Tom Jones Book 11, Chapter 7

In Which Mrs. Fitzpatrick Concludes Her History

• Most of the officers stationed near Mr. Fitzpatrick's house are as horrible as he is.
• There is one who is different, a lieutenant and a "very pretty sort of man" (11.7.2).
• Mrs. Fitzpatrick really likes his wife, too, and they are all friends.
• Eventually, they leave the area, and Mrs. Fitzpatrick feels more alone than ever.
• She tries to get back in touch with Mrs. Western, but her aunt refuses to reply.
• Mr. Fitzpatrick goes on a three-month business trip to England.
• Mrs. Fitzpatrick is beyond lonely.
• Her dark mood is made even worse by the death of her baby.
• A young lady relative of Mr. Fitzpatrick's comes to stay with her for a while.
• She finally tells Mrs. Fitzpatrick that her husband keeps a mistress.
• And even though Mrs. Fitzpatrick hates her husband, she's hurt that he's cheating on her. When he comes back from England, he is surprisingly sweet to her.
• And she soon discovers why he's being so nice: he spent all of her fortune while he was away.
• He needs her permission to sell a piece of property that still belongs to her.
• Mrs. Fitzpatrick says no.
• Mr. Fitzpatrick claims that she owes him the estate because she's cheated on him with that lieutenant the year before (which Mrs. Fitzpatrick totally denies).
• Mr. Fitzpatrick kicks his lady relative out of the house and locks Mrs. Fitzpatrick up.
• He won't let her go until she gives in and sells the estate.
• One day, when her husband was away, Mrs. Fitzpatrick receives some money (she won't say from where).
• She uses it to bribe her way out of the locked room.
• She travels to Dublin and then sails to England, in the hopes of staying with either Mrs. Western or Squire Western.
• Her husband almost catches up with her at the inn at Upton (as we saw in Book 10).
• She escapes with her maid just in time, and the rest, Sophia knows.
• Sophia is very sorry for her cousin. She thinks this all happened because Mr. Fitzpatrick is Irish. (Oh, Sophia. Why?!)
• Mrs. Fitzpatrick disagrees: it's not because he's Irish, it's because he's a fool.
• (Check out our "Quotes and Thoughts" section under "Appearances" for our views on anti-Irish prejudice in this novel.)