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The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
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The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding - Group Read (hosted by Debra and Angela)
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Debra Diggs
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rated it 2 stars
Nov 07, 2021 01:02PM
Chris, the story never flowed for me. I think two-thirds of it could have been cut. But, I did like the ending where the mystery of baby Tom's arrival was solved.....and I liked a few other parts sprinkled throughout the story.
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For the record, I'm enjoying the book very much and am finding it fascinating in terms of it the development of the novel.
Mod
We don't usually read anything which was not written by Charles Dickens himself. In fact this is the first one we have had, as a core group read. But The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling was so influential on his work, and he particularly cited it as one he read over and over again, so we had to see for ourselves! But we're back to the Inimitable himself next week ... and I really hope you'll join us for our "chapter a day" read of Bleak House starting mid-January as well. That's one which can stand any number of rereads, as I'm sure you'll agree :)
I'll look forward to hearing your final thoughts on Tom!
Jane, so glad you are enjoying it. I think several others are too.
Good morning from the U.S. west coast! We're on book 16.
Analysis
Sophia is torn between the desire to please her father and the hope for her own happiness. She is willing to submit herself to Squire Western's demands without totally eschewing her happiness, which Fielding accomplishes through clever characterization and plot manipulation. Her submissive spirit, though tempered with some of her own desire, is contrasted by the domineering ferocity of Mrs. Western. Fielding compares her to Thalestris, Queen of the Amazon’s, in her ability to challenger her brother. Her loyalty to her sex and firm belief in their superiority is again stated in this book-
“Lord have mercy upon all affairs which are under the directions of men. The head of one woman is worth a thousand of you” (753). And yet for all her support of women, Mrs. Western remains committed to a system that sees women as tools towards family wealth, and little more. The contrast between this brother and sister is balanced with an effective comparison at the end of Chapter 4 -“…education and sex made the only difference; for both were equally violent, and equally positive; they had both a vast affection for Sophia, and both a sovereign contempt for each other” (754).
Partridge's reactions to the play allow Fielding to mock contemporary drama. His superstitious nature is reasserted in his intense reactions to the ghost. In this Chapter, Fielding ridicules his own use of good-looking characters (Tom in particular) to suggest virtue. For instance, Tom is firmly supported by Mrs. Miller, and others, partly because of his good countenance. Yet here, we see Partridge’s surprise at the appearance of the actor who plays Claudius, the killer of Hamlet’s father – “Who would think, by looking in the king’s face, that he had ever committed a murder?” (758). The idea is made more complex by the fact that this is an acted part, not reality – a concept which Partridge clearly struggles with. Overall, Fielding is commenting on his own use of cliche by exhibiting it in the drama that the characters watch.
It is a relief that Allworthy begins to feel uncomfortable with the union of Blifil and Sophia, as his blindness to her emotions has weakened his character somewhat. However, Allworthy remains limited by his inability to recognize or accept vice. Blifil easily convinces him that he will win Sophia over, even though all the evidence is to the contrary. So sweet is Allworthy that it is difficult for him to consider the ill motives of his devious nephew.
Lastly, it is interesting at this point to consider how attractive Tom is to women. His bewitching qualities affect even Mrs. Fitzpatrick, and Fielding indicates the irony of Tom’s position in that Mrs. Fitzpatrick, like Mrs. Bellaston before her, has fallen for Tom specifically because of the passion he expresses for a different woman. The unhappy meeting with Mr. Fitzpatrick is to trigger a dire chain of events engineered to further challenge Tom, and yet we cannot blame Tom for being passionate. Yet again, Tom is punished not because of any particular vice or virtue, but because events do not always correspond with our character.
Mod
Chapter i. — Of prologues.
Chapter ii. — A whimsical adventure which befel the squire, with the distressed situation of Sophia.
Chapter iii. — What happened to Sophia during her confinement.
Chapter iv. — In which Sophia is delivered from her confinement.
Chapter v. — In which Jones receives a letter from Sophia, and goes to a play with Mrs Miller and Partridge.
Chapter vi. — In which the history is obliged to look back.
Chapter vii. — In which Mr Western pays a visit to his sister, in company with Mr Blifil.
Chapter viii. — Schemes of Lady Bellaston for the ruin of Jones.
Chapter ix. — In which Jones pays a visit to Mrs Fitzpatrick.
Chapter x. — The consequence of the preceding visit.
Mod
Yes, of course. I got distracted by that work thing.
