Summary and Analysis
Book I:
Chapter 4
Summary
Now in London with Lady Booby, Joey is influenced, at least outwardly, by the fashions of the city, and Lady Booby begins to find him more attractive than ever. Her familiarities with Joey become the subject of drawing room gossip, thanks to Lady Tittle and Lady Tattle, but Joey remains essentially unaffected: "if he was outwardly a pretty fellow, his morals remained entirely uncorrupted."
Analysis
The hints given about town life in Chapter 3 are now expanded; London becomes the center of intrigue and affectation. In the same way that the trials and tribulations of this world affect Parson Adams only temporarily and in terms of appearance, so Joey's decadence is only superficial. The roots of Lady Booby's burgeoning affections run deeper.