Henry Fielding-The Father of the English Comic Novel

a. Henry Fielding-The Man behind the Writer

Henry Fielding is regarded as one of the greatest artists among English novelists of the eighteenth century and was instrumental in the emergence of the novel as a respected literary form. As opposed to the middle-class Richardson, Fielding came of an aristocratic family and enjoyed an e cellent education. He was !orn April "", 1#$#, at %harpham &ar' in %omerset and was educated first at Eton, then two years at the (uch )niversity of *eyden. A decline in family fortunes o!liged him to interrupt his studies and return to *ondon where, in the nine-year period from 1#"+ to 1#,#, he wrote over twenty plays. -uch of his wor' was satirical and targeted the leading political figures of the day, e posing political and social corruption. His last play, Love in Several Masques, enraged the government to the e tent that it introduced the *icensing Act of 1#,#, according to which all plays had to !e su!mitted for censorship of the *ord .ham!erlain. Fielding decided to stop writing for the theatre and turned his literary talents to novel-writing. He married a lady of means and resumed his legal studies, /ualifying as a court lawyer in 1#0$. 1n his legal wor' he came into contact with people of all social ran's, 1

and this helped him to see the good and evil in society, which he descri!es in his novels. 1n 1#00 his wife died and, three years later, in the face of much criticism, he married her former maid. He continued to !e successful in his legal career. 1n 1#0+ he was made 2ustice of the &eace for 3estminster and the following year *ondon -agistrate. He was seriously concerned a!out social injustice and social corruption, and dedicated much of his time fighting for judicial reform. He and his !rother 2ohn were responsi!le for *ondon4s first organi5ed police force. Fielding4s health was poor, so in 1#60 he decided to move to &ortugal, where he hoped the more temperate climate would help him recover. After a month, however, he died and was !uried in the English cemetery in *is!on.

b. Henry Fielding- the Writer

Plays Fielding was a successful playwright and wrote some nota!le plays including Tom Thumb: a Tragedy 71#,$8, which ridicules one of the most popular forms of theatre at the time9 the heroic tragedy. Novels His true talent emerged, however, when he turned his attention to novel-writing. His first novel is a parody of %amuel "

Richardson4s !est selling Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded. Fielding deplored the sentimentality, hypocrisy and middle-class

morali5ing of Richardson4s wor'. 1n his novel An Apology o the Adventures o Mrs. Shamela Andre!s 71#018, pu!lished

anonymously, he depicts Richardson4s central character not as innocent virtuous girl !ut as a scheming, devious social clim!er. 3hat Fielding perceived as the self-serving, moralistic tone of the wor' provo'ed him to !last it in satire. :he main character in this parody displays a calculating cynicism, tal'ing incessantly a!out her ;<artue; and cleverly refusing to surrender to the !landishments of her employer 7who has !een transformed from -r =. in Richardson>s wor' to -r =oo!y in Fielding>s8 until she is properly married. :he second novel, The History o the Adventures o "oseph Andre!s tells the story of &amela4s good and modest !rother 2oseph, who has to defend his virtue from the attac's of his mistress, *ady =oo!y. :he wor' was !egun as a parody on Pamela, !ut developed into a genuine novel. (espite their roots in parody, 2oseph and his companion &arson Adams are characters in their own right. :he influence of .ervantes is o!vious and ac'nowledged9 in the famous preface to the novel, Fielding called for a writing style in the artistic tradition of the ;comic epic poem in prose; e emplified !y Don Quixote. :he novel also introduces the omniscient narrator, !enign !ut satirical, which Fielding was to use to such effect in Tom Jones. ,

1n 1#0# Fielding !egan wor' on his greatest literary achievement9 The History o Tom "ones# A Foundling. Henry Fielding descri!ed Tom Jones as a comic epic in prose. 1t is indeed epic in length and descri!es a huge crosssection of people in a humorous way. Fielding had an in-depth 'nowledge of human nature and depicted his characters with all their vices and virtues. :om 2ones is !y no means a perfect human !eing !ut, for all his faults, he comes across as one off the most lova!le characters in English literature. As a new !orn !a!y, :om is a!andoned and found in the !edroom of -r. Allworthy, a 'ind, rich gentleman who !rings him up along with his dead sister4s child, =lifil. :he two !oys are totally different? while :om is honest, !rave and trustworthy, =lifil is insincere, cruel, and scheming. @ne of the !oys teacher is -r :hwac'um, a !rutish and sadistic church chaplain. He forms an alliance with =lifil against :om and manages to convince -r Allworthy to disown the !oy. :om is forced to leave his home and see' his fortune. (uring his travels :om has many adventures and shows what a generous and a!le man he is. He is also very handsome and many women fall in love for him, !ut he is still in love with his childhood sweetheart, %ophia. :o his great surprise -r Allworthy finds out that :om4s mother was his own sister. He also reali5es that he was tric'ed into !elieving that :om was wic'ed and welcomes him !ac' 0

home. :om marries %ophia and forgives everyone who has wronged him, including his half-!rother =lifil.

A -ore than any writer of his time, Fielding saw the vast potential of the novel as a new literary genre. %everal features of his novel mar' it out as a clear development of and improvement on the wor's of (efoe and Richardson9

v :he plot is no longer a series of episodes or a single story9 it involves a large cast of characters, representing various social ran's, and the episodes are interwoven in a structured and organi5ed way? v Each of the novel4s eighteen !oo's is prefaced !y an introductory chapter in which the reader is reminded that what he is reading is fiction, and instructions are given on how to approach what for contemporary readers was a relatively new literary form? v An omniscient third person narrator is used to comment on the action. :he reader is not as'ed to identify with the protagonists, and the detachment allows him to appreciate the comic episodes? v :he story is not used as a vehicle for &uritan morali5ing. :om is not, for e ample, critici5ed for his numerous se ual encounters?

Fielding4s !elief that man, whatever his financial standing or social !ac'ground, has a natural inclination towards goodness emerges indirectly from the action in the novel and the warmly humane manner in which the characters are portrayed. Fielding4s classical education and aristocratic family !ac'ground distinguished him from other novelist of the early eighteenth century, li'e (efoe and Richardson. He considered the novel to !e a $omi$ epi$ in prose, dealing not with the heroic actions !ut with trivial events of daily life. His final novel Amelia shows his deep concern for social issues. His humor and his innovations in the structure of the novel have earned him the title of ather o the %nglish $omi$ novel.