“Pamela; or, Virtue rewarded”

Letter XI analysis

• Title: “Pamela; or, Virtue rewarded” - Letter XI
• Layout: Letter, divided into paragraphs
• Structure: Narrative (prose)
• Sequences: The entire letter is the sequence
• Sequence’s structure: The events narrated in the letter are divided into paragraphs, used by the narrator to divide the facts she’s telling her mom into a chronological order, as the reader can notice from all the words belonging to the semantic field of time.
• Sequence’s role: The narrator uses the form of letter to adress to her dead mother to tell how her life is going on and to express her disappointment in living with the new employer mr. B. In particular, it seems Pamela’s writing the letters to unload herself maybe because she can’t tell anyone what she would to and to somehow keep the link between her and her mother alive.
• Narrative techniques: The narrator is a first person narrator, since Pamela herself is writing the letters. As a consequence, the reader’s point of view is the one given by Pamela, who also is the main character of the epistolary novel. Moreover, the narration is also conveyed through direct speech, used by Pamela to report the exact words of the dialogues.
• Characterization: The tone and language used by Pamela suggest a reserved character (indeed she adresses to her mother only to tell her the facts) and an afraid person; on the contrary, the characterization of the wealthy landowner who is pursuing her is conveyd by negative terms and by the fear she shows thanks to expressions like “He looked so, as filled me with affrightment; I don’t know how; wildly, I thought”; “Now, you will say, all his wickedness appeared plainly. I struggled and trembled, and was so benumbed with terror, that I sunk down, not in a fit, and yet not myself”; “with frightful eagerness”.
• Setting: “summer-house in the little garden”; the garden
• Message: The message conveyed by language and tone is a message of fear and despair; in particular, Pamela is trying to express her anxiety and her stress after her mother’s death, now that she has to live under a man who is obsessed with her.
• Topics:

o   Fear

o   Men’s obbsession with women

o   Need of protection (Pamlea)

o   Need of love (Mr. B.)