The images of the heroines of the literary works of the 19th century show the stage in the evolution of representations about a woman and her sexuality. It is not difficult to predict that in these texts the modern reader will notice a lot of sexist prejudices; some of them are coming to the present. Like most other erotic novels of the time (the term "pornography" appears much later, and in this context, the distinction between erotica and pornography does not matter), Fanny Hill was written by a man, John Cleland, with the fact that the story is being conducted from the first person - a woman named Fanny. If such novels were once written by women, they took a male pseudonym. Thus the novel Fanny Hill primarily deals not with the woman's desire as such but with the construction of a woman's desire, the specifics of the male gaze of the Enlightenment epoch, the homosexual perspective, and the symptoms of the unconscious.
Despite the efforts of Cleland to diversify the erotic adventures of characters, scenes of sex in various poses and scenery, with partners of different ages, social status, episodes of sado-masochistic flagellation, fetishism, masturbation, voyeurism, it is not difficult to notice that a sexual act in Fanny Hill, is reduced almost exclusively to the penetration of a woman by a man. The desire of a woman revolves around the male genitals; in her own body, she can not find comfort.
To female masturbation is given much attention in the novel, there no condemnation of this practice can be found in Fanny Hill, and female masturbation is represented as one of manifestations of natural temperament. Deprived of phallus, the female body is not able to enjoy, except for the mediation of the male genitalia. If women in the novel reach orgasm "on their own", this only brings temporary relief. In general, descriptions of masturbation are marked by despair and infertility of effort. Louise, a twelve-year-old, squeezes and squeezes her legs again, compresses the genitals, but these manipulations do not bring her any relief. She can only calm herself by only realizing that her fingers are like the object of her true desire, and pushing them inside. Fanny Hill is an outcome of John Cleland's attempt to create a text in which which the phallus reigns completely, and becomes the only possible way for a woman to get satisfied.
