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Unit 3: Joseph Andrews-II: Detailed Study of the Text

Fielding’s classical influences manifest themselves also in the farcical battle scene of Chapter Notes
V: serious epics are full of lavishly detailed scenes of combat that substantiate the heroic
qualities of the participants, but in Fielding the narrative specificity serves, of course, not to
glorify the action but to underscore its ludicrousness. Naturally, Mr. Adams epitomizes this
ludicrousness: the Hostess dashes the hog’s blood into his face “with so good an Aim, that
much the greater part first saluting his Countenance, trickled thence in so large a current
down his Beard, and over his Garments, that a more horrible Spectacle was hardly to be seen
or even imagined”; when the smoke has cleared, “the principal Figure, and which engaged the
Eyes of all, was Adams,” who, as usual, looks the silliest. He does not, however, descend to
the level of the guiltiest: the hog’s blood battle provides a useful window into Fielding’s
ethics, and the fact that neither Adams nor Joseph thinks of turning the other cheek indicates
that Fielding does not use violence and nonviolence as a basis on which to distinguish the
wicked characters from the virtuous. Whether a particular violent act is ethical or not turns
out to be a question of motive: the Host has threatened the two travelers because he is irritated
with Adams and Joseph for requesting charity from his wife and because he resents Joseph’s
suggestion that Adams is his social superior; by contrast, the violence of Adams and Joseph
is simply reactive, part self-defense and part retaliation against the Host’s gratuitous aggression.
In Fielding’s world, where violence is normative, even the best Christians cannot be pacifists.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Mr. Adams has forgotten all about Joseph during a ......... on Aeschylus.
(a) Promotion (b) Construction
(c) Meditation (d) None of these.

2. Mr. Adams and Mrs. Slipslop discuss the recent developments in the ......... family.
(a) Booby (b) Leonora
(c) Horatio (d) Joseph.
3. ......... asserts with some dignity the integrity of his character and his office.

(a) Mrs. Adams (b) Mrs. Slipslop
(c) Booby (d) Mr. Adams.
4. Leonora was the daughter of a ......... .
(a) Selfish man (b) Wealthy gentleman
(c) Mad woman (d) None of these.

3.2 Book II, Chapters VI through XII

Chapter VI
Leonora acted as Bellarmine’s nurse, and her almost constant presence in his apartment became
a subject for gossip among the ladies of the town. After his recovery, Bellarmine finally set out
to seek the approval of Leonora’s father. The miserly old gentleman had no objection to his
daughter’s making such an advantageous match, but he also had no intention of providing her
with a dowry. When Bellarmine clarified that he would not take Leonora without a dowry, the
old gentleman expressed his regret that Leonora should lose such an eligible match. Failing
to persuade his would-be father-in-law, Bellarmine left the house and the country, returning

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