Fielding is a realistic writer. He was absolutely
faithful in the presentation of portraits of all that came within his sphere of
vision. He describes the manners and customs of his life honestly. He describes
the land, men and women in such a way that we come to know all about his time.
In the social picture, we get information about everything. He presents facts
faithfully. Today, it would be impossible for us to see 18th century London as
it was there were contrasts in the age. If there was good architecture and
elegance, there were crudest license and brutality at the same time. There were
high way men and robbers who robbed and beat people. People died because of
hunger. Crimes flourished. Fielding describes a scene where Joseph is robbed,
beaten and left naked.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word
‘Picaresque’ means ‘belonging or relating to rouges or knaves.’ It is applied
to the literary fiction style with the adventure of rogues, chiefly of Spanish
origin. In 1895, Fonger de Hann gave definition of Picaresque fiction as the
autobiography of a picaro, a rogue and it is in the form of satire upon the
conditions and persons of the time that gives it birth. Through the experiences
of the hero, the writer satirizes the evils and vices of the society in the
narrative. The conventional definitions of Picaresque novel are forgotten by
the modern critics. They define it as a novel in which hero takes up a journey
and meets adventures on the way.
The main characteristics of a picaresque novel are
(A) They are episodic (B) they are comic. The episodes describe the wandering
through the countryside on the way; the hero meets a series of adventures and
of course, meets representatives of society belonging to various levels. Comic
is derived from satire.
Joseph Andrews is considered a classic among
picaresque stories as it has a loose plot. The plot is not able to hold the
subject matter together in an organized way. It is held together by not only a
story but certain themes also. The journey of Joseph and Adams from London to
the Booby estate is the main threat of the story. In between the sory is held
up when there is the description of a long story which is not connected with
the novel. This was the technique used by the picaresque writers. Both these
digressions offer variations. On the main themes of the book are romance,
charity and love.
The journey is significant symbolically. It starts
from London which is sophisticated and goes towards the bucolic simplicity of
the parish Fielding presents the high town life with its vice and virtues of
the country. Lady Booby, Mrs. Slipslop represent the high society with its
snobbery while Joseph, Fanny and Adams represent rural virtues.
As the purpose of the picaresque novel is always to
satirize the society, Joseph Andrews satirizes the prevailing social conditions
of Fielding’s time. There are people who are tops and hypocrites. They cheat
lawyers and squires. Fielding has presented women’s contradictions and
weaknesses. Lady Booby and Mrs. Slipslop are great pretenders. They tried to
seduce Joseph and on the other hand pretended to be good. Their hypocrisy and
pretentious nature are satirized by the novelist. There is satire on arrogant
people who used their power in vain. Fielding describes the power of innkeeper
or the greater power of squires and judges. The greatest satire is there in the
passage where Joseph is beaten and left naked by the robbers. He is refused to
enter the coach. Nobody is ready to offer him clothes. The greater irony lies
in the scene where a beggar like man helps Joseph by giving his coat to him.
Fielding wanted to satirize all the people of his time who pretended to be
charitable and good. There are Christians like squire who pretends to be a
Christian and doesn’t help Adams with money. On the other hand, we find a
beggar who gives all the money he had. There is a great satire on such so
called Christians of the time.
The picaresque does not care for the probability and
smacks of contrivance on the part of the novelist as a technician, but it
serves to lend colour to the episodes in a novel. The incidents are of exciting
character in a picaresque, and many things happen to the hero and the heroine
which make us laugh. The hero becomes a target of several predicaments. The
specialty of the novel lies in the happenings caused to bring out the character
of Adams, an immortal figure of fiction for all time to come. Further, the
picaresque in the novel serves to show the unchristian element in the general
humanity of the time.
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