La Narrativa de Henry Fielding y la Sociedad Inglesa del Siglo XVIII

La Narrativa de Henry Fielding y la Sociedad Inglesa del Siglo XVIII
Fielding concluye con un caso que se temía podría el suyo propio en
breve, y que le parecía el mayor y más triste merecedor de caridad y
compasión: el caso del pobre encarcelado por deudas impagadas.
“Lastly, and perhaps, chiefly as sometimes by the noblest Acts of Friendships, and
through the Rapaciousness, Impatience and Unmercifulness of Creditors, more savage than
Wolves, and the impious severity of our laws, are snatch'd away from their poor Families,
from the little Comforts of the Conversation of their Relations and Acquaintance, from a
Possibility of employing their Faculties for the Service of themselves, their Wives or their
Children, from the Benefit of wholesome Air in common with the Brute Creation, stript of
all the poor little Support of Wretchedness, and even that last and greatest, Hope itself, and
carried to Dungeons where no Convenience of Life is to be had, where even the Necessaries
of it are dearer than the Conveniences elsewhere, where they are confined together with the
vilest of Criminals, who are indeed much happier, as a Judge is shortly to deliver them either
to Liberty, or what is better than their Dungeon, the Gallows.”
El tono de autocompasión y auto-justificación de estas afirmaciones nos
llega a resultar incómodo, ya que incluso se alaba la falta de previsión como el
efecto lógico de una generosidad innata, o justificándola echando la culpa a los
malos ejemplos que dan los ricos. Con todo, es difícil no compadecer al
Fielding autor de estas palabras, quien seguramente se veía a sí mismo muy
cerca de la prisión por deudas, y debía sentirse terriblemente culpable sabiendo
que su imprudencia era la causa de las humillaciones y los sufrimientos por los
que estaba pasando su esposa, a quien quería de verdad y a quien siempre
pondría como ejemplo. En Amelia (IV, 8) dice que Charlotte era “la mayor
bendición” que un hombre puede poseer:
“A Blessing However, which tho' it compensates most of the Evils of Life, rather
serves to aggravate the Misfortune of distressed Circumstances, from the Consideration of the
Share which she is to bear in them.”
En el siguiente número de The Champion (aparecido el 19 de febrero de
1740) continuó con el tema. El texto contiene en parte algunas de las críticas
más amargas y efectivas de Fielding contra la verdaderamente inhumana
institución del encarcelamiento por deudas, “that Prototype of Hell”. Recuerda a
sus lectores que las leyes del momento:
“ ... do put in the power of every proud, ill-natured, cruel, rapacious Creditor to
satisfy his Revenge, his Malice, or his Avarice this Way on any Person who owes him a few
Shillings more than he can pay him; but let a Christian take Care how he uses it, and
remember that as surely as he forgives not his Neighbour his Trespasses, so surely will his
Father in Heaven deny to forgive him this; nor do I know any Crime in this World which
can appear to a finite Understanding to deserve a Punishment, so much as that cursed and
rancorous Disposition which could bring a Man to cause the Destruction of a Family, or the
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