The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

“Reader, I think proper, before we proceed any farther together, to acquaint thee, that I intend to digress, through this whole History, as often as I see Occasion: Of which I am myself a better Judge than any pitiful Critic.”

With this quote, the narrator uses this early direct address to establish his authority and advise the reader of his intentions. Asides to the reader appear frequently throughout the novel as a means for the author to interject his own opinions on the story’s events and deliver satirical jabs at the real-life counterparts that each character is meant to represent.

“If you have Fortunes you are hereby rendered incapable of enjoying them; if you have none, you are disabled from acquiring any, nay almost of procuring your Sustenance; for no Persons of Character will receive you into their Houses. Thus you are often driven by Necessity itself into a State of Shame and Misery, which unavoidably ends in the Destruction of both Body and Soul.”

Mr. Allworthy predicts a bleak future for Jenny Jones now that she has admitted to having a child out of wedlock. His warning reflects the value placed on The Ideal of Female Chastity, in reputation and in fact, and suggests a tenuous standing for “fallen” women in 18th-century England. This passage also reveals the double standard that was applied during this time frame, for while women were harshly punished for even the merest suggestion of impropriety, men were allowed a much greater degree of sexual freedom and could maintain a veneer of respectability despite many conquests.

“Men of true Wisdom and Goodness are contented to take Persons and Things as they are, without complaining of their Imperfections, or attempting to amend them. They can see a Fault in a Friend, a Relation, or an Acquaintance […] without lessening their Affection.”

Through the voice of the narrator, Fielding argues throughout his novel that human nature is complex and that his characters, just like real people, are neither purely good nor completely villainous. There is a shade of