HENRY FIELDING: JOSEPH ANDREWS

❖"Joseph Andrews" as a Picaresque Novel❖

The term picaresque has been derived from a Spanish word 'picaro' which, means a rogue,
a villain or a wandering man. Originally, a type of romance that dealt with rogues or villains was
called picaresque. A picaresque novel was presented in an extravagant style a series of adventure
and misadventures, mostly on the highways. Some more enterprising novelists sent their hero to the
sea also. With the development of the novel, it was no longer considered essential to take only a
rogue or a villain as the central character. A regular hero, gallant and chivalric, adventurous in spirit
and liberal in outlook, came to be equally acceptable.

The picaresque form offered many advantages to the novelist. Firstly, it did not require a
regular, well-organized, well-rounded plot. Secondly, he got an opportunity to introduce a wide
variety of events and characters. The hero is now in the country, now on the highways, now in
London confronting thieves, gossiping with rogues, rescuing beautiful damsels and falling in love,
fighting duels, getting arrested and languishing in prison, getting robbed by the most innocent-
looking people and helped by those who looked scoundrels. Finally, the picaresque form offered
enough scope to throw light on the life, culture and morality of the age and to criticize the evils
infesting it. The earliest examples of the picaresque novels are "Lazaritle de Tormes" and "Guzman
de Alfarachi". Le Sages' "Gil Blas" is the most well-known picaresque novel in French and Cervantes’
"Don Quixote" in Spanish. In English, Defoe wrote in the picaresque tradition. Later, Fielding in
"Joseph Andrews" and "Tom Jones and "Smollett" followed the same tradition. The traces of this
tradition are found even in Dickens and Thackeray.

While writing "Joseph Andrews" Fielding was considerably influenced by "Gil Blas" and
"Don Quixote". In the early stages of his literary career, Fielding had just been fascinated by
Cervantes' "Don Quixote" and it had been his ambition to present to his readers the essential spirit
of Quixote in an English form. In fact, his indebtedness to "Don Quixote" was so great that he felt
obliged to acknowledge it on the title page itself. "Written in imitation of the manner of Cervantes"
This inscription though usually omitted from the modern editions of the novel, is of cardinal
importance of Cervantes’ influence on Fielding as well as to understand more clearly the spirit and
structure of the novel. There are marked resemblances between "Joseph Andrews" and "Don
Quixote". Parson Adams is clearly a quixotic figure. "Don Quixote" views the world and human life in
the light of Homer and the Classical poets. Fielding also borrowed from Cervantes the general idea of
an epic of the road, or the story of a journey with curious adventures. Le Sages' picaresque romance,
"Gil Blas" was another source of inspiration to Fielding while writing, "Joseph Andrews". Fielding
was endowed with many of the qualities which characterized Le Sages. He had the same keen eye
for morals, same tolerant outlook upon life. However, he took him only as a general model and did
not copy him in details. Thus, it should be reasonable to expect "Joseph Andrews" to follow the
picaresque tradition.

But, if we critically examine, "Joseph Andrews", we discover that it is not a regular

picaresque novel though it does incorporate in its structure the major characteristics of the
picaresque form. We are introduced to the characters while they are still in the countryside. Then
Joseph and Lady Booby are taken to London from a glimpse of the lascivious London society and the
seduction scene. The scene between Lady Booby and Joseph is soon parodied in another one
between Mrs. Slipslop and Joseph. The two scenes cleverly result in the dismissal of Joseph, and
prepare us for the roadside adventures.

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The picaresque element of the novel is introduced in Book I chapter X with Joseph setting
out on his journey in the moon-light. From here onwards to the end of book III it follows the
picaresque tradition closely. With very little money and fewer prospects Joseph set out from London
to Somersetshire to see his beloved, Fanny for whose sake he had rejected Lady Booby. The very
first night of his journey, Joseph was attacked by robbers who stole his money, beat him soundly,
and left him lying naked and half dead in ditch. A passing coach stopped, the passengers heard his
cries and he was taken to a nearby inn. The coach episode provides Fielding with an opportunity to
expose the hypocrisy and callousness of the respected people and reveals the humanity hidden
behind a crude exterior.

