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Fiction

Notes beaten), yet their virtue and righteousness provide them with the strength to continue to a
better situation than previously enjoyed.
Parson Abraham Adams is an extremely good, albeit nave, man. He is described as without
vice, always seeking out the best in people and treating them well. Yet his extreme goodness
is also his flaw he cannot account for the failings and dishonesties that mankind is prone too,
and so sets himself up to be deceived and disappointed. The Abraham of the Bible presents
one of the most powerful and memorable prophets of that sacred book. He received extensive
revelations and is regarded as the father of the covenant people. He is remembered for his
humility and faith.
In his elderly years, he and his wife still had not had a child, and they greatly desired one.
After much pleading with the Lord, they were blessed with Isaac. Yet Abraham was commanded
to sacrifice his beloved son on an alter. With incredible faith and submissiveness, Abraham
prepared to comply with God’s command. This compared directly with God the Father’s loss
of his beloved son, Jesus Christ. What a powerful namesake to give someone. Yet both could
be seen as foolish in their extremity. Both have an excess of blind faith and humble trust.
Fielding is more prone to use general types than particular characters. He uses the traditional
stereotypes to tell his tale: the seductive mistress, the rude housemaid who thinks herself
higher than her position, the virtuous siblings, the bumbling parson, and so forth. His story
feels almost allegorical or parable-like, and these pre-packaged characters lend themselves
well to this style. Everyone knows characters similar to these. These generic figures make it
easier for him to apply a lesson to all of the readers.

7.2 Plot Construction

Joseph, the virtuous and true footman, is forced to leave the service of his mistress, Lady
Booby, when he is no longer able to ward off her amorous advances. He starts out to reunite
with his sweetheart, Fanny. Misfortunes on his journey continually waylay him and his kindly
traveling companion, Parson Adams. They encounter kindness and villainy, generosity, and
selfishness on their journey. Joseph and the Parson maintain their innocence and culpability
throughout their trials and tribulations. All ends well when Fanny and Joseph are reunited,
and the secret of their parentage is revealed.

7.2.1 Setting and Historical Background

The novel takes place in the early eighteenth century, and it mirrors the lifestyle, caste system,
hypocrisy, and corruption of the times. England was becoming a commercial power, and
wealth was shifting from the landowners to the merchants. The defeat of the Jacobites (the
Catholics who wished to restore the Stuart dynasty to the throne of England) at Culloden
Moor in 1745 brought to a close any serious threat to the Hanoverian line of British royalty.
The rural populace was being drawn to the cities with the lure of higher wages, but the living
conditions of the poor were still deplorable. The social caste system was rigid, but beginning
to give under the pressure of the new, moneyed middle class.

7.3 Summary of Joseph Andrews

Joseph Andrews, a handsome young footman in the household of Sir Thomas Booby, has
attracted the erotic interest of his master’s wife, Lady Booby. He has also been noticed by the
parson of the parish, Mr. Abraham Adams, who wishes to cultivate Joseph’s moral and intellectual
potential. Before he can start Joseph on a course of Latin instruction, however, the Boobys
depart the country for London, taking Joseph with them.

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