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83 pages 2 hours read

Henry Fielding

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1749

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Dedication-Book 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Dedication Summary

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses references to rape and incest, which feature in the novel.

The author dedicates the work to George Lyttleton, Esq., whom he says provided a model for Allworthy. He attributes Lyttleton’s wish not to be acknowledged to modesty and perhaps a wish not to be satirized. Fielding insists that his work shows “nothing inconsistent with the strictest Rules of Decency” (7), and he claims, “To recommend Goodness and Innocence hath been my sincere Endeavour” (7). He resolves to portray the truth in order to persuade men to pursue virtue but has also employed wit and humor “to laugh Mankind out of their favourite Follies and Vices” (8).

Book 1, Chapter 1 Summary

Fielding resolves to render human nature in all its “prodigious Variety” (26) and dress his ordinary, even vulgar subject with as much skill as he can.

Book 1, Chapter 2 Summary

In Somersetshire lives a gentleman named Allworthy, who combines the blessings of Nature and Fortune: “an agreeable Person, a sound Constitution, a solid Understanding, and a benevolent Heart” (27). Because his wife and children died young, he now lives with an unmarried sister, Miss Bridget Allworthy. Miss Allworthy, who is considered an old maid, deplores her lack of beauty but demonstrates extreme prudence—a guard often exhibited, the author observes, where there is the least chance of a man to tempt her.

Book 1, Chapter 3 Summary

The narrator announces that his history will be more interesting than recently published histories of England, then commences with the action. Returning home after an absence of three months, Allworthy finds an infant asleep in his bed. He summons the housekeeper, Mrs. Deborah Wilkins, to whom illegitimate children are “misbegotten Wretches” (31). She declares that the child’s mother must be a sexually promiscuous woman who should be whipped and sent to prison. She also states that if Allworthy takes in the child, people will assume it is his. Allworthy asks her to ensure that the infant is fed and clothed.

Book 1, Chapter 4 Summary

Over breakfast, Mr. Allworthy presents the infant to his sister and declares his intentions to care for him. Miss Allworthy agrees to indulge her brother, and Mrs. Wilkins sets out to locate the child’s mother, to whom Miss Allworthy applies a variety of unflattering epithets, accusing her of sexual promiscuity.

Book 1, Chapter 5 Summary

Miss Bridget Allworthy treats the orphan as if he were her own. The narrator notes that her grumbling about the obligation is an example of human nature, which he is endeavoring to display.

Book 1, Chapter 6 Summary

Employing the simile of a predatory bird called a kite, the narrator describes how Mrs. Wilkins descends upon the town. She suspects that the child’s mother is Jenny Jones, a woman who served for several years in the house of a schoolmaster and gained some facility with the Latin language. This skill, along with her appearance at church at Sunday in a silk gown, has made her neighbors resent her. Jenny also recently tended Miss Bridget Allworthy while the latter was ill. Jenny confesses to being the child’s mother.

Book 1, Chapter 7 Summary

Acting as magistrate, Mr. Allworthy admonishes Jenny for “the Violation of [her] Chastity” (39) a heinous crime. He says that she must now be driven from society, and he urges her to repent and live a better life. He lectures her for lacking pride or decency of mind in following her sexual appetites into shame. Jenny refuses to identify the father.

Book 1, Chapter 8 Summary

Miss Bridget commends Jenny’s spirit and advises Mrs. Wilkins not to pry into the matter of the child’s father. Mrs. Wilkins believes, “If Wenches will hang out Lures for Fellows, it is no matter what they suffer” (44), but she pities girls who are seduced and deceived by wicked men.

Book 1, Chapter 9 Summary

The village women, who despise Jenny for her learning, think that Mr. Allworthy was too lenient in his judgment. Some whisper that he must have fathered the child. Jenny is sent away.

Book 1, Chapter 10 Summary

Mr. Allworthy is pleased to host men of genius and learning at his table. Among them is Dr. Blifil, with whom Miss Bridget Allworthy likes to debate religion. Dr. Blifil is married, but he introduces Miss Allworthy to his brother, a captain in the army, in hopes that affection will result.

