Question: Consider Joseph Andrews as an eighteenth-century prose satire.
Or,
Write an essay on the social satire offered in the novel Joseph Andrews.
Or,
To what extent is Joseph Andrews a satire on eighteenth-century English life?
Or,
Bring out the satirical elements in the novel Joseph Andrews.
Answer: Henry Fielding occupies a place of distinction in the history of literature in general and of English literature in particular. His greatness lies in his achievement as a writer of comic prose epic in English literature. He was a great master of English novels. He is one of the most outstanding satirists also.
'Satire' is a literary device or technique. In his Dictionary, Dr Johnson defined 'satire' as a poem 'in which wickedness or folly is censured'. This definition clearly, is limiting. Dryden claimed that the true end of satire was 'the amendment of vices'; and Defoe thought that it was 'reformation'. Anyway, satire may be written in prose or verse. Thus Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels is a satire in prose on human society in general, while Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel is a satire in verse on certain political personalities of Dryden's time. The novel Joseph Andrews is a satire on eighteenth-century English social life chiefly in the countryside but also, to some extent, of life in the big city of London.
To begin with, the novel Joseph Andrews gives us a satirical picture of an upper-class lady's becoming infatuated with her foot- man but feeling frustrated in her passion for him. This picture is followed immediately by an equally satirical picture of the failure of that lady's woman-in-waiting (Mrs Slipslop) to acquire the same footman as a lover for herself. The lady in question is the widow of Sir Thomas Booby, and the account of how this lady tries to trap her footman is indeed very amusing.
We next get satirical pictures of the behaviour of a surgeon and a person. The surgeon, who is unnamed, is a greedy man with no compassion in his heart. He refuses to come to attend to the wounded Joseph because he does not expect to get any fee from a man of Joseph's low social position. And then he is not a competent surgeon either. After a brief examination of Joseph, he declares that the patient would not survive his wounds. In the event, Joseph does survive. The Parson is Mr Barnabas who is more interested in discussions of legal issues than in his spiritual functions. pokes fun at both these men, describing them sarcastically
Fielding doctors, one physical, and the other spiritual. Then follows a satirical account of the behaviour of another clergyman whose name is Trulliber. This man functions as a clergyman only on Sundays and is a farmer on all the other six days. He rears hogs, and he is more of a dealer in these animals than a clergyman attending to the spiritual well-being of his parish. This clergyman too has no compassion in his heart. He does not know what charity is. He refuses to lend even a small amount of money to a fellow clergyman, and, in fact, becomes furious at the request for a loan. He is also depicted as a tyrant in his home because he keeps scolding his wife and finding fault with her most of the time. His treatment of his wife is very amusing, as is his behaviour towards Adams.
Then we are introduced to a bird-shooter who talks to Adams about the duty of a soldier not to hesitate to sacrifice his life for the sake of his country if necessary. This man talks a good deal of bravery and courage, and yet he slips away as soon as he perceives danger. When the shrieks and screams of a woman are heard, Adams at once gets ready to go to the rescue of the woman in distress, but the man, who was growing eloquent over the subject of bravery and courage, walks homewards at his fastest pace. Soon afterwards we meet a gentleman who is adept at making promises and commitments which he has no intention of fulfilling. The landlord of the inn then explains to Adams the mentality of this gentleman and acquaints Adams with the tricks he had practised on many others including the landlord himself. This too is a satirical picture of a man who is a prodigal of promises but who makes these promises without intending to keep them. The account of a squire who is chiefly interested in the sport of hunting hares is another piece of satire. This squire selects his companions and his attendants on the basis of their deformities, physical or mental. Thus his companions include a dull poet, a lame dancing master, an unsuccessful actor, and an ex-army captain. The squire takes pleasure in watching the antics and the absurd behaviour of these men. What can be more absurd than keeping a dancing master who is lame? The very first qualification of a dancing man is the ability to walk and jump about quickly and smoothly, and here we have got a lame dancer who is expected to teach others the art of dancing. The squire takes great pleasure in
watching these men practise their silly tricks on Adams. The squire does not feel ashamed of the fact that he is subjecting a person to humiliating practical jokes. Thus Fielding is here ridiculing a squire who takes pleasure in ridiculing others, a clergyman not excluded.
We also get in this novel a satirical picture of the justice who tries Adams and Fanny on a charge of robbery and assault. This justice mocks Adams, saying that Adams has perhaps put on a cassock to hide his real identity as a robber. The justice's companions indulge in making vulgar jokes at Fanny's expense. One of them goes to the extent of asking Fanny if she would like to have a belly because he can give it to her if she so wishes. (In other words, this fellow offers to make Fanny pregnant if she wishes to have that enjoyable experience). Similarly, we have a satirical picture of the behaviour of Justice Frolick who tries Joseph and Fanny on a charge of having broken a twig from a tree. It is very amusing indeed that a man and a woman should be tried on a charge of having broken a twig from a tree. Furthermore, Justice Frolick sentences Joseph and Fanny to a month's imprisonment in order to please Lady Booby who wants these persons to be dealt with severely. The behaviour of Lawyer Scout is also very amusing.
Beau Didapper's behaviour is also satirically described. He is far from being a ladies' man and yet he tries to behave as if he were one. He forces himself upon Fanny's attention even though she pays no attention to him. He then tries to use force against her and, failing in his effort to ravish her, makes yet another attempt in the same direction when at night he creeps into Mrs Slipslop's bed, thinking it to be Fanny's bed. Lady Booby's behaviour is once again ridiculed when she makes renewed efforts to win Joseph's heart. This time she tries various methods to bring about a permanent separation between Joseph and Fanny because she would like to possess Joseph as a lover on a permanent basis, or even as a husband. Fielding also gives us a satirical picture of the kind of life the fashionable young men led in those days. Every young man thought it necessary to acquire such accomplishments as dancing, riding, music, and winning women's hearts.
Thus Joseph Andrews contains plenty of satire. It contains a satire on clergymen, justices, squires, young gentlemen of the city of London, Lady Booby who is an upper-class woman, Lady Booby's woman-in-waiting, and even Lady Booby's steward. Some of the landlords of inns have also been ridiculed in the course of the novel. At one point in the story, a woman by the name of Miss Graveairs is ridiculed for her snobbery.
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