Tom Jones

Full title: The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling. Novel by Henry Fielding, first published in 1749.

“Henry Fielding´s Tom Jones is both one of the great comic masterpieces of English literature and a major force in the development of the novel form.” (Nestvold) Tom Jones was first published in 1749 when the novel as a genre was only beginning to be recognized. The novel Clarissa by Samuel Richardson appeared only a year before, and for the most part in intellectual circles prose fiction was not considered a worthy pursuit. The sanctioned genres of the first half of the eighteenth century were verse and drama (ibid).

Other novelists still followed the seventeenth-century tradition of claiming their fiction was fact, or at least that their tales were moral tracts. They emphasized the instructional rather than the fictional aspect. Fielding was the first major novelist who did not try to convince his readers that what they were reading is actually real (ibid). Fielding tried to define and explain this new genre in the introductory chapters preceding the individual books in Tom Jones. He calls it a “heroical, historical prosaic poem” (IV,1) or a “prosaic-comi-epic writing” (V,1). (ibid) “In defining the novel as an epic genre, Fielding emphasized its function in presenting a broad picture of an era, but one, unlike verse epic, in which primarily the weaknesses of humanity are put on display.”(ibid) According to Fielding, the appropriate subject of the novel is human nature rather than ghosts and fairies. For him there is no space to introduce the supernatural. He rather follows the rules of probability (ibid). According to Nestvold, Tom Jones contains many conventional narrative elements as ostensibly picaresque form, inserted narrative and the discovery of true identity. Fielding was influenced by drama, his former working field. He began his career as a playwright, a journalist, and a lawyer. He accidentally became a novelist, because of the closure of some of the theatres in London after the Licensing Act of 1737 (Chu). The influence of drama on Fielding´s novels was in formal structural elements and the most obvious influence on Tom Jones was the intricacies of the plot, which are the typical confusions of comedy (Nestvold).

The Characters in Tom Jones

In his writing Fielding does not try to create utterly good or evil characters; instead he simply depicts them as what they are: human beings (Chu). According to Rexroth, Fielding is constructing a character to demonstrate a thesis and that thesis is humanity (675). The novel is not about showing an ideal character, but to show a human character with all its flaws. “He writes about human nature as it is, instead of showing us how it ought to be.” (Chu) For Fielding human nature consists of good and evil (ibid). He had to combat the expectations of his days that required novels to be morally written. And so he created characters that were contrasting the predominant characters of the novels in his days, which were too good to be true, like Pamela or Clarissa (ibid). “Not unlike any of us, Tom Jones, the protagonist, is rather human. He sometimes errs, but is essentially good.[…] Undeniably, his impulsive and affectionate nature gets him involved in many of his problems. But, at the same time, his actions are basically governed by benevolence and generosity.”(ibid) Fielding frequently uses the method of contrasting pairs to manage his huge cast of characters: Tom is opposed to Blifil, Sophia to Molly and later Lady Bellaston, and Allworthy to Squire Western. The same technique is used with the minor characters: the tutors of Tom and Blifil are Thwackum, representing blind respect for authority, and Square, representing abstract ethics (Nestvold).

The Plot

The neatly constructed plot reflects a basic eighteenth-century faith in the order of the world (Nestvold). It is highly symmetrical in design. One can see neo-classical elements in it, especially if you use Hilles theory, which compares the structure of the plot to an architectural figure and describes it as shaped like a Palladian mansion (788). This is an abstract thought, but if you look at it as an architectural figure it may become clearer. This figure has the architectural shape of a mansion with its two wings and the central building.

Tom Jones is divided into eighteen books which can be redivided into three parts with six books each. The first six books are set in Somerset(the left wing of the mansion) and give the cause of the action: Tom´s open, sensual nature; the conflict with Blifil; the misunderstanding with Squire Allworthy; Tom´s love for Sophia and their separation. The next six are set in the open road (the central building) and contain both consequences of the first six and the incidents and details which will bring about a resolution. The last six are set in London (the right wing of the building) and plunge Tom into disastrous circumstances through his actions and get him out of them again (Hilles/Nestvold).This symmetry is characteristic for the early eighteenth century as one can see in its architecture and gardens. Fielding combines traditional neo-classical norms and aesthetics with a new literary genre.

The moral double standard

The moral assumptions exhibited in the novel are frankly sexist by today´s standards. “The characterization of Tom Jones displays a tolerance for virile young manhood: he is a sensual youth, easily succumbing to temptation of a sexual nature. This tolerance does not work the other way around, however; the heroine Sophia is virginal and pure, while the women who indulge in sensual pleasures are either tramps like Molly or hypocrites like Lady Bellaston.” (Nestvold) Fielding creates a moral double standard where the hero can be sensual and have affairs and still gets a happy ending whereas the female heroine has to be chaste and moral. His frank acceptance of male sensuality was regarded by many contemporaries with disapproval (ibid), because novels had to be moral.

Bibliography

Chu, Charles S.J.: "Artifice of Moral Teaching in Fielding´s Tom Jones". http://ir.lib.au.edu.tw/dspace/bitstream/987654321/55/1/019704173180.pdf

Hilles, Frederick W.: "Art and Artifice in Tom Jones". In: Henry Fielding Tom Jones. A Critical Edition. The Authoritative Text. Contemporary Reactions. Criticism. 2nd Edition. Sheridan Baker (ed.). The University of Michigan.1995. 786-800.

Nestvold, Ruth: "Henry Fielding´s The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling". http://www.ruthnestvold.com/tomjones.htm

Rexroth, Kenneth: "Tom Jones". In: Henry Fielding Tom Jones. A Critical Edition. The Authoritative Text. Contemporary Reactions. Criticism. 2nd Edition. Sheridan Baker (ed.). The University of Michigan.1995. 675-677.