Ministry of Higher Education

And Scientific Research

Al-Mustansiriyah University
College of Basic Education Department of
English

Henry Fielding 's Joseph Andrews as

picaresque Novel
A research paper submitted to the Department of English of
the College Basic Education / Al-Mustansiriyah University
as a partial fulfillment to the degree of Bachelor in
Education in literature of English.

By: Haneen Mohammed Rahim Hassan

And
Ameera Ali Abas

.Supervised by Prof.Eman Fathi Ph.D

2023 1444

‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬

‫ج‬ٙ ‫ر‬ٙ ‫د‬ٙ ‫ن ُت ْل‬ٙ ‫ْم‬ ‫ُك‬ ‫ُن‬ ‫م‬ٙ ‫ن‬ٙ ‫ف‬ٙ ‫ي ْر‬ٙ
﴾‫﴿ ع هللا الِذ ي ا وا ِم ن و الِذ ي او وا الِع م ات‬

)١١ ‫آية‬,‫(سورة المجادلة‬

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful

﴾Allah will rise up, to(suitable) ranks(and

degrees),those of you who believe and who have
been granted (mystic)knowledge ﴿

(Almujadila, verse 11)

 Dedication

We dedicate this work to the first person who taught

our the first letter of our life, to our first teacher, our
dear mother and our father , thanks Mom and Dad for
your continued support and unconditional love.
Thank you very much for being always there for our.
And special thanks to all our family .
 Acknowledgements
By the grace of Almighty Allah, my grateful thanks to Him
for giving me the power to complete this study.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sinceres
bggratitude to my supervisor Prof.Eman Fathi Ph.D. for her
dedication, professional support and guidance as well as
valuable advices during the research.
Special thanks to all professors and members of English
Department, who taught me during all the courses of my
study; especially,Dr.Halah Ahmed , Prof. Estabraq Rasheed
Ph.D., Asst.Instr. Heiam Abdul Ameer, Asst.Prof.Muauad
Rasheed, Instr. Muntaha Sabbar Instr. Afrah Munshid ,
Instr. Nadah Asim, Instr. Habbar Jassim ,and Instr.Iman
Mahdy.Thank you all, you have been a constant source
motivation throughout this research.

And finally,many thanks to the Head of English

Department Asst.Prof.Bilal Ali.
 Table of content
Content pages
Verse I
Dedication II
Acknowledgements III
Table of content IV
Chapter one
Introduction
1.1.picaresque Novel
1.2.Henry Fielding
1.3.Joseph Andrews
Chapter Two
2.1. The Novel as Picaresque
2.2.Fielding’s Scholarly Journey
2.3. Joseph Andrews as Partially
Picaresque
2.4. A Symbolic Journey Beyond
the Mere Traditional Picaresque
 Journey

Chapter one
Introduction

1.1.picaresque Novel
The word pícaro first starts to appear in Spain with the current meaning in
1545, though at the time it had no association with literature
(Anne ,2008,p.1)The word pícaro does not appear in Lazarillo de Tormes 1554,
the novella credited by modern scholars with founding the genre. The
expression picaresque novel was coined in 1810.Whether it has any validity at
all as a generic label in the Spanish sixteenth and seventeenth centuries—
Cervantes certainly used picaresque with a different meaning than it has today
—has been called into question. There is unresolved debate within Hispanic
studies about what the term means, or meant, and which works were, or should
be, so called. The only work clearly called picaresque by its contemporaries was
Mateo Alemán's Guzmán de Alfarache (1599),( Ibid.)
The picaresque novel is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a
roguish, but appealing hero, usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in
a corrupt society. Picaresque novels typically adopt a realistic style. There are
often some elements of comedy and satire .
The word ‘Picaresque’ means ‘belonging or relating to rouges or knaves.
( Jill,1995,p.73) 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 pícaro, 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,(Ibid.) 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 :
They are episodic
They are comic.
The episodes describe the wandering through the countryside on the way, the
hero meets a series of adventures and of course, meet representatives of society
belonging to various level. Comic is derived from satire.(Ibid.)

