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Book 1, Chapter 11
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Virtue vs. Vice
Marriage, Romance, and Economics
Appearance vs. Reality
Coming of Age
Storytelling, Literature, and Structure
Summary
Analysis
Within a month, Captain Blifil and Bridget marry in secret, and then they face the problem of deciding how to tell Allworthy. Dr. Blifil eventually breaks the news to Allworthy. He takes it well, believing that because Bridget married at an older age, she is capable of making her own decisions. Dr. Blifil thinks Allworthy is being too merciful, saying that that Captain Blifil is deceiving Bridget. But Allworthy is satisfied that the captain is an honorable man. He gives a sermon to Dr. Blifil on what it means to be a gentleman.
The whirlwind nature of Captain Blifil and Bridget’s marriage could suggest romance but seems more likely to suggest convenience and impatience on both sides, for Captain Blifil to try to win Bridget’s family fortune and for Bridget to get rid of the stigma of being an older unmarried woman. Allworthy’s lecture to Dr. Blifil shows how, while Allworthy is generally the novel’s moral center, he can also be a bit self-righteous in how he goes about it.
Active
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