Debra wrote: Mrs. Waters seduces Jones and they end up having sex. Tom is the hero and then "allows" himself to be seduced. Bah!!
So disappointed in our boy Tom, he can't seem to keep it in his pants. A "married" lady to boot!!
Book 16I wish Mrs. Western was different. She is so strong and independent, but still wants Sophia to marry for money. But, perhaps, Mrs. Western's bad experiences with men has soured her to the idea of love in a marriage.
So glad that Allworthy is starting to think a little tiny bit. It looks like he might side with Sophia on the marriage.
Chris wrote: "Debra wrote: Mrs. Waters seduces Jones and they end up having sex. Tom is the hero and then "allows" himself to be seduced. Bah!!
So disappointed in our boy Tom, he can't seem to keep it in his p..."
I agree!
Mod
Bionic Jean wrote: "I remember thinking I really liked Mrs. Western; that she would be a strong and positive character. But yes, she is still very much of her time. She's portrayed very well by [author:Frances de la T..."Debra Digs wrote: "Book 16
I wish Mrs. Western was different. She is so strong and independent, but still wants Sophia to marry for money. But, perhaps, Mrs. Western's bad experiences with men has soured her to the ..."
Mrs Western is most definitely of her time, when the stability of a woman's life was so precarious.
Discussions like this always remind me of Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth Bennet and her Aunt Gardiner are discussing Wickham and Miss King, "what is the difference in matrimonial affairs, between the mercenary and the prudent motive? Where does discretion end, and avarice begin?"
Even though Sophia has her own money, assuming she can get it if she marries without her father's consent, she probably doesn't have enough to marry Tom and have the life they were both brought up to. Marrying for love when your ability to improve your lot in life was rare until more recent times. I think marrying without love was all most of the gentry could hope to avoid. The hard truth was that if a woman made a mistake and married without thought of money and security, regardless of the looks and charm and even goodness of the man, she was risking a life of misery if he turned out to be a spendthrift or worse. A woman's property became a man's when she married, and if they had children and they separated, she had no rights to those children. Marriage was risky business, and while marrying for money sounds mercenary, an imprudent marriage could ruin a woman's happiness, security, etc.
Jane, all good points. It still seems awful thinking about a woman marrying for money. And Blifil and Lord Fellamar were simply awful. Surely there were better choices.
Mod
Chapter i. — Containing a portion of introductory writing.
Chapter ii. — The generous and grateful behaviour of Mrs Miller.
Chapter iii. — The arrival of Mr Western, with some matters concerning the paternal authority.
Chapter iv. — An extraordinary scene between Sophia and her aunt.
Chapter v. — Mrs Miller and Mr Nightingale visit Jones in the prison.
Chapter vi. — In which Mrs Miller pays a visit to Sophia.
Chapter vii. — A pathetic scene between Mr Allworthy and Mrs Miller.
Chapter viii. — Containing various matters.
Chapter ix. — What happened to Mr Jones in the prison.
Mod
This read officially finishes in 2 days' time, so please start posting for book 18 as soon as you like :)
Book 17I am glad that Tom did not actually kill Mr. Fitzpatrick. But at he time, I thought he really did. I should have considered that it was all rumors.
Also, glad that Sophia is leaving Mrs. Western's care and going back to her father. Even though both are bad, in their own way, at handling marriage plans for Sophia.
Interesting that Mrs. Waters is now Mr. Fitzpatrick's mistress. It comes very close to being too much of a coincidence.
Not at all Jean, I am unexpectedly traveling so was away from internet all day yesterday. I will post 18 today.
Mod
I have made it to Book 10, Chapter 5, and the emergence once again of the only vaguely veiled symbolic muff. I had to laugh. There are a few too many "muffs" in Tom's life. He needs to slow it down a bit, I think.I knew ahead of time that the book was comically bawdy, and it is living up to its reputation for me. I keep picturing Victorian women stealing this book from the shelves, where their husbands and brothers have hidden it, and hiding themselves to read it instead of the more correct wares they were allowed. Also fits in rather well with all those books Catherine Morland was reading in Northanger Abbey, even though there is no gothic element to it. I'm betting Jane Austen had read this one.
Mod
What an intriguing idea Sara :D Hidden behind the aspidistra, perhaps?
lol. Now the image has evolved.
AnalysisWhen the narrator compares his journey with the reader to that of “fellow travellers in a stagecoach,” it certainly resonates (813). The end of this book marks a significant journey, both in terms of action and in terms of Tom's development.