1.2.Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) is an English novelist, irony
writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire(Richard J.Dircks
1983) His comic novel Tom Jones is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel
Richardson are seen as founders of the traditional English novel. He also holds
a place in the history of law enforcement, having used his authority as a
magistrate to found the Bow Street Runners, London's first intermittently
funded, full-time police force.At this period, his fictional career began with the
chronicle of the adventures of Joseph Andrews and his friend Mr. Abraham
Adams, a parody of the famous
1741 sentimental and moral novel Pamela, written by British author Samuel
Richardson. But Fielding's knack for displaying characters and depicting the
environment of the lower classes made his mentioned novel more than just a
parody.In 1749, Fielding published his novel, The History of Tom Jones, the
Foundling, which critics considered one of the greatest English novels. In 1962
this novel was turned into a successful movie titled Tom Jones. Fielding wrote
many poems and political essays, and gained a reputation for his bravery in
fighting crime in the City of London. Illness forced him in 1753 to leave his
position as a judge, and he died the following year.(Ibid.)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Fielding
Fielding is regarded as one of the most well-known novelist of 18th century.
Joseph Andrews was the first novel written by him. It was published in 1742 as
a parody of Samuel Richardson’s first novel Pamela. He is the first writer in
English after Chaucer and Shakespeare who followed the whole sweep of
English society. He says that his story was fictitious and his characters were
invented. His characters are mostly extroverts as he was not interested in
psychological realism. Characters were real to him and make them real to us
also. Fielding can be considered as a realistic writer. He was absolutely faithful
in the presentation of portraits of all that came within his sphere of vision. He
described the manners and customs of his life honestly. He described 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.
Fielding can be considered as a realistic writer. He was absolutely faithful in
the presentation of portraits of all that came within his sphere of vision. He
described the manners and customs of his life honestly. He described the land,
men and women in such a way that we come to know all about his
time(Martin,1998,p.51).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 licence 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.(Ibid.)

1.3.Joseph Andrews
Joseph Andrews , or The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and His
Friend Mr. Abraham Adams , is the first complete novel by English writer
Henry Fielding , and it is also among the first novels in the
English language . It was published in 1742 and Fielding classified it as "an epic
comic poem in prose". It is the story of the adventures of a good-natured
servant on his way home from London with his friend and mentor, Abraham
Adams, the insatiable captain. The novel represents the approximation of the
combination of two aesthetic values in the literature of the eighteenth century :
the mock heroism and the neoclassicism (and therefore the aristocracy )
pursued by the writers of the era. The Augustan as Alexander Pope and
Jonathan Swift ; Popular local nonfiction prose came from novelists such as
Daniel Defoe and Samuel Richardson . The novel draws on a variety of
inspirations. Considered "an imitation of the manner of Cervantes , author of
Don Quixote , this novel is distinguished by the humorous appearance of
techniques developed by Cervantes, and by the arrangement of its subjects,
which may have relied on the irregular order of events. It belongs to the type of
writing known as the poetic novel , which is characterized by digressions and
characters belonging to the poor class. An appreciation of literary tastes and
metaphors Repeated in that period, and the novel relies on black comedy where
we read about the imminent marriage, and the mystery surrounding the
unknown paternity, but despite that we notice how rich the novel is in
philosophical letters, classic capacity and social purpose.( George,1967,p.64). If
there was good architecture and elegance, there were crudest licence 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.(Martin &
Battestin, 1989,p.123)
Joseph Andrews is divided into four books. In the novel, Book I is divided into
eighteen chapters. Book II is divided into seventeen chapters. Book III is
divided into thirteen chapters. Book IV is divided into sixteen chapters. In
Joseph Andrews, the picaro is Joseph who plays the central role in the novel
and in the novel comic hero is Parson Adams. Joseph Andrews is the
picaresque novel of the road written in manner of Don
Quixote. The plot of the novel is loose. We witness the journey of
Joseph and Adams from London to Lady Booby’s estate. There are digression
like the story of Leonora and the story of Mr. Wilson which are not directly
connected with the story of the novel but they are as device frequently used by
picaresque novelists.(Thomas,2011,p.34)
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.
(Paul,1975,p.39)
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. Through a series of
episodes, Joseph passes through mishaps and meets different characters. He
starts his journey alone but other major characters go on joining him. He is
inspired by a single aim of marrying Fanny. Fielding then adds a series of
melodramatic surprises that heightens suspense and result in a strong
denouement which affects the realism of the book. The comedy is aroused from
the ridicule of the people. The sources of the comedy are vanity and hypocrisy.
The picaresque side of the novel is very entertaining. Joseph passes through the
experiences which are of picaresque style. Fielding has combined realism with
genuine concern for morality.(Harold,1969,p.45)
Though said to be the first hero of the novel, Joseph Andrews would not be
what he is without a companion who calls him child‘ and defends him and his
girlfriend at every stage of their journey. This is why Pastor Adams forms a
complementary hero of the novel (Battestin, 1959; Scott, 2008; Maurer, 2014;
et al). It is Adams who actually ends up leading his people from Egypt to
Canaan (Mauer, 2014). The two heroes, therefore, are meant to, respectively,
carry the great themes of chastity and social charity as Fielding intended to
articulate. Drawn as a poor footman with no material possessions and no
parents, but as a very strong and handsome young man, Joseph is a sure target
for bribes particularly from his rich mistress ready to offer anything for sexual
gratification.

