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Book 2, Chapter 1
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
Abraham Adams is about to part ways with Joseph Andrews when he makes a discovery—while he thought he was carrying nine volumes of sermons in his bag, in fact, Mrs. Adams replaced them with shirts. This means he and Joseph will be traveling in the same direction a little longer because Adams needs to go back to get his sermons. Adams pays the bill for his stay at the inn, which nearly empties his pockets (and only because he borrowed money from several different people). Adams offers to share his horse with Joseph when they travel, but when the absent-minded Adams decides to go on ahead, Joseph suddenly finds himself responsible for paying the hostler (a person who takes care of horses at an inn).
This passage highlights the difference between Adams and his wife. While Adams has his head in the clouds and is thinking about abstract issues like his sermons, his wife is more practical and figures that surely, he will need shirts for a journey more than books. But while Mrs. Adams makes life more difficult for her husband here, this section also illustrates how distracted Adams can be when left on his own. Here, he forgets to pay for his horse, leaving Joseph with the responsibility. This mistake is convenient enough that it might seem intentional (since Adams hates paying money and likes free things), although later parts of the book reinforce the idea that Adams is indeed very absent-minded.
Themes
Joseph Andrews doesn’t have enough money to pay for Abraham Adams’s horse. Mr. Tow-wouse is going to let Joseph add the charge to his tab if he ever comes back, but then he happens to notice the little gold piece Joseph has on him. Meanwhile, Adams starts walking, expecting Joseph will soon catch up on horseback. But Adams gets distracted and travels a fair distance away. He asks a passerby about the nearest alehouse, which happens to be right next to him.
Mr. Tow-wouse is only willing to be generous to Joseph when he believes Joseph has nothing to offer him in return—he switches to a more transactional relationship as soon as he sees the gold piece. Adams once again has his head so far into the clouds that he doesn’t see the alehouse right next to him. This could be interpreted as a criticism of the clergy in general and how some religious people are so concerned with high ideals that they neglect the realities of the world right around them.
Themes
