Fielding
claimed that his subject was not Men but Manners; not an
individual, but a Species” (Bk. III Ch. 1). For the eighteenth
century, manners meant the strategies and rules that govern all
social interactions, not just rules for politeness. Choose a
typical episode and discuss how Fielding portrays manners and not
men.
Henry
Fielding is considered one of the greatest and significant
contributors to the development of the English novel. His novel
Joseph
Andrews
is called a novel of 'manners'. The novel, in its entirety, is
an impassioned satire on
the moral and social ills that beset the 18th century English
society. In this novel we are confronted with a chameleon-like
society that frequently changes its appearance to gratify personal
lusts of various kinds. The novel depicts human beings camouflaged in
various shades of vanity, hypocrisy and narcissism. Fielding's
exploration begins with his survey on the nature and temperament of
women of his time. Women of all classes were snobbish and amorous to
some extent.
One
such episode where Fielding discusses manners, not men is the
behavior of both Mrs. Slipslop and Lady Booby and their passion for
Joseph Andrews, a mere footman. Lady Booby begins to show her
affections for Joseph Andrews soon after Sir Thomas Booby's death,
and Mrs. Slipslop indulges in providing various items of food to
Joesph in order to show her feelings towards him. Although, there is
a difference in the passions of both the ladies, yet both keep up
appearances so as to not give away their true intentions regarding
Joseph. Being involved in an affair with a footman is not the kind of
scandal Lady Booby wishes to have popularized about herself. After
allowing Joseph to sit on her bed, Lady Booby attempts to tempt
Joseph but being naive and free of impure thoughts, Joseph fails to
understand the intentions of his mistress. The discourse between the
two is heard by Mrs. Slipslop, and afraid to lose her reputation Lady
Booby has no choice but to adopt a softer attitude with Mrs.
Slipslop. When both Mrs. Slipslop and Lady Booby discover each
other's feelings for Joseph, both attempt to hide it.
“She
had the utmost tenderness for her reputation, as she knew on that
depended many of the most valuable blessings of life; particularly
cards, making curtsies in public places, and, above all, the pleasure
of demolishing the reputations of others, in which innocent amusement
she had an extraordinary delight. She therefore determined to submit
to any insult from a servant, rather than run a risque of losing the
title to so many great privileges.” (Book I, ch. IX)
Both
the ladies represent the class of people who are corrupt to the core,
rotten in their heart and yet both appear to be respectable women on
the outside. Lady Booby is no different than many other ladies of the
eighteenth century, belonging to households with respectable names
and reputations, and yet their furtive actions and intentions prove
otherwise. As Hamilton Macallister observes, Lady Booby may do almost
anything she wants -- except marry Joseph, because to do so would be
beneath her. Henry Fielding satirically uncovers the truth in the
character of Lady Booby. She exemplifies the traditional flaws of the
upper class, namely snobbery, egotism, and lack of restraint. So, she
represents a typical “species” of that time period in her true
self; a species that gives supreme importance to reputation and
wealth but all the while indulges in immodest and hypocritical
practices.
Fielding
presents two paragons of hypocrisy in Lady Booby and her servant and
imitator Mrs. Slipslop. Lady Booby dissembles her motives
continually, for example in walking out with Joseph: supposedly, she
sees “the Effects which Town-Air hath on the soberest
Constitutions,” so she heads to Hyde Park with her handsome
footman. More serious is her conduct following the death of her
husband. The reader understands “disconsolate” in a sarcastic
sense even before learning that Lady Booby’s visitors consoled the
bereaved widow with card games and before witnessing the ease with
which she rebounds and attempts to acquire a new bed-mate.
Mrs.
Sliplsop takes after her mistress both in her passion for Joseph and
in her attempts to appear other than she is. She embodies the traits
which Fielding abhors about about the society. Her inappropriate use
of language and her uncontrolled sexual impulses when combined with
her undeniably misguided devotion to those of status make her the
ideal comic example of society's wrongdoings. Mrs. Slipslop can be
best described as pretentious. Fielding has exaggerated Slipslop's
behaviour to draw attention to the sexual hypocrisy of the society's
value systems. To further exaggerate the situation, Fielding makes
use of the irony of women being unvirtuous. Fielding also mocks Mrs.
Slipslop's misguided devotion to the class structure. The
conversation between Mrs. Slipslop and Lady Booby demonstrates that
Mrs. Slipslop is a person who wishes to seem educated and worthy of
the acquaintance of Lady Booby.
As
Fielding says through the dialogue of Lady Booby in Book III chapter
VI :“And yet these we must condemn ourselves to, in order to avoid
the censure of the world; to shun the contempt of others, we must
ally ourselves to those we despise; we must prefer birth, title, and
fortune, to real merit. It is a tyranny of custom, a tyranny we must
comply with; for we people of fashion are the slaves of custom.” It
clearly states that Lady Booby was keeping up an appearance of good
virtue and solid reputation solely because being a person of fashon
meant abiding by the customs and rules of the society.
CONCLUSION
Fielding
demonstrates the underlying truth that society as a whole functions
but, with a few moral changes, it would have a superior
functionality. Slipslop is the perfect character in which to
accomplish this great and tedious task. Her status as a waiting
gentlewoman, and her closeness to her mistress make this parody seem
all the more laden with ridicule and hypocrisy. Fielding's preface
sums up the fact that this novel was to show the “manners” and
failings of the society.
REFERENCES
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:K9Ibz5zHhGIJ:www.omdix.com/pdf/docs/study_school_1071119183.pdf+mrs+slipslop+hypocrisy&hl=en&gl=pk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiWBBJDkc3DjB3iB1OOnppQ6et8e3wwBboOPSq7r_ne0PVDNa1SlE8RfpVEZlIsZQQgvWDbQj1kuJymc5EbKfNOK_kcmJ7syKMNwvCEJ-cJRKzscIs9Bfvb3qkINcqtEgWyGrXo&sig=AHIEtbS9DkXW6Av-vznjldXHvnSF3w-BPA
-Credit Moneeza Rafiq
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