I have always thought love the only foundation of happiness in a married state

MORALITY IN TOM JONES

“I have always thought love the only foundation of happiness in a married state . . . and in my opinion all these marriages which are contracted from other motives are greatly criminal . . . To deny that beauty is an agreeable object to the eye . . . would be false and foolish . . . But to make this the sole consideration of marriage, to lust after it so violently as . . . to reject and disdain religion, virtue and sense . . . is surely inconsistent . . . either with a wise man or a good christian.”

Although Fielding wrote many literary works I am going to deal mainly with his major novels, Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones, Amelia, and his shorter satirical work Shamela. All of these works contain a strong moral message, but the moral message is not entirely consistent, and is presented in various ways.

One of Fielding's main concerns was the question of marriage. His ideas on marriage are concisely summed up by Allworthy in his sermon on matrimony:

Although this sermon mainly condemns marriage for reasons of lust, Fielding more commonly condemns marriage for reasons of financial gain or social elevation.

The way in which Fielding conveys his philosophy of marriage is different in all four works, and the virtuousness of the virtuous is variable. However, the basic message is fairly consistent.

Tom Jones

Tom Jones is not presented as such a virtuous character, and is thus perhaps more credible. Tom and Sophia have many problems to overcome. Tom is illegitimate and wishes to marry above himself, which, at the time, would have meant the lady sinking to the social level of her husband. The fact that she is willing to suffer this consequence illustrates that she is marrying purely for love.

Although Fielding consistently condemns sex outside marriage, he does he not despise illegitimacy. This is made evident through Allworthy's words:

however guilty the parents might be, the children were certainly innocent

Fielding's belief that personal qualities are more important than social standing, and his admiration for characters who share his belief, are made clear through Sophia's description of Tom:

So brave, and yet so gentle; so witty, yet so inoffensive; so humane, so civil, so genteel, so handsome. What signifies his being base born, when compared with such qualifications as these?

As I have previously mentioned, however, Tom is not a perfect picture of morality.Tom is tempted and fails to resist. He is seduced by Molly Seagrim, but it is important to note that he stayed away from her for three months before succumbing because he did not like the idea of corrupting a young woman, particularly the daughter of a friend. This small fact is illustrative of Fielding's idea about which he writes in Works X1V [1]

that very early and strong inclination to good or evil, which distinguishes different dispositions in children, in their first infancy.

However, he continues to write that although someone is basically good or bad they are also influenced by their passions, which can cause a lapse in a good person. This type of ruling by the passions did not occur for the virtuous characters in Joseph Andrews.
In both of Tom's yieldings to temptation, he is portrayed to the reader as a victim. This is particularly notable in his liaison with Miss Waters. The aggressiveness with which she launches her seductive attack on Tom is described in terms of 'the fair conqueror' using her 'whole artillery of love' and the eventual unmasking of:

the royal battery, by carelessly letting her handkerchief drop from her neck.

Fielding makes it clear that he does not condone Tom's yielding to his temptations, but he does not entirely condemn it because it is so clear that he was a victim. Fielding excuses Tom's behaviour thus:

a single bad nut no more constitutes a villain in life than a single bad part on the stage

He obviously believes that in these instances Tom has been led by his passions rather than his basic nature, and so may be forgiven.

Tom is eventually rewarded with a happy marriage and financial security, despite the fact that Tom has not been as virtuous as he could have been and Sophia has defied her parents in their wish for her to marry Blifil. The important thing for Fielding is that Tom is basically a good person and Sophia defied her father out of love for Tom, as defying the wishes of parents is not an action of which Fielding would otherwise approve.

Their happy marriage is contrasted with other much less harmonious marriages in the novel, such as Squire Western's marriage to a pathetic woman whose father set up the marriage for financial gain. Western regards his wife as a servant and believes himself to be a good husband on the grounds that:

he seldom swore at her (perhaps not above once a week) and never beat her.

Another more vivid example of an unhappy marriage as a consequence of avarice is the marriage between Bridget and Blifil. Blifil, like Western, sees his wife as a domestic utility. Their only pleasure within their marriage is derived from tormenting each other. The only factor which sustains Blifil in his marriage is the hope of eventually inheriting Allworthy's estate, however, Blifil dies prematurely, and so never inherits. Once again, Fielding ensures that a couple who married for the wrong reasons live and die miserable.

It thus seems that in Tom Jones the theme of marrying for love rather than gain remains, but it is presented realistically and the characters are allowed small slips without being entirely condemned.

Conclusion

To conclude, it would seem that Fielding's basic moral messages remained the same throughout these works. His main message is that marriage should always be for love, and this remains constant throughout. He also proclaims the benefits of chastity, but appears to attach less importance to this as his work progresses, and begins to believe repentance to be more important. He appears to become more tolerant of people's weaknesses and more willing to accept that people are sometimes ruled by their passions, which causes them to act in a way which is contrary to their basic moral code. Overall, Fielding conveys his moral messages in a subtle, entertaining and mainly consistent manner.