Introduction
Henry Fielding is regarded as one of the greatest writers among English novelists of the Eighteenth century and was determinant in the emergence of the novel as a respected literary form. Fielding created the “comic epic novel”. Fielding was the first English novelist to come up to the novel form methodically. He thought up “laws” for a “comic epic poem in prose” that is different from comedy. In fact it contains more incidents and characters. In its fable and action it’s also different from the serious romance. It introduces persons of inferior rank. With him the novel becomes epic, even if amusing. The characters belong to different social classes and their psychology are like the ones of epic heroes, but they are travelling to London and not to a mysterious place. Their actions are ridiculous. The plot of Fielding’s novels has a series of stories with an organic unity.
Life
Fielding came of a genteel family and enjoyed an excellent education. He was born on April 22, 1707. In London he began his literary career. In 1728, he studied classics (Latin and Greek) and law at the University.
However, due to lack of money, he was obliged to begin writing for the theatre because the drama was the most lucrative genre of the time, and Fielding took advantage of his London connections to introduce him in theater circles. Fielding wrote 25 plays in eight years, but for the most part these works have little literary merit.
In 1734 Fielding married Charlotte Craddock of Salisbury. He appears to have been quite enamored of her beauty and he inspired her to create the heroine of Tom Jones, Sophia Western. From March to May of 1736 he also enjoyed a huge success with his political satire Pasquin, a Dramatic Satire on the Times. In this play, he attacked the corrupt administration of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Whig Prime Minister. With the passage of the Licensing Act of 1737, which put drama under the direct control of the Lord Chamberlain (a law which was not changed until 1968) he ended his dramatic career. In this period Fielding continued to write satires on politics, working with various Tory newspapers, like The True Patriot and The Jacobite's Journal.
In 1744 Charlotte died of a fever. In 1747 Fielding married Mary Daniel, his ex-wife's maid, causing a stir in the more snob circles. She gave him five children, but three of them died young. In 1748 Fielding became Justice of the Peace, eliminating his financial difficulties.
In 1749 Fielding published his greatest fictional work, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling.
After that, Fielding continued to write (the novel Amelia is one of the most important) but the commitments as a magistrate and his declining health slowed down his activity.
He died in Lisbon in 1754.
Main works
- The Masquerade – a poem (Fielding's first publication)
He wrote a lot of play at the beginning of his career, the most important are:
- Love in Several Masques, 1728
- Rape upon Rape, 1730
- The Temple Beau, 1730
- The Letter Writers, 1731
- Grub-Street Opera, 1731
- The Lotterry, 1732
- The Covent Garden Tragedy, 1732
- Pasquin, 1736 (the most successful political satire)
Fielding arrived relatively late at the novel:
- An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews– 1741: a parody of the popular novel Pamela by Samuel Richardson where he wanted to criticize the moralism of the new mercantile Protestant middle class, to which Richardson belonged.
Henry Fielding interrupted in 1741 the journalistic profession to start witing the novel Shamela which he published anonymously in April of that year. Shamela is a parody of the famous novel by Richardson, Pamela, which had had a huge success. Fielding proposes a reading where he criticizes the morality of Richardson, his principal rival which he poking fun at every aspect method and message, Fielding exposes the hypocrisy of contemporary mores. Fielding's work is more than a simple parody of Richardson infact as Fielding mockes political figures, the clergy, and contemporary writers.
Fielding criticizes the sudden change of attitude of Pamela towards Mr.B.: as soon as he decide to marry her, she accept the marriage proposal of Mr. B. forgotting immediatly his previous molestation.
The protagonist of the novel is Shamela, but she use Pamela to sign his letters. In the parody the servant is described as a slut clever and unscrupulous, whose only goal is to be married by his master to rise socially. In fact, the name Shamela refers to: shame and sham (fiction), highlighting her true nature.
She is determined to exploit her skills: she herself says << I thought once of making a little Fortune by my Person. I now intend to make a great one by my Virtue. >>.
Shamela in fact, character represents the thinking of the evangelist George Whitefield, who thinks that grace cleverly deceives his master, who Fielding called Mr. Boody to emphasize the foolishness. The protagonist, before and after marriage is the lover of Reverend Williams who is the personification of immorality. This allows man to redeem any form of sin.