At the very first inn Joseph reaches, we meet a surgeon and a priest both vain, both
ignorant, both possessing the finest specimens of their class. We also meet Mrs. Tow-Wouse the
domineering land-lady and her cowardly husband. As earlier, humanity is once again revealed in an
apparently immoral chamber maid Betty, who provides Joseph with tea at her own expense. Here
Joseph and Parson Adams run into each other and the picaresque journey that began with satirical
exposure of the society assumes a partially humourous tone. Fielding does not give up the satire
motif; only now there is a good deal of farce and genuine humour mixed with it.

On the way, there is an encounter with a patriot who would like to see that all cowards are
hanged and yet takes to his heels the moment he hears the shrieks of a girl in distress. This brings
Fanny to join the party. Now there are false convictions and mock trails. Adams takes upon himself
the role of the hero while Joseph and Fanny are pushed into the background. We meet a squire who
does not mind letting loose his dogs at Adams, another one who subjects Adam to some humiliating
practical jokes, still another who lauds him into an embarrassing situation by initially holding out to
him some promising but utterly vain hopes. We also have some interesting episodes like the dispute
between a poet and a player. Finally, the abduction of Fanny is planned and this once again brings
the action back to its original seriousness. The picaresque nature of the novel ends with Parson
Adams jumping out of Peter Pounce's carriage.

In a part of Book I and the middle two books where picaresque motif is followed Fielding
brings his major characters in contact with different strata of society country squires, divines, and
philosophers, lawyers and surgeons, land-ladies, beggars and highwaymen and exposes the
contemporary social evils as well as human follies and foibles of a more general nature. Among
these the worldly-minded priest and inhuman country squires seem to have aroused Fielding to the
maximum indignation. The general human weaknesses that Fielding holds to ridicule are lack of
charity, malice vanity, selfishness and hypocrisy of the people who are held in high esteems.

The rambling or discursive (from one topic to another) narrative of Joseph Andrews also
strengthens the picaresque motif of the novel. Fielding employs hero, a very loose plot, for his
purpose is the depiction of the society and the plot is not given much importance. It is only in "Tom
Jones" that we get an organically developed plot.

In short, the novel "Joseph Andrews" has been written in a picaresque style and the center
of interest does not at all lie in the love-affair of the hero and heroine. It lies in roadside adventures
with Parson Adams playing the pivotal role. It is through these adventures that Fielding tries to
expose the vanities, follies and affectation of human nature. The basic form of the journey also
contributes to its unity. Arnold Kettle calls it "a journey of moral discoveries". He believes that the
journey symbolizes a striving for clarity, for the rhythms of this journey, are the same as the rhythms

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 HENRY FIELDING: JOSEPH ANDREWS
of life. The various adventures in which the chief protagonists participate are not caused by them,
though they do reveal the various aspects of their personality or those of the other participants.
Joseph getting robbed has nothing to do with his character but it provides the novelist with an
opportunity to expose the hypocrisy of a number of people.

Thus, we can conclude this discussion with Michael Irwin’s remarks:

"The story begins as a parody of Pamela, develops into

an adaptation of Cervantes picaresque formula and
concludes with the kind of happy ending characteristics
of the artificial comedy."

❖Irony in Joseph Andrews❖

Irony is a linguistic device or form of humor that takes its effect from stating the opposite
of what is intended: it may be verbal, situational, or dramatic. Henry Fielding is also famous for the
use of Irony in his novels. But Fielding's irony is different from Swift's irony. Here irony is healthy and
constructive and not destructive. In comparison with Swift's, his irony: is less intellectual, more
muscular, less subtly integrated, more vehement, proceeding less from a profound inner
organization of mind more from the feel of practical reformer.

Fielding never thought that novel was merely a source of entertainment. He considered it a
very serious form of literature which can be used to renovate the corrupted society so he used it
with ironical touches. In the novels, his special targets of irony are the selfish uncharitable
hypocritical people and also those who exercise arbitrary powers. Walter Allen has rightly observed:

"This whole hearted acceptance of life is nowhere more

apparent than in the irony with which his mind is pervaded."

It is his great weapon against pretence, vanity, hypocrisy and inhumanity.