This section amps up the drama through the suggestion of incest. The shocking revelation that Mrs. Waters is Tom’s mother contributes high drama, tension and pathos to the narrative without the need to resort to vulgar description or lewd explanation. The information, if it turned out to be true, would have made Tom Jones a truly tragic character in the mold of Oedipus. Fielding cleverly manipulates his plot to extract our pathos and then to raise Tom to a level of supreme happiness, all without unwarranted length of narrative and without supernatural devices. In fact, this revelation leads Tom to an important epiphany: “ Fortune will never have done with me, ‘till she hath driven me to distraction. But why do I blame Fortune? I am myself the cause of all my misery. All the dreadful mischiefs which have befallen me, are the consequences only of my own folly and vice” (815). The moral realization not only influences the plot but also nicely sums up many of the book's themes.
Whoops! this is for book 18.
Wickedness is much on display in this Book. Black George’s theft finally comes to light, and he flees as a result. Allworthy makes a perceptive observation on the fruits of wickedness: “villainy, my boy, when once discovered, is irretrievable; the stains which this leaves behind, no time will wash away” (854). And, of course, Blifil is shown to be the cad that he truly is. Allworthy has come to recognize how base humans can actually be.And yet Tom comes out ahead of his merciful uncle, precisely because he understands vice better and can hence empathize with it. He understands the temptation that must have driven Black George, to the extent that even Allworthy thinks he is being too kind. It is possible that Allworthy's principles echo those of Fielding, who set up a police force in his lifetime and hence was not too liberal in dispensing justice. However, it falls in line with Tom's character - he understands that humans are imperfect and hence tries to limit his harshness. Tom further exhibits this quality by extending the level of annuity given to Blifil.
The revelation of Tom’s true parentage does manifest a traditional idea: his goodness derives from his social status. He is, in fairytale style, revealed to be high-born (though illegitimate) and the rightful heir of his beloved benefactor. He wins the lady of her dreams, with the consent of her father, and they live happily ever after. However, it is important to reflect on the careful crafting of the plot which has led to this credible conclusion. Tom’s real parentage is hinted at early through Bridget’s otherwise illogical preference for him. Further, Dowling's carefully plotted revelations about Blifil are masterfully managed.
Lastly, one would be remiss to accuse Fielding of simply falling into this cliche. The viciousness with which he attacks high class hypocrisy reveals that he does not unequivocally support high status as a mark of virtue.
The final chapter is somewhat disappointing, in seeming to be simply a list what befell the characters. However, when reflecting on the narrator’s earlier treatise in Book two, in which he says he will focus only on “matters of consequence,” it seems that Fielding has followed his professed principle (88). Lastly, we should remember that Fielding claims consistently that this work is to be a "history," and so he should only focus on facts in its final moments.
Mod
Chapter i. — A farewell to the reader.
Chapter ii. — Containing a very tragical incident.
Chapter iii. — Allworthy visits old Nightingale; with a strange discovery that he made on that occasion.
Chapter iv. — Containing two letters in very different stiles.
Chapter v. — In which the history is continued.
Chapter vi. — In which the history is farther continued
Chapter vii. — Continuation of the history.
Chapter viii. — Further continuation.
Chapter ix. — A further continuation.
Chapter x. — Wherein the history begins to draw towards a conclusion.
Chapter xi. — The history draws nearer to a conclusion.
Chapter xii. — Approaching still nearer to the end.
Chapter the last.
(Please scroll back 4 posts to read Angela's initial posts. All now linked.)
Mod
Thanks to everyone who has joined in, and especially to those who will complete this long book. It certainly has given us a taste of 18th century literature, and also indicated Charles Dickens's origins.
And thank you to Debra and Angela, who have kept us together and steered us through this. I hope everyone found parts of it fun! :)
About book XVIII: Tom immediately behaved like a brother to Bilfil, as soon as he knew they were brothers, while Bilfil, who has been knowing this for a long time, had always behaved badly with Tom.I read the Introduction again.
It says that the episode at Upton is the central point of the plot and that the last part the narration is less accurate, but then the reader wants to know the end of the story so if there are less descriptions and conversations this is a good thing.
Also it says that in many points of the book we can see Filding's legal training (he was a magistrate), both in language and in describing events like we were in a court with witnesses and evidence.
A third thing I think is important is that we do not find in Fielding social condemnation of the class system. Poverty and misery are not described in details (we can think about the scene when Tom is in prison), the class system is accepted but upper classes are seen as responsible for the immorality of lower classes. This is obviously a great difference with Dickens' writing.
