Amelia by Henry Fielding

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There are three women in this story that have had major influence on some of the bigger plot points. Miss Matthews has not only caused tension between Captain Booth and his wife by her scandalous letters, but she also managed to drive a nail in the friendship of Booth and Colonel James. She turns them against each other, which causes them to duel not only with each other but also with Colonel Bath, James’ brother-in-law. Luckily, there was no serious injury for any of them and the men were able to reconcile with each other. The next woman is Mrs. Atkinson, who saves Amelia from the attempts of Mrs. Ellison and the nobleman. If she had not stepped forward as a true friend and took Mrs. Booth’s place, I’m sure the story would have taken a completely different direction. Finally, the last woman to use her intellect to control the outcome of the story, Elizabeth Harris. Though she did not have a bigger, more direct role in the story, she did however cause the Booths to be impoverished and that led to more than one major plot point. Also, if she had not intercepted the captain’s letter to his mother-in-law when he was asking for money to move Amelia to a milder climate when she was sick, he wouldn’t have had the original debt.

In this piece, men seem to cause so much trouble that the women have to fix, or at least lessen. For example, in the beginning scene, Miss Matthews pays the guard to allow Booth to stay with her and also to have the charges against him dropped. Even if she hadn’t extended this kindness, Amelia was on the way to help. Mrs. Ellison takes control of the show, by having a lord pay off Captain Booth’s gambling debt, but she also tries to mislead innocent Amelia. Mrs. Bennet stops Mrs. Ellison’s intention, and manages to fool not only the nobleman, but also their friend Colonel James. After the masquerade, Amelia learns that her husband is in jail, again, and she is the one who has to fix the problem. She tracks down Dr. Harrison and reveals that he was misled by false rumors. Thus, another problem fixed by a woman. Though this last example wasn’t directly caused by a man, it was partly fixed by Amelia: the Booth’s poverty and the forgery of the will. To start, the captain has always been poor, he was always the penniless soldier, and it became worse when Amelia was left nothing in the will. The will was partially forged by a man, and when Amelia found out the truth, she confronted her sister; in a roundabout way, she fixed their poverty situation. Now this may be grasping at straws, but I’m sticking with my idea.

In most pieces that involve a man, and a woman, the end goal of the story is their marriage. Henry Fielding goes beyond that, he not only tells the story of their whole life together, but even starts the story off with Captain Booth already married, in jail, and telling his love story to Miss Matthews. His characters also play unusual parts. His women are educated and clean up their man’s mistake. Some of them even are open about their desires, but are not disciplined for their beliefs. He artfully depicts the trueness of married life, and all of its struggles. He does not add a polite filter to the scandals, instead he uses them to drive the plot and further the relationship of Amelia and Booth. Fielding’s career in the law is also recognizable when he points out the flaw of imprisoning a man for debt, because he knows that a man’s financial problems cannot be fixed if he cannot work- and Booth would agree. Finally, Fielding has a soft side for woman. It seems that he is not disturbed by the idea of an educated woman, instead he makes them strong and allows them to fight for their right to be equal, as you can clearly see with Mrs. Atkinson. Henry Fielding was a writer ahead of his time, and this sentimental novel shows some key aspects of marriage, and stands as a beautiful memoir for his first wife.

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