Lady Booby, like her name suggests, becomes a very dangerous booby trap for
the young man. When rejected, she turns into a tigress, mad libido personified.
The situation is worsened by her forty-five-year-old maid, Slipslop whose name
also is suggestive of riding roughshod on men she wants to trap and who will
even use force where possible like on the last night of their stay at Lady
Booby‘s Booby-Hall when she grapples with Beau Didapper and Pastor Adams.
Even when Fanny comes into the story, the craving of the two women for
Joseph is worsened by jealousy and murderous hatred for Fanny. Naturally in
satire, the grotesque becomes a natural representation of the two wicked
women because the ferocity with which they hunt for Joseph is life-threatening.
They will not leave him alone even when he has been dismissed from his job,
but instead, they shamelessly compete, each intent on winning him away from
Fanny. The girlfriend becomes a very

Good antithesis to these women‘s uncontrollable craving for sexual favors. It is

pathetic to hear them appealing to him as if their lives depended on his
acceptance of being ravaged. With Lady Booby, it is not even adultery he
rejects because her husband is dead; it is just that he carries a strong feeling of
betraying the trust Sir Booby has had in him, just like the Joseph of Genesis
dared not betray his kind master.

So, in her desperation, Lady Booby whines, “Don‟t pretend to too much
modesty…Would you not be my master?... To torment me and remind me of
(my dead husband). And then she burst into a fit of tears…

(Fielding, 1979, pp. 48-50). And then, like a desperate

Refrain,Mrs.Slipslop attacks next, “I am convicted you must see the value I

have for you… my eyes must have declared a passion I cannot conquer… Oh,
Joseph!” (Fielding, 1979, p. 53). And Fielding gives them such predator names
as ‗tigress, voracious puke… preparing to leap on her prey….‘. Especially for
Mrs. Slipslop, with her pretentious knowledge of good English and good
education, she sounds a savage indeed on a life-and-death hunt.At the Dragon
Inn where Joseph lies recuperating from battering by thieves who leave him
penniless, another predator, Betty the chambermaid, cannot resist offering
herself to Joseph. She is another good example of the satirical twist Fielding
levels against selfish charity, just like the many would-be good Samaritans
offering to help Adams and Joseph for profit. So, these exaggerated attacks on
Joseph‘s chastity go a long way to underscore Fielding‘s lesson: the moral
degeneracy is not only confined to the rich ladies who find easy life a pass-time,
but also to the poor. The behavior of Leonora leaving Horatio for the richer
Bellarmine, the litany of easy women and prostitutes Wilson talks of to Adams,
and the women adding to this litany in the various coaches they are in
travelling with Fielding‘s heroes, all these go a long way to emphasize
Fielding‘s theme of sexual hypocrisy arising from affectation, vanity and
prudery (Fielding,1979, p. 199). Fielding uses Wilson to underscore this vice
(Fielding, 1979, p. 207): Vanity is the worst of passions and more apt to
contaminate the mind than any other: for, as selfishness is much more general
than we please to allow it, so it is natural to hate and envy those who stand
between us and the