Another difference with Dickens is, I think, that in the final chapters we are made to understand that to be good means to be happy. In Dickens' books there are many who are good but far from happy...
I liked this book, it is dramatic and also funny in some pages but it is way too long. I would not have been able to read it if I had not done it with you. Had I read it by myself I would have stopped in more than one occasion.
I am very happy because I received this book as a gift on April 5th, 1992, it was about time I read it!
I thank all of you very much, your comments were valuable and helped me a lot.
Mod
However, I'd like to take you up on your third point, or at least part of it: "we do not find in Fielding social condemnation of the class system ... This is obviously a great difference with Dickens' writing." I think this latter is the conclusion of your first part. The central part is: "the class system is accepted but upper classes are seen as responsible for the immorality of lower classes".
But Charles Dickens would have agreed with this! His belief was that the upper classes needed to set a good example, much as parents do with their children.
Now if I have read you correctly, you believe that Charles Dickens was against the class system, but actually this was not the case, (and it's a common misconception - don't worry!) In fact George Orwell, much as he admired Charles Dickens, complained in his essay on him about how bourgeois he was. (Charles Dickens did not go far enough in his views on society for George Orwell's taste.)
George Orwell observed:
"The truth is that Dickens’s criticism of society is almost exclusively moral ... There is no clear sign that he wants the existing order to be overthrown, or that he believes it would make very much difference if it were overthrown. For in reality his target is not so much society as ‘human nature’. ... His whole ‘message’ is one that at first glance looks like an enormous platitude: If men would behave decently the world would be decent."
George Orwell writes about this at length - it's worth a read :) When we examine Charles Dickens's novels from this aspect, we see that this observation is correct. Charles Dickens does not criticise the law of the land or institutions per se. He would very much approve of Henry Fielding being a magistrate, because he would be sure of being fair and just in how he applied the law.
What Charles Dickens invariably took exception to was the results of bad human nature: unfairness, greed, etc. and how organisations are run, organised or how rules are applied. The easiest novel to see this in is Hard Times, (if you know that one).
Far from condemning the class system, Charles Dickens here is not on the side of the workers. He disapproves of a rebellion, (view spoiler). Yet it is perfectly clear that the workers are poor and disadvantaged - sometimes literally starving.
Nevertheless Charles Dickens upholds the system of workers and employers. His target is the application of unfair rules, not the existence of the rules themselves. So in that novel about the classes:
"its tendency if anything is pro-capitalist, because its whole moral is that capitalists ought to be kind, not that workers ought to be rebellious... if [the employers] were better men, the system would work well enough that, all through, is the implication."
There are many examples of good, or benevolent rich folk in Charles Dickens, and he never condemns them. It's easy to oversimplify his novels into "rich = bad and poor = good" but when you analyse them closely, you can see that his views on society were not so very different from those of Henry Fielding :)
Jean, thank you very much for your explanation!! I am reading Little Dorrit and The Old Curiosity Shop and what you wrote clarifies many things.
Mod
Thank you for all your insights into this novel Daniela :)
Thanks everyone for your comments. Sara, I liked your description of Victorian women hiding away to read the book. :)
Daniela, I completely forgot about poverty and misery until I read your comment. Then, I remembered....at the beginning of the story, I kept waiting for the details of poverty misery. I expected it to be like a Charles Dickens story. And Tom being a foundling, I really expected to go down the path of poverty. But it did not happen and I forgot all about it. Nice comparision.
Jean, thanks for all the information about Dickens and the class system. And for getting this read set up and running.
FinishedAt the end, I like how the mystery of baby Tom's arrival was solved. In hindsight, all the clues were there. I should have seen them. The mystery part of the story was about all that I liked.
About different characters. I liked seeing Jenny Jones again, but was unhappy with how her life turned out. At the end, I disliked Tom. I liked him for a good long while but, when he sold sex for money, that was too much. Tom Jones = a leopard cannot change its spots. I did not like the narrator. After the halfway point, I skipped reading the first chapter in each book. And, for the most part, Sophia seemed foolish. The only part of her that I liked, was when she had the strength to run away.
About the humor. Mostly, I did not see it. I could see what the author was trying to do, I just did not find it funny. However, the fault probably falls with me. It is rare for me to see humor in any book.
