Joseph Andrews

Joseph Andrews

by

Henry Fielding

Lady Booby is Sir Thomas Booby’s wealthy and slightly eccentric wife. She takes an early interest in a boy Thomas hires named Joseph Andrews, deciding to make him her personal footman. But when Thomas dies suddenly, leaving Lady Booby as a widow with a fortune, she wastes little time in pursuing Joseph romantically. Joseph rejects Lady Booby’s advances, and so she finds a pretext to fire him. Even after firing Joseph, however, Lady Booby can’t stop thinking about him. When she finds out that Joseph is planning to marry a woman named Fanny, Lady Booby does everything she can to intervene in the wedding, but despite some early success, she can’t stop the marriage. Despite all of Lady Booby’s manipulating, she gets a somewhat happy ending, finding a captain in London who makes her forget all about Joseph. Lady Booby represents the selfishness of the wealthy and how they don’t account for the feelings of other people around them.

Lady Booby Quotes in Joseph Andrews

The Joseph Andrews quotes below are all either spoken by Lady Booby or refer to Lady Booby. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Hypocrisy Theme Icon
).
Book 1, Chapter 3 Quotes

He was generous, friendly, and brave to an excess; but simplicity was his characteristick: he did, no more than Mr Colley Cibber, apprehend any such passions as malice and envy to exist in mankind; which was indeed less remarkable in a country parson than in a gentleman who hath passed his life behind the scenes [...]

His virtue, and his other qualifications, as they rendered him equal to his office, so they made him an agreeable and valuable companion, and had so much endeared and well recommended him to a bishop, that at the age of fifty he was provided with a handsome income of twenty-three pounds a year; which, however, he could not make any great figure with, because he lived in a dear country, and was a little encumbered with a wife and six children.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Abraham Adams, Lady Booby
Page Number: 65
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 1, Chapter 5 Quotes

“Don’t pretend to too much modesty,” said she, “for that sometimes may be impertinent: but pray answer me this question. Suppose a lady should happen to like you; suppose she should prefer you to all your sex, and admit you to the same familiarities as you might have hoped for if you had been born her equal, are you certain that no vanity could tempt you to discover her? Answer me honestly, Joseph; have you so much more sense and so much more virtue than you handsome young fellows generally have, who make no scruple of sacrificing our dear reputation to your pride, without considering the great obligation we lay on you by our condescension and confidence? Can you keep a secret, my Joey?”

Related Characters: Joseph Andrews (speaker), Lady Booby (speaker), Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Thomas Booby
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 1, Chapter 6 Quotes

As soon as Joseph had sealed and directed this letter he walked downstairs, where he met Mrs. Slipslop, with whom we shall take this opportunity to bring the reader a little better acquainted. She was a maiden gentlewoman of about forty-five years of age, who, having made a small slip in her youth, had continued a good maid ever since. She was not at this time remarkably handsome; being very short, and rather too corpulent in body, and somewhat red, with the addition of pimples in the face.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Lady Booby, Mrs. Slipslop
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 2, Chapter 10 Quotes

“I hope, Fanny, you are not inconstant; I assure you he deserves much better of you.”—“La! Mr Adams,” said she, “what is Mr Joseph to me? I am sure I never had anything to say to him, but as one fellow-servant might to another.”

Related Characters: Abraham Adams (speaker), Fanny (Frances Goodwill) (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Lady Booby
Page Number: 165
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 3, Chapter 12 Quotes

Peter, being informed by Fanny of the presence of Adams, stopt to see him, and receive his homage; for, as Peter was an hypocrite, a sort of people whom Mr Adams never saw through, the one paid that respect to his seeming goodness which the other believed to be paid to his riches.

Related Characters: Abraham Adams, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Lady Booby, The Narrator, Peter Pounce
Page Number: 269
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 4, Chapter 1 Quotes

For, if the court would be severely missed in such a city as London, how much more must the absence of a person of great fortune be felt in a little country village, for whose inhabitants such a family finds a constant employment and supply.

Related Characters: Joseph Andrews, Abraham Adams, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Lady Booby
Page Number: 275
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 4, Chapter 3 Quotes

“The laws of this land are not so vulgar to permit a mean fellow to contend with one of your ladyship’s fortune.”

Related Characters: Scout (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Abraham Adams, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Lady Booby
Page Number: 282
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 4, Chapter 13 Quotes

“I despise, I detest my passion.—Yet why? Is he not generous, gentle, kind?—Kind! to whom? to the meanest wretch, a creature below my consideration. Doth he not—yes, he doth prefer her.”

