Joseph Andrews

what is lady booby's case against Joseph?

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Lady Booby wants Joseph for herself and objects to Joseph and Fanny's marriage. She orders Adams to cease publishing their banns. (A couple’s wedding banns must be published three times before a marriage can take place.) When Adams demands a reason for this action, Lady Booby denounces Joseph as a “Vagabond” whom she will not allow to “settle” in her parish and “bring a Nest of Beggars” into it. Adams advises her, however, of what he has learned from Lawyer Scout, “that any Person who serves a Year, gains a Settlement [i.e. legal residence] in the Parish where he serves.” The clergyman indicates that he will marry the hopeful couple, in spite of Lady Booby’s threat to have him dismissed from his curacy, and that their “being poor is no Reason against their marrying.” Lady Booby tells him that she will never allow him in her house again, which punishment Mr. Adams accepts with relative calm.

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http://www.gradesaver.com/joseph-andrews/study-guide/summary-book-iv-chapters-i-through-viii