History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

Chapter viii. – Chapter viii.

This section opens with the story of Captain John Blifil, the estranged husband of Mr Allworthy’s sister Bridget, whose scheming and sudden death anchor the first narrative arc. Avoiding his wife as much as possible, the captain spends his solitary hours calculating the full value of Mr Allworthy’s fortune and drafting elaborate, impractical plans to improve the Allworthy estate’s grandeur through architecture and gardening, designs requiring both immoderate expense and decades of labor to complete. Convinced Allworthy’s immense wealth will fund his visions and his own sound middle-aged constitution will let him live to see them finished, the only barrier he identifies is Allworthy’s death, which he calculates he has better than even odds of witnessing within a few years using algebra and purchased books on life valuation. His scheming is cut short when, during an unaccompanied evening walk, he dies of apoplexy with no one present to assist him. The narrator mocks the futility of his grand plans with a quote from Horace, noting the captain had designed vast houses but forgotten his own mortal needs, requiring only a pickaxe and spade for his grave.

The following chapter details the immediate aftermath of the captain’s death. Mr Allworthy, Bridget, and a female companion wait for the captain to return for supper, growing concerned when he fails to appear; Mrs Blifil feigns extreme, vocal distress, in stark contrast to Mr Allworthy’s quiet consternation as he searches for his brother-in-law. Servants eventually find the captain’s body, and Mrs Blifil faints at the news before reviving to perform the expected social rituals of widowhood. Two physicians, Dr Y and Dr Z, disagree on the cause of death (apoplexy versus epilepsy) but confirm he is beyond help, their dispute arising because 18th-century physicians often held favored diseases, and all standard revival efforts had already been attempted before their arrival, leaving them only to debate the cause while waiting for their fee. The physicians then attend to Mrs Blifil, who requires no medical treatment but feigns illness for a full month to adhere to strict social expectations of proper grief, before returning to society with a carefully cultivated sad demeanor. Mr Allworthy commissions a laudatory epitaph for the captain, written by a friend who knew him well, praising his professional, familial, and religious virtues, which is erected by his “inconsolable” widow.

The narrative then jumps 12 years forward, introducing 14-year-old Tom Jones, the foundling raised by Mr Allworthy, who is widely believed in the household to be destined for the gallows due to a pattern of small, petty crimes: robbing an orchard, stealing a duck, and picking Master Blifil’s pocket of a ball. Master Blifil, Allworthy’s legitimate nephew, is the antithesis of Tom: sober, discreet, pious beyond his years, universally praised, while Tom is disliked, partly due to his close friendship with Black George, the estate’s gamekeeper, known for disregarding property boundaries and lax morality. The first major incident of Tom’s youth occurs when he goes shooting with Black George, and they pursue partridges into the manor of Squire Western, a notoriously harsh game preserver who punishes poaching severely. Tom shoots a partridge, is caught by Squire Western, and reports the trespass to Allworthy. Tom refuses to name Black George as his companion, enduring a severe whipping from the family tutor Mr Thwackum rather than betray his friend. When Allworthy realizes Tom may be innocent, he gives the boy a small horse as compensation for the unjust punishment; Tom, moved by Allworthy’s kindness, almost confesses the gamekeeper’s involvement but stops when he thinks of the starving Seagrim family, destitute since Black George’s dismissal. Blifil, who was away during Tom’s punishment, returns and reveals Tom lied about being alone, exposing the gamekeeper. Allworthy is disappointed in Tom’s dishonesty, but Tom explains he only lied to protect Black George, who only trespassed at Tom’s urging, and that the family is suffering from cold and hunger. Allworthy fires Black George, arguing that lying to excuse another is a worse offense than lying to excuse oneself, and that Black George should have confessed to spare Tom the punishment.

The narrative then introduces the two tutors who educate the boys: Mr Thwackum, the divine, a severe Anglican who believes human nature is inherently corrupt since the Fall, that virtue comes only from divine grace, and who advocates for frequent corporal punishment; and Mr Square, the philosopher, a Platonist who holds that virtue is natural, aligned with the “eternal fitness of things” and the “rule of right,” and who views virtue as abstract theory rather than religious doctrine. The two men are constant rivals, both courting Mrs Blifil, who hated her late husband, cares little for her son Blifil, and flatters both men to gain favor without committing to either. To win Mrs Blifil’s approval, both tutors favor Blifil and denigrate Tom: Thwackum beats Tom at every opportunity, while Square attacks his reputation. Blifil flatters both men to Allworthy to gain his uncle’s approval, and Allworthy hopes their opposing views will balance each other in the boys’ education.

The next major incident sees Tom sell the small horse Allworthy gave him, and when Thwackum demands to know where the money went, Tom refuses to answer, calling him a tyrant. Allworthy stops Thwackum from whipping him, questions Tom privately, and Tom confesses he sold the horse to buy food and clothing for Black George’s starving family, who had exhausted the money Tom had previously given them from selling other possessions. Allworthy is moved by Tom’s compassion, tells him to come to him for help in future instead of taking independent action, and praises his generosity. Thwackum condemns Tom’s action as defying Allworthy’s will, while Square defends it as aligned with the rule of right. Tom is soon discovered to have also sold a Bible Allworthy gave him to help the same family; Blifil reveals this, having purchased the Bible back to keep it in the family, and Thwackum condemns Tom for sacrilege, while Square defends the sale as legally and morally permissible. Mrs Blifil sides with Square, arguing Blifil is equally culpable as the buyer, silencing Thwackum. Allworthy declares Tom has already been sufficiently punished for his earlier lie, so he imposes no further penalties.