Describes Fielding's use of satirial characters in Joseph Andrews.

The Name Says it All What is a woman to do when the man she pines for sees her not as an object of affection, but instead as a motherly figure? Joseph, the title character of Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews, returns none of the sentiments felt towards him by Mrs. Slipslop, a forty-five year old maid, and instead tells her that he has "always loved you as well as if you had been my own …

…the flaws in society. Not only is Slipslop physically repulsive, she has a demeanor to match. She is ostentatious, ignorant, hypocritical, and sex craved, yet still portrayed in a generally un-evil light. Fielding effectively uses Slipslop to criticize the self deception and pretentious qualities of people in his society and while the issues that Fielding satirizers are serious enough, his comic characters provide the perfect backdrop to illuminate what he wishes to change in society.