Abstract
Henry Feilding’s Tom Jones offers a picture of English society during the imperial times through a thought-provoking scrutiny of the marginalised voices and indirectly subverts the imperial authority of oppression. Fielding’s defining work which notably laid the foundation of the English novel has often been implored for nuances of morality and sin.
 This research paper explores the novel as a prelude to the postmodern subaltern voice against the dominion of the social and economically elite through the emancipatory empowerment of the roguish foundling hero of the picaresque tradition: Tom Jones. The paper seeks to establish the relevance of Tom Jones for the readers of the so- called Third World, as it offers a glimpse into the subaltern aspects of identity of the coloniser. In this context, this paper evaluates the narrative of Fielding’s Tom Jones with reference to two key concerns: exposition of the oppressive power structure and revelation of marginalised oppressed.
Highlights
Fielding published Tom Jones in 1749 when the English novel was in its infancy and significantly influenced the tradition of the English novel through his work
Fielding’s novel may be regarded as a prelude to the post-colonial narrative with the voice of subaltern oppression flowing like a stream prophetically interrogating the colonial social structure
The “subaltern” embodies the general attribute of subordination in the South Asian society expressed in a multitude of ways such as class, caste, age, gender and ” (Guha, “Preface” 35)
Summary
Fielding published Tom Jones in 1749 when the English novel was in its infancy and significantly influenced the tradition of the English novel through his work. He introduced a new fictional hero through the character of Tom Jones – a rather misjudged character from www.ijellh.com e-ISSN: 2582-3574 p-ISSN: 2582-4406 The work interrogated the legitimate structures of authority by exposing the norms of elite society and assigned a fresh perspective to morality from the perspective of the marginalised, granting voice to the speechless, through a rather amusing account.
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