4-Dreams

THE PICARESQUE NOVEL

 

 

The picaresque novel is a very popular subgenre of prose fiction.

It’s a satirical and often humorous work which consists of a series of incidents or episodes in the life of the principal character, arranged in chronological order but sometimes divided into different sub-plots. In most cases the narration is in first person but more rarely also in third, and the structure is usually episodic.

The word “picaresque” derives from the Spanish word picaro, which means rogue. In fact the protagonist is usually a cynical, amoral, roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. The life episodes of this character are often arranged as a journey where he witnesses the corrupt world around him and survives through his wit.

As indicated by the name this style of novel originated in Spain, where it was possibly influenced by Arabic literature; later it flourished in the rest of Europe and now continues to influence the modern literature.

While elements of Chaucer and Boccaccio have a picaresque feel, the modern picaresque begins with Lazarillo de Tormes, the first Spanish example, published in 1554 and of unknown authorship. It tells the story of a rogue who lives in an impoverished country full of hypocrisy, serving and taking advantage of many masters using their teachings.

Instead the earliest English picaresque novel is believed to be The Unfortunate Traveller, or, The Life of Jack Wilton (1594) by Thomas Nashe. Anyway, in England this form became particularly popular only during the 18^th century. One of the best examples of this period is The Fortunes

and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders (1722), by Daniel Defoe

In reality, in the English-speaking world the term "picaresque" has referred more to a literary technique or model than to the precise genre that the Spanish call picaresco. Indeed the English-language term can simply refer to an episodic recounting of the adventures of an anti-hero on the road. In this sense, Henry Fielding proved his mastery of the form in Joseph Andrews (1742), The Life of Jonathan Wild the Great (1743) and The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749). These were written in a technique that was picaresque in nature but very different from the Spanish parameters of the genre: as Fielding himself wrote, these novels were composed in imitation of the manner of Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, more than in imitation of the picaresque novel tradition.

In Tom Jones the motif of the journey strongly brings the picaresque element in the novel. Both Tom and Sophia travel without being aware of their destinations and what this journey will give them. Moving from countryside on to the road and later in London, Tom isn’t just the central character and the picaroon in the novel: he’s also the satirist of the society. His adventures are shown as a part of his growing up and unlike the earlier picaresque characters, Tom grows and becomes a responsible and consistent man.

It’s interesting to see the development of a form, imported from another country and easily appropriated in the discourses of the eighteenth century England: the picaresque gives us not just a technique but a window to the life and times of the society during that time.

In the modern literature, episodic works chronicling the adventures of wily, unscrupulous characters, often derive from this form of literature.

THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING (a.k.a. Tom Jones)

Henry Fielding, 1749

 

STRUCTURE

18 BOOKS, each one prefaced by a chapter in which:

- the reader is reminded that what he is reading is fiction

- are given instructions about how to approach the new literary form    

 

Improvement --> the plot is no longer a series of episodes but it's a unique story formed by episodes interwoven in an organised way.

 

PLOT (summary)

Tom Jones is a foundling discovered by a wealthy landowner, Mr Allworthy, who brings him up along with his dead sister's child, Blifil. Tom and Blifil are totally different (Tom honest and trustworthy, Blifil cruel and evil) and they end up to be enemies. In fact his half-brother forms an alliance with one of their teachers, Mr Thwackum, and manages to convince Mr Allworthy to disown the boy. So Tom is forced to leave his home and seek his fortune. After a series of adventures the boy is allowed to return back home, because Mr Allworthy realises that he has been tricked, and  marries Sophia, his childhood sweetheart.

 

CHARACTERS:

1- from all social classes = great view of the Britan of the 18th century.

2- Fielding not interested in the emotional life

       CONSEQUENCE ---> the reader can't identify with the hero = sense of detachment

                                     ---> the reader can fully appreciate the comic episodes

protagonist: Tom Jones     secondary: Mr Allworthy (who finds him)

                                                                   Bilfil (half-brother/enemy/manage to chase him away from home)

                                                                   Sophia (nextdoor neighbour's daughter, she and Tom love each other)

                                                                   Thwackum (Tom's teacher, help Bilfil to chase Tom away)

 

THEMES:

Picaresque novel that describes the journey of a child, who travels from innocence to responsibility:

1. had relationships with several women
2. discovered his true origins
3. assumed social responsibilities
4. married the women he has always loved

 

However Tom is not used for Puritan moralising, instead the reader is invited to reflect on moral matters throughout the course of the novel.

 

Characteristic and difference between him and other novelists:

-         Fielding's belief: man, from every social and financial extraction, has a natural inclination for goodness.

-         more tolerant and liberal-minded attitude

-         Fielding didn't try to disguise his work as fact, like Defoe did

The Narrator (person who tells the story)

 

1) first person narrator: (inside the story)

    -he calls himself “I”

    -narrates his story but also the story of other characters

2) third person narrator: (outside the story)

    -refers to the characters by name or using pronouns like “he”, “she” or “they”

          -omniscient (knows everything about his fictional world)

          -non-omniscient (tells the story of a limited number of characters in third person)                                                     

                     -intrusive (he gives opinions on personalities or events)

Analysis (Tom Jones-Henry Fielding  | Episode: A BATTLE ROYAL)

 

|Author: Henry Fielding

|Year: 1749

|Genre: Fiction-Picaresque novel 

|**Henry Fielding call it a “comic epic in prose”**

|-epic: because of the length

|-comic: descriptions of people in a humorous way

|-prose: it’s not written in verses