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MonkeyNotes-Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
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Lady Western

She is Squire Western’s snobbish sister. She had lived about the court and acquired what can be termed as ‘worldly knowledge’. She was a perfect mistress of manners, customs, ceremonies and fashions. She had considerably improved her mind by study, she had not only read all the modern plays, opera, oratorios, poems and romances, in all which she was a critic, but had gone through several notable histories. She had also been through most of the political pamphlets and journals published within the last twenty years. She had attained a very competent skill in politics and could discourse very learnedly on the affairs of Europe. She was moreover, excellently well skilled in the doctrine of Amour and knew better than anybody who and who were together. Regarding her participation in affairs herself, her masculine person, added to her manner and learning possibly prevented the other sex from regarding her in the light of a woman. However she had considered affairs scientifically and she knew all the arts which fine ladies use when they desire to give encouragement or to conceal liking. To sum the whole, no species of disguise or affectation escaped her notice.


Lady Western is a lady who thinks that she knows best, while in reality her understanding is limited to gross assumptions. She guesses wrongly that Sophia is enamoured by Blifil and more so she is convinced about this fact. Later, Lady Western insists that she knows best how to handle Sophia. She is presumptuous, vain and quite pompous. Lady Western thinks that her court experience and her worldly mind elevates her to a level far above that of her brother and his daughter. She complains that SophiaÂ’s running away from home is the result, of bad upbringing by her father-Squire Western. When Squire Western goes after his daughter to London, Lady Western advises him that he should go about winning his daughter over, in a civilized way. But the Squire cannot resist himself and charges into Lady BellastonÂ’s house and drags his daughter away. Lady Western condemns this act and waxes eloquent about the superior place occupied by women in English Society. She thinks that they cannot be subjugated and dominated. She manages to free Sophia from her bolted room and takes the young lady with her. But Lady Western is not as emancipated as she considers herself to be. When Lord Fellamar expresses the desire to wed Sophia, Lady Western leaves no stone unturned to coerce Sophia into marrying him. She is impressed by his position in society and thinks that a match between this Lord and Sophia would be highly favorable. She thinks in materialistic terms and thus she is not free from the shackles of societal conditioning. Infact it is Sophia who is truly free and who would not marry anyone just for the sake of position and money. Despite all the criticism that Lady Western had heaped on her brother for employing drastic methods with Sophia, she herself does not shy away from these very methods. She nearly forces Sophia into meeting Lord Fellamar. She is just as hypocritical as Miss Bridget Allworthy, Squire AllworthyÂ’s sister.

Lady WesternÂ’s eyes are fooled by the worldly artificial glamour of society. She is unable to appreciate the value of straightforwardness, honesty and candor. She has to stand apart while Sophia rejects Lord FellamarÂ’s persuasions and marries her dear Tom Jones instead.

Lady Western represents the intellectual snobbishness of society. She thinks that by being learned, she stands superior. Her notion is mistaken and she is a true example of such a false assumption.

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