thin the work. His message is as follows, “goodness of heart and openness of temper, though these may give them great comfort within, and administer to an honest pride in their own minds, will by no means, alas! Do their business in the world” (122). He says, further, “Let this, my young readers, be your constant maxim, that no man can be good enough to enable him to neglect rules of prudence; nor will Virtue herself look beautiful unless she be bedecked with the outward ornaments of decency and decorum” (122). This assertion about the complicated nature of goodness is central to the novels morality. For Tom Jones is not an immoral work. It is, more accurately, a work which takes a more realistic and human approach to the idea of goodness. Tom may be seen as a vulgar character, for he constantly finds himself involved in less than appropriate behaviors, but this estimation of his character denies the possibility that a person’s nature is somewhat subjective. Fielding means to assert that outward goodness and interior goodness are in some ways separate, and that the abstract “objective” goodness of a person is perhaps more reliant on the simple appearance of goodness than any real strength in character. The whole of Tom Jones seems to support this idea. Even something as basic to the plot as Tom’s questionable parentage points to this understanding of morality. For when he is a “bastard,” his actions are criticized, and his character slandered. But when he is discovered to have come from a more proper lineage, he is celebrated, as if he were accepted all along. The way in which Sophia reacts to her reputation being smudged later in work also supports this theme. She is more upset with her good name being devalued than with the actual infidelity of her lover, because again, appearance is central to the estimation of one’s character. In this chapter, the way in...
