Authority figures in Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones and Amelia
Creators: name: Sumpter, Eleanor
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2010

description: It was noted that the characters in Fielding's novels cast in authority roles, mainly clergy, magistrates, squires and parents, are used for some of the same purposes as is the persona or narrative voice, but are distinct from it. There is a fairly clear dichotomy between evil or false character authority figures and good or true character authority figures, the latter of which are used as spokesmen for and examples of Fielding's religious and ethical beliefs. It was also noted that there is a trend away from the prominent "good man" as a major authority figure in "Joseph Andrews" which culminates in an austere major authority figure who is frequently absent from the action in "Amelia", and that there is a growing number and prominence of evil or false authority figures. This thesis undertook to examine the nature and extent of the influence of the character authority figures on the world view and tone of each novel. First, the thesis established the ethical and religious values which Fielding uses his authority figures to support. That Fielding was widely read in both religious doctrine and classical ethics is evident from his fictional and critical writings and from the contents of his library at his death. Fielding's character authority figures especially reflect his beliefs and his gradual movement away from an optimistic world view. The authority figures in the three major novels were then examined in terms of Fielding's values. The comic features of Parson Adams, the major authority figure in "Joseph Andrews", were reconciled with his position as an ethical and doctrinal touchstone, and a latitudinarian interpretation of New Testament theology was found to be a major basis for Adams' authority. The effect the minor authority figures have on authority was also established, again in terms of latitudinarian Christian doctrine. "Tom Jones" was examined in terms of its occasional focus on authority and on the major authority figure, Squire Allworthy, as a Providential agent. Allworthy, as a good man, a patriarch, a magistrate and a guardian, was also shown to be the examplar for social, religious, judicial and parental authority in the novel. He is, however, more detached from the action and less loveable than Adams was, and this distancing of the major authority figure from the other characters and from the reader helps to make "Tom Jones" less comic and less optimistic than is "Joseph Andrews". "Amelia" is filled with evil and false authority figures, and it was shown that the major good authority figure, although intended as a good man and a Providential agent, is not successfully presented as such and is also too detached from the action to provide a consistent sense of a controlling authority figure by whose mediation the sympathetic characters will be protected or ultimately rescued. The thesis showed that the character authority figures in "Joseph Andres", "Tom Jones" and "Amelia" are instrumental in establishing the world view. The success or lack thereof of the presentation of the major authority figure as a Providential agent and as a "good man" and his amount of participation in the plot are important contributing delements to the degree of optimism in each novel.