The Problem of Not Being Dickens

Tom Jones is a novel.  

Of that there is no doubt. 

Depending on how you define “novel,” it may be the first “novel.”

Probably not, though.  For no particular reason, I define “novel” more broadly, so Robinson Crusoe get the honor.

The novel (Tom Jones, not Robinson Crusoe) is divided into 18 books, and the first chapter in each book is an address from the Author to the Reader in which all sorts of asides and digressions and commentary are supplied. 

So, in discussing Tom Jones, it is perfectly appropriate to begin with a digression having nothing to do with the actual substance of the story at hand. 

Sadly, in order to truly be true to the spirit of Tom Jones, the digression at the outset must be both a) amusing and b) followed by an interesting tale.  The sadness arises from the fact that the digression here fulfills neither of those two characteristics.  But, I digress.

What would happen if you crossed David Copperfield with Tristram Shandy?  You would get Tom Jones, well except that Tom Jones predates both of those other two books so you would have to add in some sort of time travel to make this all work out. 

I enjoyed reading Tom Jones. I can certainly see why professors specializing in 18^th century novels are quite fond of it—compared to the other novels from that time period, this one is easily among the best. 

But, the 18^th century was not a good time period for novels. 

How does to compare to Dickens?  Honestly, it isn’t that close.  Tom Jones has the scope of a Dickens novel. It has all the characters and odd coincidences of a Dickens novel.  But, it does not have quite the charm of Dickens. 

Don’t get me wrong; there is charm here.  But, the difference is easily seen when thinking about the characters.  Dickens is littered with memorable charters. 

Tom Jones?  Well, there is the perfect heroine Sophia; but she is only memorable from the worship bestowed upon her by the author (not by Tom, though he worships her too—she is memorable because the author keeps telling us how amazing the author thinks she is—she isn’t even memorable in and of herself—it is really the heroine worship which is memorable.) 

Mr. Western, Sophia’s father, is amusing.  But nobody else in the novel really rises to something interesting.  The story is good, the characters are nice, it is surely a Good Novel, and probably a Great Book.  But, it is no Dickens.

Which leads to an interesting problem. 

Is it a fault to not be Dickens? 

Surely not.  And surely, we would never say that only Dickens should be read.  There are lots of great novels written by people who were not named Charles. 

But, in this case, the connection is just too strong.  Everything Fielding has done, Dickens has done better.  That doesn’t make Tom Jones a bad novel at all.  I would even recommend it if I wasn’t immediately afflicted with the thought that really, instead of Tom Jones, you will probably enjoy one of Dickens’ novels more.