Nakedness as exposure of inner-self: Fielding criticizes vanity and hypocrisy whenever he

comes across them. In this novel, he tries to expose various sections of society and holds mirror
before society to look its true face. With him nakedness is one of the important themes of the novel
through which Fielding succeeds in achieving his purpose. We find almost all major characters in
naked condition, for example Lady booby, Parson Adams and Joseph Andrews. The first instance of
nakedness in the novel is that of Lady Booby, when she reveals her white neck to Joseph, it is the
visual revelation of the naked just she can scarcely conceal. When Joseph is dismissed from his
services, we are clearly told that he has been stripped off his livery. This is symbolic of the fact that
he has left the role he was supposed to play at Lady booby's, and now returns to his own world.
Then we see Joseph stripped off by highway man who assaults him and leaves him for dead. In this
case the nakedness emphasizes not so much innocence as the starkest image of need for Christian
charity but no passenger though all Christian, wants to help him. Towards the end of the novel,
Adams appears in a night shirt, and his nakedness reveals his worth. He enters Fanny's bed by
mistake but goes to sleep without even knowing who is there in the bed. By using this method,
Fielding ironically takes off the mask of the hypocrite people and exposes their base facts.

Mild and Human: Irony in Joseph Andrews is vastly mild and human. It is never barbed with

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poison. Such irony can be found when he points out cowardice of a patriot. Adams comes across a
patriot who condemns all cowards and declares that who cannot sacrifice his life for the sake of his
country deserves to be hanged. But when they hear the shrieks of a lady, this patriot turns pale and
runs away. Generally, women are considered to be sensitive and tender hearted, but here we find a
lady in the coach who initially desires the coach to be stopped, is too decent to stand the sight of a
naked man, but does not mind the man to be left behind to die. Here Fielding gives a brilliant
example of social satire through ironical exposure. Again the remarks of Mrs. Tow-Wouse are very
important when betty asks her for a shirt of Mr. Tow-Wouse, so that she could take it to Joseph: She
says:

"Common charity teaches us to provide for ourselves

and our families, and I won't be ruined by your charity."

It is also a deep satire on that society in which Fielding lived and which was considered a high class
society.

Exposure of Professional Dishonesty: He also criticizes the professional dishonesty of the

countrymen. By looking at the picture of a surgeon, we come to know that even the medical
profession was not free from such evil. There is a surgeon in the inn who claims that he carries with
him Galan and Hippocrates (names of two great physicians). Most probably he has not even read
Galan and Hippocrates. He is so selfish and greedy that he refuses to leave his bed to attend to
Joseph's wounds since he cannot pay the fee. To keep in view the religious virtues; Fielding criticizes
the rich and respectable people of his time. The rich people pretend to be religious and pious but
actually they are not. For example, Lady Booby and Mrs. Slipslop are apparently respectable but
inwardly corrupt. Both of them try to ensnare and seduce Joseph under the veil of respectability and
vanity. Nothing escapes from the grip of Fielding's irony, ecclesiastical characters. He criticizes the
general behavior of the clergymen that they are woefully ignorant. They are as corrupt, mean and
materialistic in their daily life as of any man of the world. Parson Trulliber's chief interest is his hogs.
When Parson Adams meets him, he mistakes him for a pig-dealer and pushes him into the pigsty to
handle his hogs. There is no remorse even when he discovers his reality, he is such a miser that he
does not help another clergyman in the time of need. Fielding gives the order to enjoy the comforts
of life. Parson Barnabas is also interested in his drinks than performing his religious duties. Irony can
be found in many cases which shows the wide gulf between the poor and the rich. Fielding's strategy
is frontal and conceived in daylight , and it is not recondite (hard to understand) and ambiguous.
Other great ironists like Swift, Gibbon, Butler and Shaw invite a reader to realize his own assessment
of mind. On the other hand, Fielding's art is reverse in this fashion. He is not writing for a very
experienced audience, but for the 18th century "Common Man".

We may conclude the discussion with A.R. Humphrey's remark:

"Fielding's irony illuminates the whole temper of his mind,
and a superb felicitousness (apt expression) of detail."

