Week 5 to 6: Themes of Charity, Hypocrisy and Religion in Joseph Andrews

The mock-heroic description of the amorous Mrs. Slipslop as a "hungry tigress" is an excellent example of Fielding's use of the burlesque in his diction. The larger context of the pursuit of Joseph, however, offers ample illustration of the "only source of the true Ridiculous" — affectation. The affectation of Lady Booby is more dangerous than Slipslop's because it involves deceit and hypocrisy. The hint to this is given by her casual though outwardly correct — behavior after the death of Sir Thomas. Resting on the seventh day from her mourning — or from her cards — she calls for Joseph, and falsely attributes his lack of forwardness to secrecy and designing modesty; she judges Joseph's actions by her own. In a series of leading questions, Lady Booby sounds out Joseph, but just as the simple Parson Adams failed to understand the affected language of Slipslop, so the straightforward Joseph fails to understand the innuendoes of Lady Booby, who characteristically interprets his innocence as pretense.

The danger of Lady Booby's behavior lies in the turbulence of the conflict between passion and reason; she knows neither herself nor the true nature of Joseph, nor can she put into practice the principle of self-control. Joseph's tempting virginity still festers in her and we are thus prepared for her even more extravagant vacillations in Book IV. Her jealousy of Betty, the chambermaid, also suggests the jealousy she is to feel when she learns about Fanny. The mortification which Lady Booby feels at the revelation of Joseph's unshakable virtue is a result of her vanity. Above all, she is concerned for her reputation; she desperately wants Joseph but only if their affair can be kept secret. Her tremendous hypocrisy is exactly what Fielding most scorns. To illustrate this, he has mockingly inverted the situation of Richardson's Pamela; here it is the women who are sexually rampant.

If there is danger in Lady Booby's deceit, there is nothing more than ostentation in the open pursuit of Joseph by Mrs. Slipslop. Her vanity complements the hypocrisy of Lady Booby and, between the two of them, we have a perfect spectacle of affectation, the source of the true ridiculous. It is ludicrous that such a grotesque cripple as Slipslop should be casting eyes of affection on Joseph. The comedy is emphasized by Slipslop's manner of speaking; just as she thinks herself eminently suited for the handsome Joseph, so she considers her language learned and refined. In reality, her affected speech limps as brokenly as her ugly frame.

Between these two women, Fielding places the unassailable virtue of Joseph, who lives up to his biblical namesake, the proverbial master of chastity. The change from "Joey" to "Joseph" emphasizes the link. In a book concerned with the discrepancy between appearance and reality, Joseph, like Adams, reveals none at all between his honest face and his honest nature.

The confrontations are worthy of a playwright, and Fielding brings out the full dramatic effect of this particular triangle in its several permutations. He even draws attention to this himself, with such insertions as his remarks on love, and the reference to the arguments in Westminster reminds one of the author's presence.

The two letters which Joseph writes to his sister represent one of the novel's last links with Richardson's Pamela. Already Joseph Andrews is developing major themes of its own. In this section, the honesty, self-control, and chastity of Joseph predominate, but the theme of true charity emerges in the contrast between the greedy Peter Pounce, who strips Joseph of his livery, and the generous servant who provides Joseph with a frock and breeches. Later acts of charity often center on the metaphor and parable of clothing the naked and needy person.

As Joseph leaves London, "a bad place, [where] there is so little good fellowship, that the next-door neighbours don't know one another," the epic journey toward the Booby country seat and Joseph's self-knowledge begins in earnest.

Fielding’s novels are full of clergymen, many of whom are less than exemplary; in the contrast between the benevolent Adams and his more self-interested brethren, Fielding draws the distinction between the mere formal profession of Christian doctrines and that active charity which he considers true Christianity. Fielding advocated the expression of religious duty in everyday human interactions: universal, disinterested compassion arises from the social affections and manifests itself in general kindness to other people, relieving the afflictions and advancing the welfare of mankind. One might say that Fielding’s religion focuses on morality and ethics rather than on theology or forms of worship; as Adams says to the greedy and uncharitable Parson Trulliber, “Whoever therefore is void of Charity, I make no scruple of pronouncing that he is no Christian.”
 

If Fielding is skeptical about the efficacy of human goodness in the corrupt world, he is nevertheless determined that it should always be recompensed; thus, when the "good" characters of Adams, Joseph, and Fanny are helpless to engineer their own happiness, Fielding takes care to engineer it for them. The role of the novelist thus becomes analogous to that of God in the real world: he is a providential planner, vigilantly rewarding virtue and punishing vice, and Fielding's overtly stylized plots and characterizations work to call attention to his designing hand. The parallel between plot and providence does not imply, however, that Fielding naïvely expects that good will always triumph over evil in real life; rather, as Judith Hawley argues, "it implies that life is a work of art, a work of conscious design created by a combination of Providential authorship and individual free will." Fielding's authorly concern for his characters, then, is not meant to encourage his readers in their everyday lives to wait on the favor of a divine author; it should rather encourage them to make an art out of the business of living by advancing and perfecting the work of providence, that is, by living according to the true Christian principles of active benevolence.

A major theme of Joseph Andrews is that charity is the mark of a true Christian. Time and again, Joseph Andrews is the victim of people's lack of charity and even downright maliciousness. For example, he is fired from his job by Lady Booby for refusing to sleep with her, and then he is beaten within an inch of his life by robbers on the road. He is saved by some people in a stagecoach only because they fear getting sued. The people who are kind to Joseph outside his circle of acquaintances are members of the lower classes, since the upper classes are painted fairly broadly in the novel as lacking charity and compassion. Parson Adams and Joseph Andrews are the moral center of the novel, and both make speeches about charity. Joseph says that he doesn't understand why there is so little charity among people or why people don't at least practice charity so that other people will honor or admire them. In Joseph's view, being honored for charity is far superior to being admired for being rich or accomplished. He finds it strange that "all men should consent in commending goodness" but "no man endeavor[s] to deserve that commendation." Similarly, all rail against wickedness yet seem eager to carry out wicked deeds.

Parson Adams continually preaches charity, and his life is a testament to his own charitableness. He is the father to his parishioners and is open handed with everyone, even though he himself is quite poor. He scolds the hypocritical parson Mr. Trulliber for his lack of charity, saying any man "void of charity, I make no scruple of pronouncing that he is no Christian." The parson is surprised by people's inability to lend a helping hand to him, even when it doesn't cost that much. Yet when he is helped, it is almost always by people who have very little themselves. One exception is Mr. Wilson, but when the parson learns his story, he realizes that he has been saved by the charity of a woman—first she gives him material help, and then she accepts his love and offers him her own.