Good we desire”. One sees, therefore, how contrasting Fanny with these other
women gives readers the conviction that Joseph is justified to preserve his
chastity as Fielding‘s robust celebration of this theme. This is complemented by
Fanny‘s equal robust determination to fight against any lustful temptations or
even attempts to rape her. According to Battestin (1959), her simple,
unsophisticated comportment and unpretentious commitment to Joseph and
his equally adoring care for her bring up the sentimentalism in the novel, but it
becomes part of the dramatization of good nature‖ the author wants to
promote, and which he harps on all the time (Mace, 2018, p. 16). This is to
bring a reader‘s admiration for the two lovers who are sharply contrasted to
Lady Booby, Mrs. Slipslop, and then the London whores Wilson details for us.
In the words of Maurer (2014).
 Chapter Two

2.1. The Novel as Picaresque

The original title of the novel is Joseph Andrews or The History of the
Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. The
Picaresque novel is always divided into episodes which are comic in tone.
(Thomas,2011,p.70)
Joseph Andrews is the picaresque novel of the road written in manner of Don
Quixote. The plot of the novel is loose. We witness the journey of
Joseph and Adams from London to Lady Booby’s estate. There are digression
like the story of Leonora and the story of Mr. Wilson which are not directly
connected with the story of the novel but they are as device frequently used by
picaresque novelists. Comedy often aims at correcting the excess. Fielding also
follows this aim. He does not spare the lawyer scout or the greed of a parson
Trulliber. But there is a sense of delight and order.(Jill, 1995,p.102)
There are positive qualities of love, charity and sincerity exposed by Adams.
Joseph and Fanny. Fielding preaches good and noble qualities. Journey is
always an important action of a picaresque novel. It is not simply a
geographical journey. Fielding’s characters pass through a series of episodes.
The characters get self- knowledge. Joseph marries Fanny in an ideal setting
and it is here that we come to know about the generosity of Mr. Booby and
Lady Booby does not change and there is no reformation in her character. She
returns without any change. Joseph Andrews can be 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.(Ronald,2000,p.88)
This was the technique used by the picaresque writers. Both thesedigressions
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.(Harold,1998,p.27)
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 b
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. Through a series of episodes, Joseph passes through
mishaps and meets different characters. He starts his journey alone but other
major characters go on joining him. He is inspired by a single aim of marrying
Fanny. Fielding then adds a series of melodramatic surprises that heightens
suspense and result in a strong denouement which affects the realism of the
book. The comedy is aroused from the ridicule of the people. The sources of the
comedy are vanity and hypocrisy. The picaresque side of the novel is very
entertaining. Joseph passes through the experiences which are of picaresque
style. Fielding has combined realism with genuine concern for morality.
(Pat,1995,p.117)
Thus, the role of the picaresque in Joseph Andrews becomes conspicuous at the
beginning of the middle or we may say at the end of the exposition of the novel.
The rambling part of the narrative and the discovery of the birth of Joseph
Andrews form the picaresque picture in it. This part is most captivating and
sustained till the end of the book. The criticism of the then society and
picaresque are interrelated (Ronald.2000,p.21) The hero and his elderly
companion move on and meet people of different shades of their character.
That way, the role of the picaresque is strong in Joseph Andrews. It covers a
very large space in the novels. It seems Fielding recognizes the utility of such a
mode of writing. 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
color to the episodes in a novel (Ibid) . 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.(Ibid.)
The allusion to Cervantes and his masterpiece Don Quixote Is significant as it
shows Fielding’s indebtedness to Cervantes. Parson Adams is indeed a truly
Quixotic figure, and the structure of the book also follows
Cervantes’ picaresque model. Joseph Andrews is a novel of adventures met
while travelling on the road. Joseph loses his employment in Lady
Booby’s service in London, on his way home to the country to his sweetheart
Fanny, he meets Parson Adams. Together they run all kinds of adventures
meeting a host of characters from low and middle-class layers of society:
innkeepers, chambermaids, country squires and clergymen. The picaresque
tradition belongs to Spain and derived from the word “picaro”, meaning a
rogue or a villain. The picaresque originally involved the misadventure of the
rogue-hero, mainly on the highway. Soon, however, the rogue was replaced by
a conventional hero gallant and chivalric. The comic element lay in the nature
of the hero’s adventures, through which, generally, society was satirized.
Fielding’s affinity with picaresque model appears first of all in the
representation of rogue and villainy; secondly, in the humorous style which
often takes a mock-heroic turn, and in the geniality of temperament; thirdly, in
the portrait of characters of certain lower classes of men and women; and
finally, in the humorous or satiric descriptions of the contents of the chapters
and the introduction of side stories or episodes into the main narrative.
(Pat,1995,p.36)
The picaresque tradition Is maintained uptil the end of Book III. Joseph meets
with the first misadventure when he is set upon by robbers, beaten, stripped
and thrown unconscious into a ditch. A passing stagecoach and its passengers
very reluctantly convey Joseph to an inn. The incident gives ample scope to
Fielding for satirizing the pretences and affectations of an essentially inhuman
society. The Tow-wouse Inn provides a grim picture of callous human beings
the vain and ignorant surgeon and the drinking parson. Once again kindness
and generosity come from an apparently immoral girl, Betty the chambermaid.
With the arrival of Parson Adams, the picaresque journey takes on a more
humorous tone, with plenty of farce. The encounter with the “Patriot” who
would like to see all cowards banged but who turns tail at the first sight of
danger, leads to the meeting with Fanny. She is rescued by Adams in proper
picaresque-romance style with hero. Several odd characters are met on the way
such as the hunting squire the squire who makes false promises. Then comes
the abduction of Fanny and the reintroduction of something more serious. We
also have the interpolated stories, which belong to the picaresque tradition. In
his use of this device, Fielding shows how far he has come from the picaresque
school. To conclude, Joseph Andrews has a rather rambling and discursive
narrative, which makes us to believe that it is a picaresque novel. But, on the
whole, it is not a picaresque novel rather the picaresque mode has helped him
in the development of his comic theory that of ridiculing the affectations of
human beings.(Ronald & Lockwood,1969,p.70)