❖Fielding's Concept of Morality in "Joseph Andrews❖

Morality means the standards or principles of good behavior. During the age of Fielding i.e.
18th century, the society was extremely selfish and immoral. Fielding took to writing novels with the
purpose of preaching morality to his contemporary society which was vain and hypocritical and the
people believed in showing off. They pretended to be noble and virtuous whereas they had hardly

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any nobility in them. They claimed adherence to Christian principles but rarely followed them in
their daily life. Basically, they were selfish, callous and extremely money minded though they were
all the time swearing why Christian charity. It has been rightly said that it was a Christian society with
unchristian morals. It never occurred to them that morality could have anything to do with goodness
of heart or with the capacity to feel the joys and sorrows of others as if they were one's own.

Fielding took it upon himself to condemn the moral instincts of his contemporaries. That is
why, he has been held guilty of immorality. Romantics were never just to him. Coleridge, however,
displayed a marked preference for him in comparison with Richardson. He stated that coming to
Fielding after having read Richardson "Clarissa" is like emerging from " a sick room heated by
stoves" into "an open lawn on a breezy day in May." Carlyle was contemptuous of "Tom Jones" for
the edged loose morality of its hero. The 20th century criticism generally, is appreciative of Fielding
moral point of view. It would be highly unfair to dub Fielding as immoral.

As "Joseph Andrews" is written in the parody of Richardson’s "Pamela", it is very important

to understand the difference between moral outlooks of Fielding and that of Richardson. Richardson
is considered to be highly moral. His "Pamela" was accepted to be most edifying book after the
Bible. His "Clarissa" makes it a rule to do a certain number of good things every day, which to the
modern sensibility looks childish. Besides, Richardson always equates morality with chastity. This,
Fielding felt was a very narrow concept of morality. To be moral is to be virtuous, to be immoral to
harbour vice. But virtue is not just chastity. It is more a matter of one's inner being, it is goodness of
heart.

Fielding's concept of morality is very wide. He does not restrict only to the sex relation.
Many more things are included in true morality the central point of which are the goodness of heart
and immediate help to the needy. These ideas can be explained under various headings:

Affectation: According to Fielding, affectation is one of the biggest vices, it consists in

vanity and hypocrisy. Vanity is pretending to be what you are not; hypocrisy is concealing what are
you under some respectable looking mask. Affectation is also the root of ridiculous. Fielding
ruthlessly lashes at vanity and hypocrisy where he comes across them. It is hypocrisy to pretend
discomfiture at the sight of a naked man and to deny him help in the name of virtue but to take
pleasure in looking at his nude body stealthily. Leonara is subjected to our ridicule on account of
vanity Mr. Wilson suffers because of vanity. Fielding discovers a touch of vanity even in Parson
Adams who is vain of his sermons. The ruffian who plans to attack Fanny and offers to accompany
her over a lonely road is a hypocrite.

Feelings: In the moral teaching of Fielding, feelings hold a very important place. The man
who feels very keenly is capable of great happiness whether real or imaginary. He feels the joys of
others as deeply as his own. The goodness of heart is essential for a man of feelings. In "Joseph
Andrews" Adams is endowed with great feelings. He feels the joys and sufferings of Joseph and
Fanny as if they were his own. He does not need a second to think before he jumps to help someone
who is in distress. Even his mannerisms suggest the goodness of heart.

Helping others: Active practice of Christian charity is an essential mark of being moral as
suggested earlier. One mark of a good man is that it gives him real joy to help others. The easiest
way for anyone to assist those in trouble is to offer them money. So, the simplest of a man's

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goodness is to ask him for a loan-assuming the need is genuine. If he grants it freely and cheerfully,
we may count him a true Christian. In "Joseph Andrews", Fielding uses this test very often. Mrs.
Tow-Wouse forbids her husband to lend a shirt to Joseph who has been stripped naked and half
killed. Parson Trulliber refuses to lend a few pennies to Adams and condemns him as a vagabond.
The poor peddler is really a good-man because he offers whatever he has. Adams at one stage, is
afraid that he may be considered unchristian because he has no money to relieve a poor priest.
Chastity: In "Joseph Andrews", Fielding’s concept of chastity is also very clear. Lady Booby
is a respectable lady. In the seduction scene, she reveals her white neck to Joseph. It shows her inner
corruption. When Joseph resists against her advances, she is distressed to think that her reputation
is now in the power of her servant. On this occasion, Fielding analyses her mind as

"She was a thousand times on the very brink of revoking

the sentence she had passed against the poor youth.
Love became his advocate and whispered many things in
his favour. And thus, the poor lady was tortured with
perplexity, opposite passions distracting and tearing her
mind different way."

