Although sight is the most powerful trope in the narrative, Haywood presents Beauplaisir's sight as easily compromised by other sensual... middle of paper ... "the appearance of a gentleman" (236). She then attacks him with a story, insisting that he "cannot, when you hear my story, refuse the assistance which it is in your power to give to an unhappy woman who, without it, might become the most miserable of all created beings” (236). Furthermore, the reason Beauplaisir concludes that the Widow Bloomer will be sexually receptive is his description of her previous marriage: “From there she moved to a description of the happiness of mutual affection; — the indescribable ecstasy of those who meet with equal ardor; and represented it in colors so vivid and revealed by the gestures with which she was accompanied, and the accent of her voice so faithful to the feeling of what she said” (237). By distracting Beauplaisir with her own visual appearance, Widow Bloomer replaces his masculine power with her own hearing power...