In 1651, Thomas Hobbes published his Leviathan. In it he analyses
the passions and behaviour of men in an emerging market or competitive
society. By posing his hypothetical "state of nature," he draws the conclusion
that man is essentially a self-motivated creature.
Lord Ashley Cooper, the third Earl of Shaftesbury, reacted to the
picture of man drawn by Hobbes. In Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions,
and Times, first published in 1709, Shaftesbury analyses the affections or
passions and concludes that man is essentially benevolent. Unlike the
Hobbesian picture, the Shaftesburian analysis shows man as outward-oriented,
seeking the good and company of others.
These theories or the doctrines of the heart (as I call them for the
purpose of this thesis) were current in the eighteenth century and at a time
when Fielding and Sterne wrote Tom Jones and The Life and Opinions of Tristram
Shandy, Gentleman respectively. The doctrines are reflected substantially
in both novels. In Tom Jones, for example, Tom becomes the epitome of the
doctrine of benevolence in his persistent performance of good works; Blifil,
in his selfish attempts to supplant Tom, displays Hobbesian egocentricity.
Uncle Toby and Mr. Walter Shandy each reflect aspects of both doctrines in
Tristram Shandy.
It is my intention to show in this thesis that the doctrines of
egocentricity and benevolence inform both Tom Jones and Tristram Shandy, and
that Fielding and Sterne react critically to the teaching of Hobbes and
Shaftesbury in the process of their artistic creation.
I shall approach the discussion chiefly by way of character analysis
thus showing how the behaviour of the main figures in the novels suggests
the thoughts of the philosophers. But the novelists' vision becomes clearer
to the reader when it is seen in direct relation to the style of their works. In addition to the character analysis , therefore, I shall emphasize the
narrative technique of each author, such as, the "comic- epic prose" of
Fielding, the digressions as well as the "Shandean rhetoric" of Sterne, and
attempt to illustrate how the style strengthens the awareness of the artistic
vision. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/41725 |
| Date | January 1968 |
| Creators | Hagan, John Christian |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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