Related Characters: Lady Booby (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Mrs. Slipslop
Page Number: 318
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 4, Chapter 16 Quotes

Joseph remains blest with his Fanny, whom he doats on with the utmost tenderness, which is all returned on her side. The happiness of this couple is a perpetual fountain of pleasure to their fond parents; and, what is particularly remarkable, he declares he will imitate them in their retirement, nor will be prevailed on by any booksellers, or their authors, to make his appearance in high life.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Lady Booby, Pamela Andrews, Wilson, Harriet
Page Number: 334
Explanation and Analysis:
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Lady Booby Quotes in Joseph Andrews

The Joseph Andrews quotes below are all either spoken by Lady Booby or refer to Lady Booby. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Hypocrisy Theme Icon
).
Book 1, Chapter 3 Quotes

He was generous, friendly, and brave to an excess; but simplicity was his characteristick: he did, no more than Mr Colley Cibber, apprehend any such passions as malice and envy to exist in mankind; which was indeed less remarkable in a country parson than in a gentleman who hath passed his life behind the scenes [...]

His virtue, and his other qualifications, as they rendered him equal to his office, so they made him an agreeable and valuable companion, and had so much endeared and well recommended him to a bishop, that at the age of fifty he was provided with a handsome income of twenty-three pounds a year; which, however, he could not make any great figure with, because he lived in a dear country, and was a little encumbered with a wife and six children.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Abraham Adams, Lady Booby
Page Number: 65
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 1, Chapter 5 Quotes

“Don’t pretend to too much modesty,” said she, “for that sometimes may be impertinent: but pray answer me this question. Suppose a lady should happen to like you; suppose she should prefer you to all your sex, and admit you to the same familiarities as you might have hoped for if you had been born her equal, are you certain that no vanity could tempt you to discover her? Answer me honestly, Joseph; have you so much more sense and so much more virtue than you handsome young fellows generally have, who make no scruple of sacrificing our dear reputation to your pride, without considering the great obligation we lay on you by our condescension and confidence? Can you keep a secret, my Joey?”

Related Characters: Joseph Andrews (speaker), Lady Booby (speaker), Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Thomas Booby
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 1, Chapter 6 Quotes

As soon as Joseph had sealed and directed this letter he walked downstairs, where he met Mrs. Slipslop, with whom we shall take this opportunity to bring the reader a little better acquainted. She was a maiden gentlewoman of about forty-five years of age, who, having made a small slip in her youth, had continued a good maid ever since. She was not at this time remarkably handsome; being very short, and rather too corpulent in body, and somewhat red, with the addition of pimples in the face.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Lady Booby, Mrs. Slipslop
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 2, Chapter 10 Quotes

“I hope, Fanny, you are not inconstant; I assure you he deserves much better of you.”—“La! Mr Adams,” said she, “what is Mr Joseph to me? I am sure I never had anything to say to him, but as one fellow-servant might to another.”

Related Characters: Abraham Adams (speaker), Fanny (Frances Goodwill) (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Lady Booby
Page Number: 165
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 3, Chapter 12 Quotes

Peter, being informed by Fanny of the presence of Adams, stopt to see him, and receive his homage; for, as Peter was an hypocrite, a sort of people whom Mr Adams never saw through, the one paid that respect to his seeming goodness which the other believed to be paid to his riches.

Related Characters: Abraham Adams, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Lady Booby, The Narrator, Peter Pounce
Page Number: 269
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 4, Chapter 1 Quotes

For, if the court would be severely missed in such a city as London, how much more must the absence of a person of great fortune be felt in a little country village, for whose inhabitants such a family finds a constant employment and supply.

Related Characters: Joseph Andrews, Abraham Adams, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Lady Booby
Page Number: 275
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 4, Chapter 3 Quotes

“The laws of this land are not so vulgar to permit a mean fellow to contend with one of your ladyship’s fortune.”

Related Characters: Scout (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Abraham Adams, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Lady Booby
Page Number: 282
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 4, Chapter 13 Quotes

“I despise, I detest my passion.—Yet why? Is he not generous, gentle, kind?—Kind! to whom? to the meanest wretch, a creature below my consideration. Doth he not—yes, he doth prefer her.”

Related Characters: Lady Booby (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Mrs. Slipslop
Page Number: 318
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 4, Chapter 16 Quotes

Joseph remains blest with his Fanny, whom he doats on with the utmost tenderness, which is all returned on her side. The happiness of this couple is a perpetual fountain of pleasure to their fond parents; and, what is particularly remarkable, he declares he will imitate them in their retirement, nor will be prevailed on by any booksellers, or their authors, to make his appearance in high life.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Joseph Andrews, Fanny (Frances Goodwill), Lady Booby, Pamela Andrews, Wilson, Harriet
Page Number: 334
Explanation and Analysis: