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A DOUBLE STANDARD FOR MEN AND WOMEN IN TOM JONES For this project, I will be summarizing three different articles that pertain to the argument that there is an apparent double standard for what is acceptable behavior in men versus women in Tom Jones. In addition to summarizing these articles, I will also be adding my own views and comments throughout this paper. The first article is by April London, entitled Controlling the Text: Women in Tom Jones. London begins by stating that Fielding uses a metaphor between property and women throughout the text in Tom Jones. She states that "Fielding plays with the multiple meanings of property, undercutting the equation of female and helplessness, to offer versions of power unconstrained by gender which are. . . contradicted by . . . Sophia's subordination [at] the novel's happy ending" (323). London argues that although Fielding seems to put aside the gender bias, he actually enforces it by the way his character Sophia changes at the end of the novel. I think this is an interesting observation that has some merit. London does a good job of providing examples to reinforce her argument. London claims that throughout the novel Sophia steps over the bounds of authority in order to m
Carlton sums up the view of women when he states, Fielding relies on . This seeming rise of feminine power stops abruptly, however, with Sophia's concession and marriage to Tom. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography** Works Cited Carlton, Peter J. Koppel entitled Sexual Education and Sexual Values in Tom Jones: Confusion at the Core? Most of this article talks about the sexual education and lack thereof in Tom, focusing on inconsistencies throughout the novel. Later, when Molly is found to be pregnant, Allworthy lectures Tom much in the same way he lectured Jenny Jones years ago, but according to Carlton, Fielding "minimizes its impact in Tom's case" (399). She goes on to say that this development brings the 18th century values concerning land (and women through the use of the property metaphor) back into line: symmetry, stability, and continuity. She argues that "Relinquishing the possibilities of character, they are absorbed into the ethic of property relations, becoming metaphoric attributes of the constitutional order Fielding defends" (331-2). is correspondingly diminished as she becomes part of the property relations that now define her husband" (331). the traditional view of women, implicit in the fact that it is always the woman who is the aggressor in Tom's affairs .
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Acceptance Essays