2.2.Fielding’s Scholarly Journey

Baker (1957), Shaver (1941), Watt (1960), and Radloff (1957) give us quite an
elaborate academic and professional profile Fielding went through before
embarking on novel writing: a graduate of Eton Public school and a university
scholar of the classics, Fielding was versed in the study and translation of the
ancient Greek romances. He spoke classical languages: Latin and Greek and
even added French. He was a voracious connoisseur of classic drama and
philosophy, the Bible and other books of notable scholars and moralists of the
time. But, Radolf 1957 notes that Fielding was especially indebted to Aristotle,
Horace and Longinus from whom, in Watt‘s words (1960), Fielding sought to
extract classical standards of criticism to correct what he thought the growing
anarchy of literary taste (which) called for drastic measures (Watt, 1960, p.
248).
He was not satisfied with the experimentation and random effort in new
scholarship (Baker, p. 1957). Little wonder, therefore, that Joseph Andrews
contains so many allusions to and even quotations from texts of great learning.
We also note, in the novel, why Pastor Adams has made Aeschylus his darling
companion. To Fielding‘s scholarship was added a study of Law; then there
was a plethora of reading materials (Taylor, 1934):
the periodicals of the time – the Tetlar, Spectator, Guardian, Hambler,
Adventurer, World, Connoisseur, Idler, Mirror, Lounger, Observer,
Looker-on…all entertaining and some outright satirical attacks on corrupt
practices of the day. All these provided an added strong reading .

