Critical analysis of Henry Fielding’s novel Joseph Andrews. Fielding’s Preface to the book. How does he define his own text in it? What is the main target of his social criticism?

Henry Fielding is one of the fathers of the modernist movement. His novel Joseph Andrews embodies in realistic prose a panoramic survey of the contemporary society. It owes much of its humour, digression and lower-class characters to the genre of writing known as picaresque. His famous work advocates an easygoing Protestantism in which charitable works are the signs of goodness and sociability, where providence is the reliable guardian of the virtuous. Joseph Andrews is an astounding representation of the 18th century English social life and manners which gives utterance to Fielding's comic moral vision throughout this period. It is rich in philosophical digressions, classical erudition and social purpose. The social life portrayed by Fielding is scrutinized in every facets of this society in which the writer studies different characters which enables him to explore all the unpleasant aspects of life of his time. These characters are depicted in the novel as human beings camouflaged in various shades of vanity, hypocrisy and narcissism, which are some of the main targets of Fielding’s social criticism.

Despite Fielding’s undoubtedly comic outlook, his comic writing in the Preface has a serious point. The target of his criticism expressed by irony is not the classical principle itself but the modern works that fail to live up to that principle. Fielding rejects burlesque and caricature, inspiring laughter with humor used as a vehicle of moral commentary. He confines himself strictly to Nature. He is performing a corrective function for the moral of the age, exposing the true Ridiculous that takes part in everyday life. In his work he criticizes the amoral side of this period. According to Tanvir Shameem, “Fielding’s exploration begins with his survey on the nature and temperament of women of his time.” In his essay “Joseph Andrews as a Social Satire” (Shameem,T.) he considers that “women of all classes were snobbish and amorous to some extent.”; Shameem suggests that “the sensuality of women is reflected at its best through the representatives like Lady Booby, Mrs. Slipslop and Betty. Lady Booby feels greatly attracted by Joseph’s manliness and personality and seeks in vain to evoke his sexual response to gratify her sensual appetite. Mrs. Slipslop also follows her mistress’ path and tries to win Joseph as a lover. Even Betty, the sympathetic maid also falls in love with Joseph and seeks in vain to have sexual gratification from him. All these amorous intentions show a fair picture of the amoral side of the 18th century society.”

The promise of happy outcome, the careful definition of terms and most of all the existence of the Preface indicate the extent to which Fielding is in control of his novel. The reader becomes a witness of characters who have a life of their own, but it is the essence of humanity, distilled through Fielding’s own vision. It is presented to us through the lines: “I describe not men, but manners, not an individual, but species” (Book III, Chapter1). This is one of the ways he defines his own text. There are vices for which he apologizes in the Preface, but they are more than balanced by the character of Adams and by the fact that they are “accidental consequences of some human frailty or foible.” Apart from the central moral preoccupations that can be argued, there is a good deal of incidental social satire throughout the novel. One of the targets of his satire is the ridiculous, but in particular Fielding offers a number of ironic insights into two worlds that he knew well: the law courts and the playhouses. These criticized worlds strike in some parts of the novel modern readers as a grotesque piece of satiric exaggeration, accurately indicate the savagery of English law, regarding the theft or damage of property, in the period. David Nokes writes in his “Joseph Andrews Critical Studies Notes” (Nokes,D.) that “in the novel Fielding has great fun ridiculing legalistic jargon and casuistry but often the pattern of argument and debate suggests the adversarial structure of legal proceedings.” Nokes considers that “in all these ways the atmosphere of the law court permeates the book, and enforces a permanent sense of judgement and arbitrament.” According to him “usually the terms of that judgement are concerned with the balance, or conflict, between social and moral values, as the reader is required to contrast the standards of the world with the ideals of Christianity. But if the reader is the jury in this court, Fielding’s irony insures that he is well vetted, and retains full control of both the evidence and the sentence. However, if Fielding’s novel is partly a court of justice, it is also in part a theatre. Theatrical similes abound. In order to impress upon the reader the sudden pallor in Lady Booby’s face at Joseph’s mention of his virtue, Fielding offers this analogy:

You have seen the faces, in the eighteen-penny gallery, when the trap-door, to soft or no music, Mr. Bridgewater, Mr. William Mills, or some other of ghostly appearance, hath ascended with a face all pale with powder, and a shirt all bloody with ribbons.“ (Book I, Chapter8)
Fielding’s definition of good nature is exhibited by some of his characters, like Parson Adams. He preaches against the vanity and pretension of his own age. The distinguished Teaching Professor of English, at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Homer Goldberg writes in one of his essays that “Fielding goes on to characterize his society as:

a vast masquerade, where the greatest part appear
disguised under false visions and habits; a very few
only showing their own faces, who become, by so doing
the astonishment and ridicule of all the rest”
("On the..." 322).

According to Stephen Conway in his essay “Narrative and Narrator: An analysis of Joseph Andrews” (Conway, S.) “with good nature comes a responsibility to humankind.” He considers that “with this in mind Fielding believed there was hope that the ills of society, including the hypocrisy, the affectation, the corruption and the vanity of his own age, could be overcome and perhaps his writing was his contribution to this ongoing struggle.”
Many critics recently explored Fielding's complex value system, like Martin Price who suggests that Fielding's low characters contribute to his definition of virtue. Another critic Martin Battestin makes a study of the character of Sophia Western, using her as an example of Fielding's nuanced moral code. In brief, Fielding’s satire in Joseph Andrews refers to not only particular individuals but also to an entire 18the century English community. The novel is infused with compassion, comedy, and a heightened sense of realism, which together turn into a vivid manifestation of the cankers of the society.