Cleomelia is a tale by Eliza Haywood dominated by British investment politics in a striking foreign trade and speculation. The book’s setting is a politically delicate place of Bengal. Speculative investment and female sexuality had developed strongly after the South Sea Bubble episode in 1720. Haywood explores the possibility of reviving the trust of foreign trade within Bengal. The main character of this book, Cleomelia, is married to several men. The author uses her to signify a theoretical idea of “value,” sexuality, and morality engendered by trade in Bengal.
An English merchant called Malaventure plans to spend time in Bengal, where he believes that prosperous people are treated special. However, he experiences misfortunes and faced what he never expected. Haywood describes how Cleomelia gets into a modern socio-political treaty of conjecture and recognition with uncertainty. The author denounces a high level of risk, mistreatment, and egotism witnessed in foreign trade policy. However, she uses Cleomelia to justify the manipulation of men by women in relationships.
Although the wealthy merchants who came to Bengal hoped for a better future, their fortunes ended badly. The merchants spend everything within their means to have a good life abroad. Haywood shows how women can trick and lure men into a trap due to their attractions. Men can spend all their wealth and fortunes looking for beautiful women. The book shows how political constitutionalism and political economy were explored in literature.
