Aeschylus Symbol Analysis

Parson Abraham Adams is known for always carrying around a book by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, which he’s had for 30 years. The book hints at Adams’s studious and bookish nature, but it also symbolizes his hypocrisy, suggesting that Adams’s supposed love of education might be shallower than it appears. Despite Adams’s great affection for Aeschylus, he doesn’t seem to read much outside of Aeschylus, suggesting an unwillingness to branch out and seek a more well-rounded education. Adams also hypocritically says that religious men have little to learn from plays, despite the fact that Aeschylus is a playwright. This shows how, while Adams purports to believe in education and preaches about it, his own education is selective and not always consistent. As is often the case, Adams finds it difficult to practice what he preaches.

Adams’s book of Aeschylus meets its end when Adams gets distracted during Joseph Andrews and Fanny’s reunion, and the book burns up. The burning of Aeschylus is ambiguous—on the one hand, it’s yet another example of Adams’s absent-mindedness and carelessness. On the other hand, however, perhaps the burning of Aeschylus represents a new start for Adams, since in the end, the best thing Adams does as a preacher is to help bring about Joseph and Fanny’s wedding.