The mother, Mrs. Andrews, is described as a pimp, which on one hand supports the immoral relationship between the daughter and the Rev. Williams, on the other she encourages the marriage between the daughter and her boss.
Finally after obtaining the marriage with Mr. B., Shamela is discovered and she has to leave.
The Fileding's critique is original, and offers a different interpretation of the novel by Richardson. Its fundamental merit is to have shown the artificiality of the novel itself.
He emphasizes that many scenes rapresented in Pamela, despite the moral purpose of the novel, tickle the public imagination of readers rather than "punish" them.
Fielding also criticized the method of writing to Richardson, accusing the detailed descriptions. Instead he uses brief and vague descriptions. After have read Shamela, reader has the impression that Pamela provides such descriptions so detailed and thorough to instill, by force, its own morality.
- The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his Friend, Mr. Abraham Abrams – 1742: the story of the brother of Shamela, on the road home from London with his friend and mentor, the absent-minded parson Abraham Adams.
- The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling – 1749
- Amelia – 1751: this sentimental novel was the last that he wrote
His last work was:
- Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon – travel narrative, 1755 (his travel diary that was published posthumously)
Tom Jones
Plot:
The distinguished country gentleman Allworthy, who lives in Somersetshire with his unmarried sister Bridget Allworthy, arrives home from a trip to London to discover a baby boy in is bed. Allworthy undertakes to uncover the mother and father of this foundling, and finds local woman Jenny Jones and her tutor, Mr. Partridge, guilty. Allworthy sends Jenny away from the county, and the poverty-stricken Partridge leaves of his own accord. In spite of the criticism of the parish, Allworthy decides to bring up the boy. Soon after, Bridget marries Captain Blifil, a visitor at Allworthy's estate, and gives birth to a son of her own, named Blifil. Captain Blifil regards Tom Jones with jealousy, since he wishes his son to inherit all of Allworthy possessions. While meditating on money matters, Captain Blifil falls dead of an apoplexy.
The narrator skips forward twelve years. Blifil and Tom Jones have been brought up together, but receive vastly different treatment from the other members of the household. Allworthy is the only person who shows consistent affection for Tom. The philosopher Square and the reverend Thwackum, the boys' tutors, despise Tom and adore Blifil, since Tom is wild and Blifil is pious. Tom frequently steals apples and ducks to support the family of Black George, one of Allworthy's servants. Tom tells all of his secrets to Blifil, who then relates these to Thwackum or Allworthy, thereby getting Tom into trouble. The people of the parish, hearing of Tom's generosity to Black George, begin to speak kindly of Tom while condemning Blifil for his sneakiness.
Tom spends much time with Squire Western—Allworthy's neighbor—since the Squire is impressed by Tom's sportsmanship. Sophia Western, Squire Western's daughter, falls deeply in love with Tom. Tom has already bestowed his affection on Molly Seagrim, the poor but feisty daughter of Black George. When Molly becomes pregnant, Tom prevents Allworthy from sending Molly to prison by admitting that he has fathered her child. Tom, at first oblivious to Sophia's charms and beauty, falls deeply in love with her, and begins to resent his ties to Molly. Yet he remains with Molly out of honor. Tom's commitment to Molly ends when he discovers that she has been having affairs, which means Tom is not the father of her child and frees him to confess his feelings to Sophia.
Allworthy falls gravely ill and summons his family and friends to be near him. He reads out his will, which states that Blifil will inherit most of his estate, although Tom is also provided for. Thwackum and Square are upset that they are each promised only a thousand pounds. Tom experiences great emotion at Allworthy's illness and barely leaves his bedside. A lawyer named Dowling arrives and announces the sudden and unexpected death of Bridget Allworthy. When the doctor announces that Allworthy will not die, Tom rejoices and gets drunk on both joy and alcohol. Blifil calls Tom a "bastard" and Tom retaliates by hitting him. Tom, after swearing eternal constancy to Sophia, encounters Molly by chance and makes love to her.
