Previous
Lady Booby
The pedlar is a seemingly minor character who ends up playing a large role near the end of the novel. He first appears at an inn to lend Abraham Adams money to pay off his debt he owes at an inn, even though the pedlar himself is very poor. Later, he happens by chance to save Adams’s son Dick from drowning. He then tells a story that helps everyone realize that Joseph Andrews is actually the son of Mr. Wilson, and that Fanny is actually the daughter of Gaffar and Gammar. This raises both Joseph’s and Fanny’s social statuses, paving the way for their marriage. The pedlar represents how the poorest people are often the most generous, while also perhaps providing a parody of contrived plot twists where characters suddenly receive a great fortune.
The Pedlar Quotes in Joseph Andrews
The Joseph Andrews quotes below are all either spoken by The Pedlar or refer to The Pedlar. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 4, Chapter 8 Quotes
“Now, believe me, no Christian ought so to set his heart on any person or thing in this world, but that, whenever it shall be required or taken from him in any manner by Divine Providence, he may be able, peaceably, quietly, and contentedly to resign it.” At which words one came hastily in, and acquainted Mr Adams that his youngest son was drowned.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Book 4, Chapter 15 Quotes
“Yes, he had as fine a strawberry as ever grew in a garden.” This Joseph acknowledged, and, unbuttoning his coat, at the intercession of the company, showed to them.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Joseph Andrews LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
The Pedlar Character Timeline in Joseph Andrews
The timeline below shows where the character The Pedlar appears in Joseph Andrews. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 2, Chapter 15
...Adams returns to the inn, a storm is brewing. Luckily, Adams runs into a poor pedlar who used to be a drummer in an Irish regiment and who is able to...
(full context)
Book 4, Chapter 8
...Dick. Actually, someone else helped the boy and saved him from drowning. It was a pedlar—the same one who lent Abraham Adams money at an inn a while back. Adams is...
(full context)
Book 4, Chapter 11
...Dick is a good Christian, and that he loves him best. Joseph, Fanny, and the pedlar return, and Adams offers them dinner.
(full context)
Book 4, Chapter 12
At dinner, the pedlar who saved Dick hears about Fanny’s past and how Sir Thomas Booby bought her from...
(full context)
The pedlar was a drummer in an Irish regiment that was recruiting in England in places where...
(full context)
Before the pedlar’s wife died, however, she revealed that she sued to be part of a “company of...
(full context)
Book 4, Chapter 15
...Pamela. This news pleases Joseph and Fanny but vexes Lady Booby. She calls for the pedlar, who retells his story. At the end, Gammar cries out that Fanny is indeed her...
(full context)
...but realized that her girl had been replaced with a stout infant boy—Joseph Andrews. The pedlar is amazed. Lady Booby asks Gammar if the child had a mark on its chest,...
(full context)
The only part of the story that the pedlar doesn’t know is who Joseph Andrews’s father is. But Mr. Wilson comes by just then,...
(full context)
