A Study Of Henry Fielding's Novels From The Perspective Of Literary Ethics

Ethical and moral issues have always been an important concern in Henry Fielding's novels.This article will use the ethical criticism method to deal with Fielding's four novels,namely The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews,And of his Friend Mr.Abraham Adams;The History of the Life of the Late Mr.Jonathan Wild the Great;The History of Tom Jones,a Foundling;Amelia from three perspectives:love ethics,marriage ethics and intergenerational ethics.The thesis will try to carry out a more systematic and comprehensive discussion and sorts out the interrelationship between them.The full text is mainly divided into three major parts:The first part mainly discusses love ethics.This paper believes that the love ethics in Fielding's novels are mainly divided into two types,one is the strong and inclusive love ethics.This part is mainly based on the love between Fanny and Andrews and the love of Sophia to Jones.Although Fanny and Joseph were born in poverty,they were never tempted by the power and money,and they always maintained a loyal love for each other;although Tom was extremely unruly in terms of sexual ethics,Sophia finally accepted him with an inclusive attitude.The other type is the love ethic that has just begun to indulge in sensuality but has finally returned to loyalty after a series of ethical experiences.Tom's love story of Sophia just proves this.The second part mainly discusses husband and wife ethics.The marital relationship plays a very important role in the development and progress of society.It inherits the love ethics and starts the intergenerational ethics.From the author's perspective,husband and wife ethics are also divided into two types in Fielding's novels,one is selfish and indifferent husband and wife relationship,and the other is the one can share happiness and sorrow.This article mainly selects two couples,Wild and Partridge,as an example to demonstrate the selfish and indifferent relationship in Fielding's novels.As for the harmonious relationship,the author chose the Booth and Heartfree couples to demonstrate.At the same time,it also shows that the characters in the works are both good and evil.They have made different ethical choices because of their different ethical environments.The third part focuses on intergenerational ethics.This paper thought the intergenerational ethics in Fielding's novels are also mainly divided into two types.One is the intergenerational relationship with interference and alienation,which is mainly represented by the relationship between Western and his daughter,and Amelia with her mother.The parents want to control and maintain their daughter's choice of marriage,leading to the alienation and indifference of intergenerational relationships,but after a series of ethical events,the two sides reconciled and have a warm and harmonious relationship.The other is the intergenerational relationship with equality and respect,mainly in the case of Allworthy and his two nephews,because Mr.Allworthy regarded Tom and Blifil as independent moral individuals.On this basis,they are properly guided,so the relationship between them has always been harmonious and full of love.In summary,all of Fielding's novels show concern about love,marriage,and intergenerational ethics,and the four novels are all ending with a happy marriage,which shows the author's pursuit for truth,goodness,beauty and love.In addition,most of the characters in Fielding's novel are not perfect moral saints.They have their own shortcomings and deficiencies,but despite this,they still have a lot of shining points,such as kind,mercy,compassionate,which are the people live in our daily life.That is why,even in the 21st century,Fielding's novels are still charming,attracting millions of readers and researchers from all over the world.