Joseph Andrews as a Picaresque Novel
Joseph Andrews as a Picaresque Novel
Joseph Andrews as a Picaresque Novel
Joseph Andrews, or The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams, was the first published full-length novel of the English author and magistrate Henry Fielding and among the first novels in the English language. Henry Fielding along with Samuel Johnson is considered to be the founder of English novel. Henry Fielding was in fact a satirist and initially he was known for his satirical works on the political corruption of his times. His work shows the realistic approach towards portraying the picture of the contemporary society. Fielding’s first venture into prose fiction was the effect of Samuel Richardson’s” Pamela” and Fielding himself defined his novel Joseph Andrews as comic epic poem in prose. Published in 1742, Joseph Andrews is the story of the adventures of a very chaste, good natured footman Joseph and his dear friend and mentor the idealist Parson Adams who is not only an honest man but a man of character upright.
Joseph Andrews was initially written as a parody of Samuel Richardson’s “Pamela” but as the story develops and grows we realize that the story is entering into another genre and is naturally following a different pattern. As the events unfold and the ripple effect of the occurrences spans through we feel that the genre the novel is entering into is somewhat picaresque. The picaresque tradition belongs to Spain and is derived from the word “Picaro” meaning rouge or a villain or a rascal. The word picaro started to first appear in Spain with the current meaning in 1545. In 1554 the novella “Lazarillo de Tormes” is credited with founding the genre and the expression Picaresque novel was coined in 1810. Before giving arguments to support whether or not Joseph Andrews is a picaresque novel, it becomes necessary here to first get a clear idea as to what a picaresque novel is and what are the paradigms and parameters that define a
Joseph Andrews as a Picaresque Novel
Joseph Andrews, or The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams, was the first published full-length novel of the English author and magistrate Henry Fielding and among the first novels in the English language. Henry Fielding along with Samuel Johnson is considered to be the founder of English novel. Henry Fielding was in fact a satirist and initially he was known for his satirical works on the political corruption of his times. His work shows the realistic approach towards portraying the picture of the contemporary society. Fielding’s first venture into prose fiction was the effect of Samuel Richardson’s” Pamela” and Fielding himself defined his novel Joseph Andrews as comic epic poem in prose. Published in 1742, Joseph Andrews is the story of the adventures of a very chaste, good natured footman Joseph and his dear friend and mentor the idealist Parson Adams who is not only an honest man but a man of character upright.
Joseph Andrews was initially written as a parody of Samuel Richardson’s “Pamela” but as the story develops and grows we realize that the story is entering into another genre and is naturally following a different pattern. As the events unfold and the ripple effect of the occurrences spans through we feel that the genre the novel is entering into is somewhat picaresque. The picaresque tradition belongs to Spain and is derived from the word “Picaro” meaning rouge or a villain or a rascal. The word picaro started to first appear in Spain with the current meaning in 1545. In 1554 the novella “Lazarillo de Tormes” is credited with founding the genre and the expression Picaresque novel was coined in 1810. Before giving arguments to support whether or not Joseph Andrews is a picaresque novel, it becomes necessary here to first get a clear idea as to what a picaresque novel is and what are the paradigms and parameters that define a