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One of the central themes in Tom Jones deals with the conflict between parental authority and individual choice in matters of love and marriage. As a related topic, I'm looking to explore the ways in which Fielding portrays the relationship and dialectic between love and free will. I intend to show that when ideas of love are conveyed or emotionally expressed by certain characters in the novel toward others, they are accompanied by, and frequently interconnected with, the question of autonomy and self-determination. Furthermore, Fielding's treatment of the ideas of love and personal freedom, through the behavior and language of the characters in the novel, underpins another of the central themes: that marital felicity is as dependent on mutual affection and harmony as it is on familial and monetary considerations. There is also a suggestion in the novel that "true love" is somewhat disconnected from free will. I'll show how I'm trying to work out this idea in one of the......

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Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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