Book 1, Chapter 11 Summary

Miss Bridget Allworthy falls in love, and the narrator spends some time reflecting on this topic. Captain Blifil takes advantage of Miss Bridget Allworthy’s fondness, for he “would rather chuse to possess every Convenience of Life with an ugly Woman, than a handsome one without” (51). After some coy refusals, Miss Bridget Allworthy accepts his proposal of marriage.

Book 1, Chapter 12 Summary

Mr. Allworthy condones the marriage. He suggests that friendship, not beauty and fortune, should be the basis for marriage.

Book 1, Chapter 13 Summary

Once Miss Bridget Allworthy and Captain Blifil are married, the captain grows very cold toward his brother. The narrator suggests that he is jealous, or acting on a diabolical principle of rejecting a friend who has helped him. Dr. Blifil goes to London and dies of a broken heart.

Book 2, Chapter 1 Summary

The narrator says he will fill his history with only important scenes. He declares his authority over his text: “For as I am, in reality, the Founder of a new Province of Writing, so I am at liberty to make what Laws I please therein” (59). Stating that because he is a benevolent ruler, he will provide only what is necessary for the good of his subjects, the readers.

Book 2, Chapter 2 Summary

Eight months after her marriage, Bridget gives birth to a boy. Mr. Allworthy, who has named his foundling Thomas Jones, suggests that his nephew and the orphan be brought up together. Bridget consents to please her brother, but the captain complains that a “bastard” (a child born out of wedlock) should have no privileges. Mr. Allworthy replies that blaming a child for the sins of its parents is “acting against the first Principles of natural Justice” (60).

Book 2, Chapter 3 Summary

This chapter recounts the history of Jenny Jones’s tenure as a servant in the Partridge household. Partridge, the schoolmaster with whom she lived, was considered to be a “Wit of the Country” (61). Because his school was quite small, he also worked as a barber and received a small annuity from Mr. Allworthy. His wife was originally a kitchen maid of Mr. Allworthy’s. After Jenny spent several years in the Partridges’ employ, Mrs. Partridge, an extremely jealous woman, became convinced that Jenny was trying to seduce her husband, and although Jenny protested her innocence, Mrs. Partridge sent her away from the school.

Book 2, Chapter 4 Summary

In an aside, the narrator notes that periods of calm always seem to be unexpectedly disrupted. The narrative resumes. Gossip now reaches Mrs. Partridge that Jenny Jones has given birth. Because Jenny was driven from Partridge less than nine months ago, Mrs. Partridge concludes that her husband fathered the child. She attacks Mr. Partridge and injures him.

Book 2, Chapter 5 Summary

Observing that Captain Blifil does not like the foundling and imagining that the Captain will be the next master of the house, Mrs. Wilkins, the housekeeper, informs the Captain of the gossip that Mr. Partridge is the child’s father. The Captain, during a debate with Mr. Allworthy on the subject of charity, uses Allworthy’s support of Partridge as an example of charity encouraging vice. Allworthy insists that instances of ingratitude should not keep a man from being generous.

Book 2, Chapter 6 Summary

Mr. and Mrs. Partridge are brought before Mr. Allworthy. Mrs. Partridge claims that Partridge attacked her and that she found him and Jenny in bed together, which Partridge denies. Mr. Allworthy sends for Jenny but learns that she has left town with an officer. Without her testimony, Mr. Allworthy concludes that Partridge is guilty. Neighbors at first believe that Mr. Allworthy’s judgment is correct, then turn against his judgment. Mrs. Partridge dies a short time later from smallpox. Mr. Partridge, having lost his wife, his school, and his annuity, leaves the county.

Book 2, Chapter 7 Summary

Captain Blifil continues to resent Mr. Allworthy’s generosity to his foundling, Tom Jones. Bridget’s passion for her husband now turns to contempt, and he likewise abhors her. Whereas he once pretended to agree with her on everything, now that they are married, the captain lets his true feelings show. Mr. Allworthy does not appear to notice their disharmony.

