Henry Fielding's Representation of Women

Abstract

This thesis investigates Henry Fieldingb s representation of women and argues that there is a stronger feminist instinct in the deep structure than most critics have perceived. The overall argument is that there is a feminocentric agenda embedded in Fieldingb s writing, in thematic terms and more subtly in stylistic, structural and generic terms. It attempts a revisionist reading of Fielding from a gendered perspective, against Fieldingb s conventional masculinist image and the male ethos often attached to his writing. However, departing from those critics who see Fielding as a pro-women male writer from the social-historical or social-psychological points of view, the thesis tries to establish Fieldingb s feminocentricity mainly through a stylistic and structural study of his works. Most of the research is dedicated to the exploration of womenb s dominant roles in the narrative movement, the imaginative energy which is conferred on women, and the elevation of women in the mock genres.