Concetti Chiave
- Fielding's novels break from the memoir and letter formats, presenting epic and mocking narratives that remind readers they are engaging with fiction.
- Characters in Fielding's works are diverse and consistent, reflecting a broad societal range, as opposed to Richardson's focus on a few detailed characters.
- Fielding critiques societal hypocrisy and upper-class puritanism, promoting a view of humanity inclined towards goodness despite its flaws.
- His use of third-person narration allows for an omniscient and ironic narrator, offering commentary on characters and societal stereotypes.
- The dialogue-driven style provides a dynamic portrayal of character relationships, contrasting with Richardson's more emotional and limited narratives.
Fielding's innovative narrative style
While Defoe and Richardson tried to hide their fictional novels under the guise of memoirs and letters, Fielding’s novels (comic epic) are written in order to never bring the reader under the illusion that what he’s reading is only a work of art. Fielding made his novels epic and mocking: the characters, who belong to all social classes, have some of the psychological traits of ancient epic heroes. The plot consists of a series of episodes with an organic unity. This structure is more innovative than the rudimentary sequences of events found in Defoe and the limited perspective of each story showed by Richardson.
Character portrayal and societal critique
The characters behave coherently from the beginning to the end of the story and they maintain their thoughts and anxieties. It’s different from Richardson’s accurate analysis of few characters; in his novels, Fielding wants to describe a wider variety of characters from all social classes.
Fielding condemns the hypocrisy of the leaders of society; he rebels against the puritan code of upper-class that considers respectability synonymous with virtue. 
He easily forgives the sins of lust and he’s not so serious about sentimental feelings. He maintains that characters are neither wholly god nor wholly bad, but he thinks mankind is incline to goodness.
Narrative techniques and character dynamics
Fielding used third person narration: the narrator is obtrusive and omniscient. Even if he intervenes with ironic comments, the stories are very sentimental.
Tom stands for what is generous and spontaneous in the human race and he’s the evidence of the goodness of mankind according to Fielding. Fielding avoids the autobiographical form used by Defoe and Richardson and chooses the third person. He expresses an opinion on every character.
All the characters offer a rich gallery of social stereotypes: apart from Allworthy, Tom and Sophia, the remaining figures express Fielding’s irony regarding the faults of mankind. Men of all professions are shown as ignorant, women are treated even worse: they only care for money.
Dialogue and style comparison
The dominant form is naturally dialogue with which all the characters are introduced and which gives the reader a dynamic view of the relations existing between the characters.
Fielding is not interested in emotional and sentimental situations like Richardson, he shows an epic form of the novel, represented in a realistic way and in a witty, ironic, linear, direct and concrete style. Instead Richardson’s stories are more complicated and sentimental, but more limited with less characters, less actions, less contexts, more focused on the relationship between the two main character such as Mr. B and Pamela.
Domande da interrogazione
- How does Fielding's narrative style differ from that of Defoe and Richardson?
- What is Fielding's approach to character portrayal and societal critique?
- What narrative techniques does Fielding use in his novels?
- How does Fielding's use of dialogue and style compare to Richardson's?
Fielding's narrative style is innovative as it avoids the guise of memoirs and letters used by Defoe and Richardson. Instead, he employs a comic epic style that never lets the reader forget they are engaging with a work of art, featuring a series of episodes with organic unity and a wide variety of characters from all social classes.
Fielding portrays characters consistently throughout his novels, depicting a broad spectrum of social classes. He critiques societal hypocrisy, particularly the puritanical upper-class code, and suggests that while characters are neither wholly good nor bad, humanity is inclined towards goodness.
Fielding employs third-person narration with an obtrusive and omniscient narrator who provides ironic commentary. This technique allows him to express opinions on every character and showcase a gallery of social stereotypes, highlighting the faults of mankind with irony.
Fielding's novels are dominated by dialogue, offering a dynamic view of character relationships. His style is realistic, witty, ironic, and direct, contrasting with Richardson's more complicated, sentimental stories that focus on fewer characters and relationships.
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