Resistance to psychologization in the novel Tom Jones Essay

Resistance to psychologization in the novel Tom Jones - Essay Example Keeping in accord to the theme of argument in the paper that the narrator in the novel The History of Tom Jones often withholds information about the psychological traits of his character these observations are highly relevant. The limits of psychologization in the novel not only stops emergence of Tom Jones are a complete human character but also it affects the constructional themes of the novel from the perspectives of theme, narrative and characterization. The character of Tom Jones in the novel deserves special critical treatment and discussion because he can be regarded as a bridge between the themes of conventional medieval romanticism and the future course of the tradition of novel writing with special focus on the analysis of human psychology. While the narrator has quite carefully resisted the temptation of indulging within the psychologization of the protagonist by withdrawing information about his interior thoughts, on the other hand, he also has provided subtle hints to t he traits of psychological disturbance of the character under specific situations. Observing this trait feature in Fielding’s writing, Evans Lansing Smith has quite aptly suggested that â€Å"Henry Fielding’s novel †¦ stands at a crucial turning point in our survey of the hero in literature. While looking backwards to the traditions of the medieval romance, Tom Jones carries the conventional symbolism of the Classical epic †¦ forwards into the future, anticipating a long line of novels in our tradition which combine realistic or historical detail and mythic symbolism† (Smith 195). The relevance of Psychologization in the context of novel writing: The critics like Frances Ferguson are of opinion that psychologization of characters in novels not only helps readers to follow aesthetics of the narrative from the perspective of an outsider, but at the same time it helps them to receive understanding of the characters as well as flow of the novel from quite a personalized perspective. One of the basic principles regarding the technique of novel writing is to incite readers to enjoy tension of characterization and plot development. A novelist can effectively use his narrative skills to develop the tension by emphasizing on the psychologization of characters. Frances Ferguson in this context has opined that narration of the psychological complexity of character in a novel â€Å"†¦does not at all directly express mental states but rather relies on the contradiction built into the formal stipulation of them. Psychological complexity, that is, pits the stipulated mental state against one’s actual mental state †¦. Psychology is the ongoing possibility of the contradiction between what one must mean and what one wants to mean† (Ferguson; Cited in Macpherson 123). This observation not only attracts attention in the context of explaining Fielding’s narrative retrain of Tom’s character, but at the same time also finds support from Dr. Johnson’s special emphasis on the importance of explaining characters in terms of manner and nature (Watt 261). Ian P. Watt explains that â€Å"‘Character of manners’