2.3. Joseph Andrews as Partially Picaresque

Brissenden‘s Introduction posits Fielding wanted to write a unique novel in
Imitation of the Manner of Cervantes, Author of Don Quixote, because Don
Quixote certainly undergoes transformation as opposed to the static
Pamela of Richardson‘s Pamela (Fielding, 1979, p. 08) and her distorted sense
of morality. However, Joseph Andrews ended up incorporating few of the
traditional picaresque elements that he twisted into a comic prose poem
properly called an adventure journey or a pilgrimage (Watt, 1960; Battenstin,
1959; Kettle, 1960; Allen, 1963; Mace, 2018). Of the traditional six epic
elements (in Aristotelian tragedy: meter, fable, action, characters, sentiments,
and diction), Watt (1960, p. 248) summarizes
the views of such critics when he says Fielding used all except meter because, in
a comic epic, they are unavoidable; he says, “It is surely impossible to conceive
of any narrative whatever which does not in some way contain „fable, action,
characters, sentiments, and diction‟. The possession of these five elements
certainly does nothing to elucidate the distinction which Fielding goes on to
make between the prose epic and French romances‖. So, the novel took another
turn.

2.4. A Symbolic Journey Beyond the Mere Traditional

Picaresque Journey
The only difference from the traditional picaresque lies first of all in the
depiction of his heroes as non-rogues as would be in the Spanish works. But
Joseph Andrews still bears some elements of roguery: the criminals and rogues
are encountered on this journey by the heroes but are not cast prominent
characters; the humorous events/episodes are many and very engaging; the
traditional epic battles are represented by the fights and escapades the heroes
of Joseph Andrews go through, and, of course,the moral is there constantly
hammered out to the reader: have !active Charity, avoid affectation and its
evils (vanity and hypocrisy). So, Fielding ended up with a scathing attack on his
society, turning the novel into some moral fable‖ because it is the moral
intention that shapes the
novel (Battestin, 1959, pp. 88-89). It all ties up with Fielding‘s critical mind: he
had read Don Quiote (Cervantes) and digested the common vices gripping
European society. He had read Robinson Crusoe,
Guliver‟s Travels and other early prose fiction‘, as Downie (1997) and Baker
(1957) prefer to call these early works. He had seen the growing individualism,
materialism and hypocrisy of his England, especially the vices of London as a
symbol of sin, and so he chose to combine the well-known pilgrimage motif with
Bible souls of the people his heroes encounter, and who end up also as symbols
of people in Fielding‘s England at the time. The journey symbol takes on an
attractive diversion into more religious elements: the Biblical allusions to
important Genesis figures Abrahams the Biblical father of nations; and then
Joseph son of Jacob sold into exile to King Potipha by his step-brothers. This is
how the two Bible figures inspired Fielding to develop Joseph and Adams.
Joseph became a perfect rebuttal to Pamela. The parallels with the Biblical
Joseph are glaring: the Biblical Joseph is exiled from his parents and people, is
sexually harassed and tormented by the queen, causing the very hateful rift
between them because in the Genesis Joseph keeps a tenacious restraint against
soiling his chastity. It was an attractive lure and Fielding‘s society would
understand the message very well: Joseph‘s (and Adam‘s) symbolic journey
from the well-known vices of London to the relative sanity and humility of the
countryside people. (Radolf, 1957, p. 1)

Conclusion
 This study has detailed the importance of Joseph Andrews as a very important
landmark at the Beginning of the modern novel. The study has examined its
strengths and weaknesses, given the Significant changes that have taken place
in novel writing since the time of writing Joseph Andrews. The Study has also
examined its relevance today given the mirror it holds before us to examine our
modern Shortcomings as characters and as part of corrupt institutions we
serve. It is, therefore, a compelling Piece of literature that has rightly outlived
its time. Variously called an ‗experimental novel‘ by many Critics in the past,
we think this label has left the ‗belittling‘ impression it used to carry, given the
Position it holds in our modern Literature Departments and its thematic
relevance to modern times. In Our modern way of appraising intertextuality,
we find many modern texts returning over and over to the Evils Joseph
Andrews points out: political corruption among civil servants, bribery and
extortion, Lechery and prostitution, vanity and materialism, hypocrisy from
the clergy and the laity in equal Measure, etc. Just as Pastor Adams feels
Aeschylus be part of his personality, we feel Fielding‘s work form part of every
literary scholar‘s companion, too.