Book 2, Chapter 8 Summary

Captain Blifil, who has consoled himself for his marriage by contemplating the changes he will make to the Allworthy estate when it passes to his possession, dies of apoplexy (a stroke).

Book 2, Chapter 9 Summary

The captain’s body is brought into the house, and the doctor tries and fails to revive him. Bridget, now Mrs. Blifil, falls ill with grief for a month.

Book 3, Chapter 1 Summary

The narrator establishes that 12 years have passed, and he “shall now bring forth our Hero, at about fourteen Years of Age” (89).

Book 3, Chapter 2 Summary

The narrator announces, with apologies, that his hero, Tom, has many vices. He has already committed three robberies. By contrast, young Master Blifil, the recognized son of Bridget and the late Captain Blifil, is “a Lad of remarkable Distinction” (89): sober, discreet, and pious. The narrator wonders if Tom might have been encouraged in his robberies by the gamekeeper, Black George. As he and Tom are out shooting one day, they cross onto the property of a neighbor to shoot at a partridge. As the owner rides up, he discovers Tom alone while the gamekeeper hides. Tom tells Mr. Allworthy that he acted alone, and the gamekeeper likewise swears that he was not there. Tom is whipped by one of his tutors, Mr. Thwackum. Allworthy suspects that Tom is protecting his friend: an action that he interprets as honorable. Thwackum, who dislikes Tom, disagrees.

Book 3, Chapter 3 Summary

Mr. Square also lives at Allworthy’s house and tutors the boys. He is a philosopher, educated in the classics, and is in constant disagreement with Thwackum.

Book 3, Chapter 4 Summary

The narrator insists that he is not making fun of Tom’s tutors, who are both learned and grave men, and asserts that “Religion and Virtue […] are rightly called the Bands of civil Society” (96). One day, Master Blifil labels Tom a “bastard,” and the two boys fight. Tom gives Blifil a bloody nose. Blifil tattles on Tom, revealing that Black George, the gamekeeper, was along when Tom shot at the partridge, and that Tom later lied about this.

Book 3, Chapter 5 Summary

Thwackum and Square agree in their estimation of their students. They both approve of Blifil and dislike Tom, the latter of whom is not serious, respectful, or obedient enough to please them. Allworthy dismisses Black George.

Book 3, Chapter 6 Summary

Thwackum and Square compete for the attentions of the widowed Mrs. Blifil (Bridget): another reason that they favor her son over Tom. Bridget `enjoys the men’s flattery and courtship but has no intention of entering the snares of matrimony again. Bridget likes Tom, and by the time the boy is 18, she prefers his company to that of her own son.

Book 3, Chapter 7 Summary

Mr. Allworthy takes pity on young Blifil, excusing his flaws in light of his virtues, while he believes that Tom exhibits “Wantonness, Wildness, and Want of Caution” (106). The narrator pauses to deliver a moralizing lecture on good behavior, insisting that he is attempting to portray good models.

Book 3, Chapter 8 Summary

Tom gets in trouble for selling a horse that he was given as a gift. Thwackum wants to punish him. In truth, Tom gave the money to the gamekeeper, Black George, whose family is suffering deprivation now that he has no income.

Book 3, Chapter 9 Summary

It is discovered that Tom also sold his Bible to Blifil and gave the money to Black George. Thwackum and Square argue whether this is a crime on Tom’s part, until Bridget suggests that Tom and her son are equally to blame. Tom brings Allworthy to visit Black George’s family, whereupon he discovers that Black George’s debts have used up all the money that Tom gave them.

Book 3, Chapter 10 Summary

Master Blifil, who values justice more than mercy, informs Mr. Allworthy that he has seen Black George poaching on the property of their neighbor, Squire Western. Allworthy informs Tom that he will not help George’s family further. Tom often hunts and dines with Squire Western. Hoping to help George get a position with Squire Western, Tom approaches the Squire’s daughter, Sophia, whom the narrator identifies as “the intended Heroine of this Work, a Lady with whom we ourselves are greatly in Love, and with whom many of our Readers will probably be in Love too before we part” (113).