Mrs. Western, the aunt with whom Sophia spent much of her youth, comes to stay at her brother's house. She and the Squire fight constantly, but they unite over Mrs. Western's plan to marry Sophia to Blifil. Mrs. Western promises not to reveal Sophia's love for Tom as long as Sophia submits to receiving Blifil as a suitor. Blifil thus begins his courtship of Sophia, and brags so much about his progress that Allworthy believes that Sophia must love Blifil. Sophia, however, strongly opposes the proposal, and Squire Western grows violent with her. Blifil tells Allworthy that Tom is a rascal who cavorted drunkenly about the house, and Allworthy banishes Tom from the county. Tom does not want to leave Sophia, but decides that he must follow the honorable path.
Tom begins to wander about the countryside. In Bristol, he happens to meet up with Partridge, who becomes his loyal servant. Tom also rescues a Mrs. Waters from being robbed, and they begin an affair at a local inn. Sophia, who has run away from Squire Western's estate to avoid marrying Blifil, stops at this inn and discovers that Tom is having an affair with Mrs. Waters. She leaves her muff in Tom's bed so that he knows she has been there. When Tom finds the muff, he frantically sets out in pursuit of Sophia. The Irishman Fitzpatrick arrives at the inn searching for his wife, and Western arrives searching for Sophia.
On the way to London, Sophia rides with her cousin Harriet, who is also Fitzpatrick's wife. In London, Sophia stays with her lady relative Lady Bellaston. Tom and Partridge arrive in London soon after, and they stay in the house of Mrs. Miller and her daughters, one of whom is named Nancy. A young gentleman called Nightingale also inhabits the house, and Tom soon realizes that he and Nancy are in love. Nancy falls pregnant and Tom convinces Nightingale to marry her. Lady Bellaston and Tom begin an affair, although Tom privately, continues to pursue Sophia. When he and Sophia are reconciled, Tom breaks off the relationship with Lady Bellaston by sending her a marriage proposal that scares her away. Yet Lady Bellaston is still determined not to allow Sophia and Tom's love to flourish. She encourages anoter young man, Lord Fellamar, to rape Sophia.
Soon after, Squire Western, Mrs. Western, Blifil, and Allworthy arrive in London, and Squire Western locks Sophia in her bedroom. Mr. Fitzpatrick thinks Tom is his wife's lover and begins a duel with Tom. In defending himself, Tom stabs Fitzpatrick with the sword and is thrown into jail. Partridge visits Tom in jail with the ghastly news that Mrs. Waters is Jenny Jones, Tom's mother. Mrs. Waters meets with Allworthy and explains that Fitzpatrick is still alive, and has admitted to initiating the duel. She also tells Allworthy that a lawyer acting on behalf of an unnamed gentleman tried to persuade her to conspire against Tom. Allworthy realizes that Blifil is this very gentleman, and he decides never to speak to him again. Tom, however, takes pity on Blifil and provides him with an annuity.
Mrs. Waters also reveals that Tom's mother was Bridget Allworthy. Square sends Allworthy a letter explaining that Tom's conduct during Allworthy's illness was honorable and compassionate. Tom is released from jail and he and Allworthy are reunited as nephew and uncle. Mrs. Miller explains to Sophia the reasons for Tom's marriage proposal to Lady Bellaston, and Sophia is satisfied. Now that Tom is Allworthy's heir, Squire Western eagerly encourages the marriage between Tom and Sophia. Sophia chastises Tom for his lack of chastity, but agrees to marry him. They live happily on Western's estate with two children, and shower everyone around them with kindness and generosity.
Characters:
Tom Jones, Fielding's imperfect and "mortal" hero, is the character through whom Fielding gives voice to his philosophy of Virtue. In contrast to the opinion of many of Fielding's contemporaries, Fielding does not suggest that Tom's affairs should reflect badly on his character. In fact even if Tom has some faults (like his imprudence and his lack of chastity), his good heart and his generosity make him Fielding's avatar of Virtue. Fielding admires Tom's adherence to the principles of Gallantry. Interestingly, all of Tom's love affairs, including his relationship with Sophia, are initiated by the woman in question, which is Fielding's way of excusing Tom from the charge of lustful depravity.