The book was difficult to slog through. It could easily be cut in half. The part with the gypsies could have been left out. And there were other parts too where the author went on and on and it was not necessary. But, I am glad that I read it. I have been curious about this book and have been wanting to read it forever and a day.
Mod
I can't remember whether there was anyone I truly liked, in the end, but there were plenty of entertaining characters (which is very different) plus several I thoroughly disliked, such as the vile Blifil.
Good for you both, Debra and Daniela, to slog through to the end of a book which although famous and important, is not one you particularly cared for. You've just read a book longer than the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy!
I finally finished and I have mixed emotions. There are parts of this story that are marvelous and there is humor and character development and historical significance for the novel itself. I enjoyed the ending, which surprised me on a few levels and in which Fielding, like Dickens, managed to tie up all the loose ends very nicely. On the other hand, it just goes on and on forever and the moral depravity of both Tom and the women became disgusting. It ceased to feel like a boy being caught up in youthful exuberance and began to feel like a person with no moral compass at all...which was exactly the opposite of what we were being told about his character in general.
I quite liked Tom at the outset of the book and was rooting for him. By the end, I did not like him at all, and his brotherly forgiveness of Blifil felt more like stupidity to me than compassion. This is a scathing commentary on true affection (Allworthy and Western seem to me to be a good study in how to desert people if they don't please you incessantly), and on marriage. What moral tenet wins when it was the money and inheritance that finally won the girl?
I'm still mulling it, but unlike with Dickens, where I close the very long book and say "I hate that is over. I could have spent a lot more time with these people", I closed this one hoping never to spend any time with these people again.
Well said, Sara.
Thanks for keeping the thread open Jean. I am only on book 6 GAH and have been referring to the comments without going too far ahead. Appreciate it.
Mod
Perhaps we can thank Henry Fielding for influencing Charles Dickens in many ways - but particularly as you say, in tying things up with neat endings :)
Mod
Bionic Jean wrote: "Perhaps we can thank Henry Fielding for influencing Charles Dickens in many ways - but particularly as you say, in tying things up with neat endings :)"And perhaps for not being afraid to have a lot of secondary characters with full personalities.
Mod
Even the minor characters are so well delineated. The first time I read The Pickwick Papers, I marked each time a new character came in, as Charles Dickens wrote a thumbnail sketch of them so I assumed they were "important". But it happened on virtually every page - and sometimes more than one! There must be thousands of characters in that book.
I would definitely say that Dickens took the best traits of Fielding and then improved upon them. I read The Pickwick Papers when I was very young, and really REALLY need to revisit it. It was one of the books read by the March sisters in Little Women, and I was determined to read them all myself. I didn't accomplish that goal, but I did read several of them before I lost momentum (a difficult thing to have at that age) and Pickwick was among them.
I just finished Book X yesterday. Debra wrote: This whole chapter had a whole lot of craziness in it...a comedy of errors. Totally agree with THAT statement. It seems to be a recurring them.
Chris wrote: "I just finished Book X yesterday. Debra wrote: This whole chapter had a whole lot of craziness in it...a comedy of errors. Totally agree with THAT statement. It seems to be a recurring them."
Many times, this story reminded me of slap-stick comedy.
Mod
Yes, farce definitely fits.
I finished Book 11 last night. Debra Digs wrote: I am not sure the author is saying marriages are bad. But certainly Mrs. Fitzpatricks was bad, with her gold digging husband that locked her up in a room. I felt Harriet's description of marriage really was on target for the times except for being locked up in her room for all that time. Women were married for their property and/or money, are needed to beget male heirs, and run the household. Men of the gentry were known to have mistresses, just not supposed to flaunt them in society.
My loudest guffaw of the book thus far was Sophia's remarks after Harriet's tale of woe. Indeed, Harriet, I pity you from my soul! But what could you expect? Why, why, would you marry an Irishman? Really Sophia? That's your first thought?!!
Chris, sadly, I am sure you are right about women and marriage at that time. And this situation of women simply being married off for one reason or another, continued for a very, very long time. ------------------
"My loudest guffaw of the book thus far was Sophia's remarks after Harriet's tale of woe. Indeed, Harriet, I pity you from my soul! But what could you expect? Why, why, would you marry an Irishman? Really Sophia? That's your first thought?!!"
LOL :)
Is it just me, or are the opening chapters of each book difficult to follow?
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Pickwick Papers (other topics)The Pickwick Papers (other topics)
The Lord of the Rings (other topics)
Hard Times (other topics)
Bleak House (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Henry Fielding (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
Henry Fielding (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
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