PAMELA

I am going to discuss an extract from "Pamela" by Samuel Richardson who borrowed the name of this novel from a pastoral romance called "Arcadia".  "Pamela" is an epistolary novel made of a collection of letters written on various occasions, thus the narrator is in first person.

Pamela is a fifteen year old girl, nice and cleaver, who works as a maid in a genteel family living some miles away from her house. When the mother of her present master dies, she starts to work for him; however the son soon tries to seduce Pamela, but she denies herself. The end of the story however sees Pamela and him falling in love.

Letter XXI is addressed to Pamela's parents. She writes them about her job and the friendly dialogue she had with Mrs. Jervis, a colleague of her, who tells her that their master desires Pamela and he would probably marry her soon if she was a lady of birth and not a servant. The letter tells Pamela's father and mother that she does not want to accept Mr B. in her life because she feared she could loose her virtue, though he was a man of high condition (social status).

It has to be pointed out that this concept is just superficial because the intelligent reader, able to read in between the lines, understands that Pamela does not dislike Mr B. at all. Maybe Pamela does not want to express her real feelings for Mr B. to her parents because she might fear their reaction, however it appears clear that she is very happy of being the focus of Mr. B.'s thoughts. Moreover the reader understands that Pamela is swinging between the real desire to say "yes" to her master and falling in love with him -namely she can not resist him-  and the real fear of her parent's opinion as well since she could transform into a "bad" girl because that move would imply the loss of her virginity and purity.

The function of the first sequence is to make the reader understand the fear Pamela has when her master arrives. The reader understands that there is another character in the story, Mrs Jervis. Moreover, the intelligent reader grasps the meaning of the relationship between this woman and Pamela.

In the second sequence the reader understand that her master is very interested in her.

The third sequence is about Pamela's worry of saving her honour.

The fourth sequence is about the trust the two ladies have one towards the other.

The following sequence deals with Pamela's fear of being a problem for her master and try not to vex him.

The sixth sequence informs the reader that the master is angry with Pamela because he showed her so much favour but he feels that Pamela is her own enemy.

The seventh sequence sees a dialogue between the two women in which it appears that Mrs Jervis tries to persuade Pamela to stay in that house and not leave it to go back to her parents. Moreover it is not suitable for her master's reputation to keep her though he wished because he was falling in love with her.

The eight sequence shows Pamela's embarrassment because she says that she doesn't know whether she would have him, that is if Pamela would accept Mr B.'s love.

The following sequence deals with Pamela's feelings of fear and friendship: the first means that she knows what end Mr B. has, the latter is addressed to Mrs Jervis.

The tenth sequence is again about friendship because Pamela says she feels safe and protected with her.

The last sequence deals with practical aspects, namely the "ugly waistcoat" that Pamela has to finish in two days before returning home, in fact her parent's house is ten miles away and the trip is difficult due to heavy rains and no means of transport (she can't sit a horse well).

In brief the extract gives the reader a clear picture of how social classes are linked and felt and the relationship between man and woman, too since man is a hunter by tradition and woman loves being hunted though she would never admit it. In conclusion, sticking to this interpretation, Pamela is happy of her master's attentions and she is the prototype of any woman.