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

The Mitigated Truth: Tom Jones's Double Heroism by Peter J. Carlton is the second article. Carlton argues that Tom gets away with a variety of actions, especially illicit sex, with very little punishment and even less guilt. Tom's actions are always minimized by the actions of other characters, very often female characters, as well as by the convenient surrounding circumstances. For example, Tom is involved with Molly Seagrim, but his involvement is minimized by a character sketch of Molly that Sophia's maid Honour shapes when she states that Molly was always a forward, willing wench and that when wenches are so coming, men are not so much to be blamed, for it's only natural to act on this forwardness (398). This double standard is actually stated and "justified" by another woman, which accurately highlights the way of thinking in the 18th century that Fielding evidently recognized.

Fielding, Henry. Tom Jones. New York: Bantam. 1997.

To further support these arguments is a third article by Gene S. 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. Again, most of this is not within the scope of this paper, but Koppel does make one statement that completely supports the double standard argument. He says, "After all, it is quite obvious that Fielding accepted, at least partly, the traditional Western 'double standard,' which considered males to be sexually 'grosser' than females and allowed them (unofficially, at least) more sexual freedom than it permitted women" (7).

Fielding relies on . . . the traditional view of women, implicit in the fact that it is always the woman who is the aggressor in Tom's affairs . . . women are perceived as either "purer" than they are or more sexually ravenous than they are (the familiar 'virgin/whore' polarization), but never simply as they a

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1328
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)