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Book 2, Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Joseph Andrews, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Hypocrisy
Lust vs. Chastity
Social Class
Religion and Charity
Summary
Analysis
Abraham Adams and the host at the inn have a conversation over a pipe and beer. The host talks about the gentleman who promises too much hospitality and how it’s caused problems for other people in town too. He tells a story of how the gentleman promised to help a young man who tried to go to a university to become ordained; the young man had to drop out of school when the gentleman failed to keep his promise—then the young man turned to drinking and died in jail.
The gentleman who promises generosity without fulfilling his promises never gets a name in the novel. This anonymous quality helps suggest that the gentleman could be anyone—that many people in the world like to talk about generosity and charity but few take the actions to back up their words.
Themes
The host himself used to captain a ship, and the gentleman promised him a promotion, but it never came. The host says he’s seen a lot traveling the world, but Abraham Adams contends that he’s seen more in his books. The debate between the two of them gets heated, but suddenly Joseph Andrews and Fanny enter the room, eager to leave at once. They go, with Adams and the host on worse terms than they were at the beginning of their conversation.
Abraham Adams always defends the value of book learning over practical experience, perhaps in part because he does not seem to be a very well-traveled person, rarely leaving his small parish. His many mistakes and wrong turns while traveling reveal his lack of experience.
Themes
