Henry Fielding: literary and theological misplacement

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Literature and theology have historically engaged with the great themes of human existence, yet comedic literature has often been overlooked in this discourse. This book aims to address that oversight by exploring the works of eighteenth-century playwright and novelist Henry Fielding, demonstrating that comedy can convey significant theological insights. The author builds on traditional Fielding research while moving away from its deterministic tendencies, which he believes limit interdisciplinary dialogue. Central to his approach is the concept of misplacement, which reflects a continuous departure from the ineffable and acknowledges the fragile sense of the other inherent in comedic writing. By juxtaposing Fielding’s fiction with contemporary philosophical theology and postmodern literature, the author investigates critical areas such as epistemology, ethics, mimesis, canonicity, and revelation. In Fielding's hands, the novel reveals a powerful comic resonance that challenges deterministic theology and questions the assumed securities of individual status before God. Ultimately, the book posits that the nature of the novel is intrinsically theological, suggesting that theology itself possesses a fictive quality.