Hello everyone , I am Dhruvita Dhameliya and today I write Blog upon Pamela novel by Samuel Richardson.
We can not say that Pamela is reliable narrator but may be she is because she told her own story and no one can know about someone more than oneself so if she told that might be true but then we have question that is she told her negative aspects and point?? But we have to believe in her that whatever she told that's the right thing. The author must m1ake their first-person narrator show that they are writing down these words, or else the words must have happened out of midair. In most contemporary novels with a first person narrator, the story is told without any mention of the fact that it is being written down, let alone the experience of writing it down being critical to the plot of the story. It becomes too problematic, as one can see in both Robinson Crusoe and Pamela, that it can interfere with the progression of the story which most likely accounts for the fact that most authors now ignore it entirely. The story of Pamela is like that ,
Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded is an epistolary novel first published in 1740 by English writer Samuel Richardson. An epistolary novel is one of the most effective styles in creating deep characters. Letters let the author portray first-hand feelings of a person. This helps the readers to understand the emotional state of the character and the reason behind suffering or happiness. The work of the 20th Century, “The Diary of a Young Girl”, by Anne Frank, is epistolary stylistically.
Samuel Richardson
Phase I
Pamela Considered one of the first true English novels, it serves as Richardson's version of conduct literature about marriage. Pamela tells the story of a fifteen-year-old maidservant named Pamela Andrews,“Pamela” is a story of a girl, who works as a housemaid for an upper-class woman in a city away from her village. After the death of her mistress M, Pamela becomes the servant of her son, who has evil intentions. He tries to seduce her, and when she refuses, he also tries to molest her. Somehow, Pamela is successful every time to safeguard her modesty. Frustrated, the knight creates problems for Pamela. He sends her off to a town unknown to Pamela, where she is subjected to severe hardships.
Pamela begins a journal in Lincolnshire, hoping one day her parents will read it and understand. She is virtually a captive there, under the watch of Mrs. Jewkes, the spiteful housekeeper. Mr. B writes to Pamela and invites her to be his mistress. She refuses. Pamela begins to plan her escape and enlists the help of Mr. Williams. They exchange letters leaving them next to the sunflower in the garden. Mr. Williams tries his best to help her, even asking the local gentry for assistance. They refuse due to Mr. B’s social standing, advising Mr. Williams to marry Pamela.Mr. Williams asks Pamela to marry him to help her escape, but she refuses. Pamela is concerned when Mr. Williams is robbed, wondering if Mr. B set the robbery up to steal her letters. She is determined to escape but gives up on this idea when she is hurt during her attempt.
Mr. B soon arrives at Lincolnshire. He again asks Pamela to be his mistress and she refuses. Mr. B and Mr. Jewkes come up with a plan for Mr. B to finally seduce Pamela. He dresses up as a female servant named Nan and pretends to be drunk. As Nan, he sneaks into Pamela’s bed. When Pamela realizes what is happening, she has a violent fit, similar to a seizure.
After Pamela’s fit, Mr. B’s demeanor changes. He seems regretful in his actions, but continues to pursue her, albeit without force. Pamela begs him to stop his advances. He admits that he loves Pamela, but feels he is unable to marry her due to the social gap. Pamela is shocked, but somewhat stirred by his confession. She hopes he means what he says. Mr. B leaves his estate for a few days. While he is gone, Pamela is stopped by a fortuneteller who says Mr. B is trying to force her into a sham marriage. She rethinks her burgeoning affection for Mr. B.
When Mr. B returns, Mrs. Jewkes gives him some of Pamela’s recent writings. After reading them, his affection for Pamela only grows. He feels guilty for the way he has treated her and promises to make things right by marrying her. Pamela is still suspicious of him and denies him, asking to return home. Mr. B is upset and angry, but allows Pamela to go home. Pamela feels strangely sad.
Phase 2 :
On her way home, she receives a letter from Mr. B, imploring her to return and marry him. He speaks of reform and changing his ways, and Pamela, believing him, decides to return. On her return, they wonder how the gentry will react to their marriage, and Pamela tells Mr. B why she was wary of his proposal. He admits he thought of luring her into a sham marriage, but changed his mind. Here we saw that if Mr B is not good person then why Pamela is agreed to marry with him then we have doubt on Pamela that whatever she told to us and writing on letter is it true?? Because why someone getting ready to marry a person who trying to advance with you and another doubt is that why pamela stay there if she is not safe and happy so ....she can ran away from there and stay with her parents but she isn't why because somewhere in her heart she also starting attraction towards Mr.B. I mean, if a sixteen year old girl was ranting to you about a highschool senior who had a crush on her or a fight she had with her caddy friend, wouldn't she always make herself out to be the angel and the opponent into the devil? But if you witnessed the events, you might see that Pamela was making herself out to be different then she truly was. Perhaps Pamela was leading Mr. B on from the start, and Mr. B was the one resisting for the duration of the plot. Perhaps Pamela was the one who laid traps for Mr. B and hid in the closet until he fell asleep and then molested him. All I'm saying is that the style of always needing to tell a story retroactively, as a defense for the validity and plausibility of encountering a story in print, in fact undermines the credibility of the storyteller.
The gentry accept Pamela easily, due to her charm. Her father comes looking for her, worried that she is now a mistress, but is happy and excited to see her engaged and content. Mr. B and Pamela are soon married. Pamela then has a hostile interaction with Mr. B’s sister, Lady Davers where she effectively holds Pamela hostage, disparaging her social status. Lady Davers forces Mr. B to confess to a dalliance he had as a young man. Pamela learns there was a child produced from this dalliance named Miss Goodwin. He introduces Pamela to Miss Goodwin, who believes Mr. B is her uncle. Miss Goodwin’s mother is happily married in Jamaica.
Mr. B sets up Pamela’s parents to look after Mr. B’s estate in Kent. Lady Davers ultimately accepts Pamela. Pamela has many children with Mr. B and visits with her family often. She is happy and takes Miss Goodwin under her wing, ensuring that she becomes as pious as Pamela.
Conclusion
Pamela is not a perfect novel for various reasons. For one, it’s too big to keep the reader engaged. Secondly, the story is too plain. However, in being the first English novel and the first epistolary novel originally written in English, the novel succeeds with flying colours. It has every characteristic of an epistolary and portrays each one sufficiently. Strong characterization, deep conversations, a portrayal of strong emotions, and hidden intentions sprinkled throughout, Pamela is a book which suitably sits among the classics of early days of the English novel.
What it did, is open the door for future authors to present their masterpieces, and enrich the English literature. The Dracula by Bram Stoker is a cult classic, which was published over 150 years after Pamela. Likewise, Jane Austen’s juvenile novel “Lady Susan”, and her magnum opus, “Pride and Prejudice”, take inspiration from the epistolary style of the novel.
Therefore, one should analyse Pamela as a stylistic text which created a new direction, rather than for its content and story-line.
Words count : 1566
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