Dedication-Book 3 Analysis

These first books introduce not only the plot and several major themes but also a narrator who self-consciously fashions his text with his readers’ reactions in mind, frequently inserting asides designed to draw attention to his larger purpose, often by employing an undercurrent of irony. Often reflecting the opinions and biases of Fielding himself, the narrator’s statements position The History of Tom Jones in relation to other literature, making reference to contemporary publications, dramas, and events while simultaneously claiming that the novel represents a new kind of writing. The narrator’s style therefore incorporates the same conventions that are admired in classical works, such as elevated language, epic similes, and oblique references to intervening deities. By describing his work as a history, the narrator also endeavors to lend an air of legitimacy to the novel, setting it apart from the more fanciful tone of romances, which are considered to be inferior. The narrator insists that he portrays the full complexity of human nature, which mixes flaws with virtues. Using the metafictional commentary of the rather pompous narrator as a mediator between the work and the audience, Fielding then makes it a point to develop round, dynamic characters that are complete with foibles, insecurities, and shortcomings. This approach is quite innovative for its time, for the creation of realistic characters was not yet an established requirement of successful fiction. Fielding’s humorous array of deliberately flawed characters, while designed to evoke a sense of the comedic, also stands as a pointed contrast to the moralistic plotlines and improbably perfect characters that populated the literature of the day. In this way, the author highlights the theme of Virtue as a Guideline for Behavior by ironically crafting characters who deviate from such guidelines in a wide variety of ways.

The narrator frequently reflects on contemporary customs, philosophies, and norms to satiric effect, and this angle is often understated, or merely implied as a subtext of the overt details of the story. For example, when the narrator praises the prudence of Miss Bridget Allworthy, the mere fact that she gives birth eight months after her marriage suggests that Miss Allworthy herself may have held more permissive views on sex before marriage than those espoused by Allworthy during his lecture to Jenny Jones. Another method of Fielding’s satire is to place his characters in such a way as to highlight the contrasts between them. For example, Allworthy, as his name suggests, is held up as a man of unparalleled virtue despite his tendency to miss obvious connections and draw incorrect conclusions. Against the backdrop of Allworthy’s pious presence, Thwackum and Square are set up as philosophical opposites of each other, the first being devoted to philosophy and the second to religion. Accordingly, the narrator shows the two tutors as unable to agree on anything save their dislike Tom Jones and their wish to secure themselves a place in Allworthy’s favor. Tom and young Blifil also serve as foils in many ways. Blifil, praised for being upright and moral, is really selfish and vindictive. Conversely, Tom is described as a young criminal in the making yet is moved by loyalty to protect and help those in need despite their flaws. In this setting, Allworthy’s trial of Tom’s supposed misdeeds is one of many judgments that establishes the novel’s ongoing preoccupation with Laws, Judgment, and the Execution of Justice. This focus may be connected to Fielding’s own career as a magistrate, one of the unpaid local judges who served as the primary backbone of the English justice system in the 18th century.

In addition to the nature of public opinion, which seems highly volatile, The Ideal of Female Chastity is a topic of much satire throughout the novel. For example, these opening books establish that giving birth to a child out of wedlock is considered a crime, especially because the parish, the local unit of government, is obliged to care for orphans, thus drawing on local taxes. Allworthy therefore demeans Jenny’s intelligence for succumbing to lust and damaging her opportunities for future employment and marriage. Not only is she punished and sent away, but Partridge is also punished for his presumed part in the business. While the Allworthys do not appear to hold the circumstances of Tom’s birth against him, others do, pointing to the importance that birth had in determining one’s social class in 18th-century Britain. Yet despite the narrator’s declarations that he is writing a comic novel or a history, the narrator betrays that his overarching story type is the romance when he enthusiastically introduces his hero and heroine. While several themes emerge amidst the enormous cast of characters, The History of Tom Jones is essentially a love story.

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