Concetti Chiave
- Pamela is an epistolary and psychological novel, using letters to explore the protagonist's introspection.
- The novel served as a guide for middle-class manners, featuring Pamela, a servant who rises through marriage.
- Richardson's choice of a servant as the main character was revolutionary, making Pamela a relatable model for readers.
- Pamela's story embodies the puritan belief that good behavior deserves reward, resulting in her marriage to Mr. B.
- The novel's success led to a cultural phenomenon, with merchandise and stage adaptations due to its engaging dialogues.
Pamela is an epistolary novel written in the form of letters but through Pamela letters, we can also read her psychological introspection so the novel could also be considered a psychological novel.
Pamela and the Middle Class
In Richardson's period the work Pamela represented a sort of tutorial of good manners for the middle class who enjoyed reading about characters and events in which they could recognize themselves.
As a matter of fact, Pamela is from the low-class: she is a young servant in a quite rich family. At first she works for the mother of so-called Mr B, but when his mother dies, she starts working for him. She never gives up, and during this period the only confort she has is writing letters to her parents and inform them about events. When she wants to go and visit her parents, Mr. B provides her a coach, takes her in his estate and tries to make avances, but she preserves her virginity. In the end he falls in love with her and proposes to her, so they get married.
What is the Meaning of Pamela?
The Richardson choice of a servant as main character was a quite revolutionary so Pamela became a sort of model for all the people.
Pamela is based on one of the most important puritan ideas: if you behave well, you deserve a price and Pamela's reward is marriage; she always refuses him and in the end she succeeds in marrying him (Pamela sub title was Virtue Rewarded).
Regarding the novel there are two points of view:
1) the propamelists thought that Pamela's marriage was the right reward for her good behaviour.
2) the antipamelist said that she behaved like that on purpose in order to convince him to marry her and thought that she was a social climber.
The Success of Pamela
The novel was so successful in that period that a phenomenon regarding the character of Pamela developed and a sort of gadgets started being sold. In contemporary world it would be considered a best-seller.
Pamela was also considered suitable to be staged, because there are a lot of witty dialogues.
Domande da interrogazione
- How does "Pamela" reflect the values and aspirations of the middle class during Richardson's time?
- How was "Pamela" received by its contemporary audience, and what impact did it have?
"Pamela" served as a tutorial of good manners for the middle class, who enjoyed reading about relatable characters and events. Pamela, a young servant, embodies the virtues and aspirations of the middle class, ultimately achieving social mobility through her marriage to Mr. B.
"Pamela" was a significant success, becoming a bestseller of its time. It sparked a phenomenon with merchandise related to the character and was considered suitable for stage adaptations due to its witty dialogues.
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