Methodism and Moral Character: The Function of Methodist Satire in Henry Fielding’s Novels

This thesis explores Henry Fielding’s satiric representations of Methodism and Methodists in his novels Shamela, Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones, and Amelia. By examining these Methodist representations and by using them to chart a progression across Fielding’s career as a novelist, Methodism emerges as a point of intersection with his larger concern about the effects of moral character on the stability of society. Fielding reveals the problem surrounding moral character through the villainy of hypocrites, which requires a shrewd observer to overcome. In an effort to provide a solution to this problem, Fielding asserts in “An Essay on the Knowledge of the Characters of Men” (1743) that by judging the actions of others firsthand, individuals can expose hypocrisy and avert its dangers.

Fielding’s satiric representations of Methodism indicate that it compromises the ability of actions to serve as indicators of moral character through its doctrine of assurance, which privileges faith over good works (actions). For Fielding, Methodism undermines the system he describes in the “Essay,” leaving people to encounter one another with suspicion. As Fielding’s representations of Methodism become more nuanced over time, they reveal an alteration in his understanding of the ability to judge moral character and of the meaning of character as a concept. In the end, however, Fielding concedes that there can be no accurate, systematized method of interpreting moral character when he conflates Methodist representations with other images of hypocrisy. His depiction of Methodism then is not just another reaction to the outward representation of Methodists (as per the satiric tradition), but rather a sophisticated use of Methodism’s main problem—the malleability of character for which it seems to allow—that complicates Fielding’s own obsession with finding a system by which to expose hypocrites.