Mrs. Slipslop also behaves in the same way. She seduces Joseph but he explains that he loves her as
a mother. She is very angry at this. But when Beau Didapper comes in her room by mistake, she, in
order to prove her chastity to her mistress, makes a loud cry. Betty the chambermaid is also a very
important character in morality concept. She was of twenty-one. She had good nature but
unfortunately, she lost heart to an ensign (a low ranked navy officer) who betrayed her after having
got her pregnant. She had an abortion. After this she again tried to preserve her chastity but
succumbed to the wiles of John, the hostler. Now she is not considered a chaste woman. She loves
Joseph and embraces him with great eagerness. Joseph resists her advances. Being torn with passion
and in a very confused state of mind, she goes to Mr. Tow-Wouse's room. It is clear that through
Betty's character, Fielding has tried to explain how goodness is open to easy exploitation. She is
condemned as highly immoral, but in Fielding's eyes, Lady Booby and Mrs. Slipslop are more
immoral than Betty. Lady Booby represents insatiable lust and Mrs. Slipslop is sexually perverse.
Both of them try to exploit Joseph. Betty is basically good though she is not free from natural human
weaknesses.

Kindness to Others: We also see that the society has no moral sympathy for the needy. The
people are cruel and unkind. When Joseph is stripped naked and half-killed, a stage-coach passes
there. All the passengers display cruelty and only a poor postilion offers his great-coat to Joseph, but
we are told that he was later punished for some minor crime. The surgeon refuses to leave his bed
to see Joseph's wounds because he has no fee to pay. Fielding also seems to be critical of the
professional insincerity of clergymen. Both the priests, Barnabas and Trulliber, are not aware of their
duties. They are interested in drinking and hogs. The surgeon knows nothing about medicine. The
magistrate knows nothing about law. In short, the moral climate is badly corrupted although people
seem to be highly moral.

Religious Behavior: Fielding considers religion to be essential for the promotion of

goodness and the resistance to evil. The religious belief that there is a divine power. God, watching
over all our actions and determining the rewards and punishments for our virtues and sins, plays an
important role in making us cling to the right path. Irvin Ehrenpres says:
"If true goodness shows itself in active charity,

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therefore, true religion must encourage good
works as well as correct faith."

Political Immorality: Fielding also describes the political immorality of his days. In Book II,
Chapter VIII, Parson Adams narrates to the hunter, his experience in politics which exposes the
corruption in the political field and the lack of sincerity.

Sex and Morality: Usually, people think that morality is restricted to sexual behaviour.
According to Fielding, Sex is only a part of general moral behaviour. According to Fielding, sex is a
part of life, and its natural and healthy expression has nothing to do with morality. In fact, sex can be
mere lust, or perversity, or a natural human instinct. But morality is something much wider than the
quality of one's sexual behaviour.

All these points show that Fielding’s morality divides human beings into two sorts of
people: high people and low people. High people are immoral; they are people of fashion pretense,
affectation, while low people are moral and people of no fashion.

To conclude, we might say that Fielding’s is a kind of practical morality. His concept is
liberal, healthy and merits unqualified approval rather than condemnation. To us in the 21st century,
it is Richardson who often appears to be immoral. Fielding satirizes bad priests so that may become
good priest. He ridicules bad lawyers so that people may try to become lawyers. His purpose is
purely a moral one. He is as much a moralist as Richardson pretends to be; only his moral vision is
very broad. Fielding's attitude towards vanity and hypocrisy and his views on Christian charity and
sexual matters constitute a kind of philosophy that knits all the diverse and disjointed adventure in a
single whole with a definite moral perspective in it. Fielding's society is a number of "Boobies" and
"Slipslops" than "Betties a fact that Fielding …………… palatable.

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