Sophia Western is Fielding's beautiful, generous heroine and the daughter of the violent Squire Western. Sophia is an allegorical figure, meant to represent the feminine ideal and therefore kept as anonymous as possible. For example, the narrator does not provide concrete details of Sophia's appearance and character when he introduces her at the beginning of the novel. Like Tom, Sophia gives gifts on the poor, and she treats people of all classes with such respect that one landlady cannot believe she is a "gentlewoman." Sophia's natural courtesy can be contrasted with her Aunt Western's artificial manners. Although Sophia's decision to run away from her violent father Squire Western signals her courage and bravery. She combines the best of the country and the city, since she has manners, unlike her country father, but they are genuine, unlike those of her courtly aunt, Mrs. Western. Similarly, Sophia combines the merits of the novel's two other heroes without any of their faults—she is kind like Tom, but also remains chaste, and is generous toward others, like Allworthy, without being blind to their faults.
Mr. Allworthy , as his name implies, is also an allegorical figure. Allworthy has a reputation throughout England because of his benevolent, altruistic behavior. He's the moral yardstick of the novel, his only fault is that, due to his goodness, he cannot perceive the evil in others. So Allworthy's blindness to the evil designs of his nephew Blifil lead him to banishes Tom Jones from his county.
Blifil is antagonist to Tom Jones and the son of Bridget Allworthy and Captain Blifil. Although he appears at first to be a virtuous character, his hypocrisy soon exposes itself, Blifil pretends to be pious and principled, but greed governs him. Even after Blifil revealed to kept the secret of Tom's birth to himself, Tom has compassion for him at the end of the novel. Blifil's lack of natural human appetites does not distinguish him as a virtuous character, but rather provides a depressing picture of what humanity would be like if devoid of passion. In fact in order to marry a rich woman. The reader does not admire Blifil's chastity, since it stems from an excessive interest in Sophia's fortune and in a desire to eclipse Tom.
Mrs. Western is a caricature of the artificial city lady who always acts out of expediency. Mrs. Western prides herself on being adept at all intellectual pursuits, yet her ignorance reveals itself on numerous occasions . Mrs. Western's sole aim in the novel is to improve the Western name by marrying off Sophia to the richest, most prosperous man she can find.
Style:
The plot is ingenuous. The story is told in a lively and entertaining way. It echoes the manners of the Restoration comedies, never giving the impression of tragedy, not even when Tom is in prison. Tom Jones belongs to the picaresque tradition, like most of the 18th century novels. This novel can be considered a moral essay, since the narrative and descriptive parts are fewer than the ideological ones. The first chapters of every book contain the narrator’s personal comments about the natural goodness of men and his statements. Tom is generous and spontaneous and evidences that Fielding is positive about the goodness of human race.
He chooses the third person and introduces the new character of the story teller, who is obtrusive and omniscient (“I believe...we shall”). Fielding intervenes and tells the readers how to read. On everybody he expresses his opinions and he anticipates events. He interrupts the narration of the central plot to pass to another episode, so he creates suspance. In the plot every detail is very important to the whole story.
There is a rich gallery of social types; the minor figures express the irony of Fielding regarding the faults of men (they are shown as impostors, ignorant). Fielding thought that money is the only real interest of women. The characters are introduced directly through lively dialogue: a dynamic view of the relations existing between the different characters.
He is not interested in emotional and sentimental situations, he is concerned with the epic form and content: a great number of scenes with groups battling against each other, represented in a realistic way. So can be defined his style as witty, direct, ironic, linear and concrete.
Conclusions
While Richardson and Defoe tried to hide the fictional nature of their work under the mask of “letters” and “memoirs” respectively, Fielding’s novels are written in order to never bring the reader under the illusion that what he’s reading is only a work of art. In fact Fielding in his comic epic novel represents a social panorama constituting a real picture of the society of the 18th century.
In Tom Jones, he wrote a picaresque novel full of humour and satirical elements.
He is a moralist against the morals of the time: rather than criticizing the liberal customs of Tom, he criticizes the hypocrisy of the puritan morality, too severe with the sentiments and human behaviour. This he does with a satire that was innovative for the time: through the comic situations he wanted to transmit real-life lessons.
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