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Book 1, Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Joseph Andrews, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Hypocrisy
Lust vs. Chastity
Social Class
Religion and Charity
Summary
Analysis
The narrator says that authors often divide books into volumes or chapters in order to make them seem bulkier than they might otherwise. The narrator says that readers may use the little spaces between chapters as an inn to rest before continuing on. He also notes that, since each chapter begins with a short summary at the top, these summaries are like signs at an inn that help keep the reader oriented. The narrator says that Homer divided his great work into 24 books, probably so that he could sell each part separately as part of a subscription. The narrator ultimately concludes that an author should carve up a book just as surely as a butcher carves up meat.
The narrator comments on the structure of the book, showing how the book is a parody that pokes fun at the conventions of more serious books by pointing out how contrived they are. The narrator’s metaphor about inns is fitting, giving how much of the action in the book takes place at various inns across rural England. Homer didn’t actually sell The Odyssey as a subscription, but many of the authors in Fielding’s time (including Fielding himself) used this model to make money.
Themes
Literary Devices
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