Decency in places unlikely

There is a small detail in Moll Flanders that struck me as profound, in it's own simple way.  On page 142 she describes her feelings about the house she is living in with Mother Midnight:

"I began to nauceate the place I was in, and above all, the wicked Practice; and yet I must say that I never saw or do I believe ther was to be seen, the least indecency in the House the whole time I was there."

She goes on to observe that even though this is a whorehouse they run a clean, decent business in their own right (as clean and decent as it can be).  These were the rules she noticed:  "Not a Man was ever seen to come up Stairs," then "no Man should touch a Woman, no not his own Wife, within the Month," and "nor would she permit any Man to lye in the House upon any pretence whatever."

The more I thought about this I began to connect it to the view of the religious dissenter, as we know Daniel Defoe was, and how they might view themselves and the rest of English society.  For even though they are not distinct in their religion or belong to an institution such as do the Catholics or orthodox protestants, they are still spiritual and lead decent lives guided by morality.  So Mother Midnight and her Twelve Ladies of Pleasure, although operating outside "orthodox" society, still strive for decency in their own meager ways.

This clearly supports a Lockean interpretation, for though Mother Midnight answers to no moral authority she still wishes to help people and be decent.

Furthermore Moll's situation calls to mind the philosophy of Jean Jaques Rousseau, who built upon John Locke's ideas of a benevolent state of nature and further observed that social institutions are a corrupting force for individuals.  Because of society's attitudes towards children being born out of wedlock and the social institution of traditional marriage, Moll is forced to enter this less-than-savory situation but is no less decent a person.