mistress pamela
when we meet pamela, she' s a sweet, pious, innocent teenager who is as heartbroken that her mistress has died as you would be to find out that one direction broke up. (we kid !). she' s initially worried about keeping her job, since her sole purpose was to be the lady' s waiting - maid; however, mr. b, the new master of the house (and the son of her late mistress) agrees to keep her on .
inevitably, mr. b himself arrives in linconlshire and asks pamela to become his mistress. she refuses. the climax comes when, one night, pamela retires to bed and mrs. jewkes pins her down so that mr. b can have his way with her. pamela faints repeatedly, and miraculously, her blackouts end up fending off the attacks .
in return for these favors, he says, she must agree to be his mistress. after one year, he says, he will marry her. pamela refuses everything. in particular, she notes that becoming his mistress would turn her into a harlot. “what, sir, would the world say, were you to marry your harlot? that a gentleman of your rank in life should stoop, not only to the base - born pamela, but to a base - born prostitute? little, sir, as i know of the world, i am not to be caught by a bait so poorly covered as this !
the novel opens, and we learn that pamela, a young serving girl, has just lost her mistress, lady b; pamela is now to go to work for lady b' s son, mr. b. after a short period of normalcy at mr. b' s bedfordshire estate, however, things start to get weird. first he gives pamela some of his mother' s clothes to wear. then he sexually harasses her by trying to kiss her. pamela escapes his groping unharmed .
thought it should be out there, especially when one considers all those pathe, tiffany, etc films from eighty years back which are coming to light once more. reading about then ten or twenty years ago gave the impression that many of them were past the point of no return. and re mistress pamela, it just seemed absurd that a film on safety stock should vanish altogether .
the pamela controversy: criticism and adaptations of samuel richardson´s pamela 1740 - 1750, volume 3. :
mr. b returns and sends pamela a list of articles that would rule their partnership; she refuses because it means she would be his mistress. with mrs. jewkes' complicity, mr. b gets into bed with pamela disguised as the housemaid nan, but, when pamela faints, he seems to repent and is kinder in his seduction attempts. she implores him to stop altogether. in the garden he implicitly says he loves her but can' t marry her because of the social gap .
the pamela controversy: criticism and adaptations of samuel richardson´s pamela 1740 - 1750, volume 3. : eliza haywood, anti pamela, memoirs of the life of lady h - .
pamela as an epistolary novel discuss in 250 words? .. or a new form written by samuel richardson in his novel pamela ?
the pamela controversy: criticism and adaptations of samuel richardson´s pamela 1740 - 1750, volume 1. : richardson´s apparatus and fielding´s shamela verse responses .
a few days later mr. b. arrives in lincolnshire. he serves pamela with a set of terms on which he proposes to make her his mistress, but she refuses them scornfully. changing his strategy, mr. b. gets close to pamela at night by impersonating a drunken maidservant. pamela’s swooning fits come to her aid again, and after this episode, mr. b. shows signs of being genuinely chastened. he again attempts to woo her but does not employ force. then, in a heart - to - heart, he explains to her that he has come to admire her character and in fact deeply loves her, but his aversion to marriage prevents making an honest proposal. pamela feels moved by this confession and hopes fervently that it is sincere .
the neighboring gentry, who once refused to aid pamela’s escape, now come to dinner and inspect mr. b. ’s betrothed. pamela impresses everyone with her beauty and comparative refinement. on the same day, mr. andrews arrives, expecting from a letter he received that he would find his daughter a fully corrupted mistress of the squire. an ecstatic reunion ensues, of which all the dinner guests are eager witnesses. over the next few days, there are a series of chariot rides, several arguments over the wedding date, and reconciliation between mr. b. and mr. williams, whom he has liberated from debtors’ prison .
once in linconlshire, things get worse. pamela bunks with the new housekeeper, mrs. jewkes, a nasty woman who is also pamela' s jailer. pamela also befriends a clergyman named mr. williams, who promises to help pamela escape. mr. williams attempts to save pamela by asking her to marry him, but pamela declines. jealous, mr. b makes life difficult for mr. williams, and the man eventually winds up in prison .
pamela: or virtue rewarded essays are academic essays for citation. these papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of pamela: or virtue rewarded .
after the bedroom incident, mr. b begins acting kinder to pamela and confesses his love. marriage, however, seems impossible because of pamela' s rank .
a plate from the 1742 deluxe edition of richardson' s pamela, or virtue rewarded showing mr. b intercepting pamela' s first letter home to her mother .
mr. williams tries and fails to enlist support for pamela among the local gentry, who all suspect his and pamela’s motives. the clergyman eventually suggests that he and pamela get married, whereupon the squire would no longer have any authority to detain her. pamela declines this offer, only to find soon after that mr. b. has written to the clergyman making the same suggestion. pamela again rejects the idea .
pamela’s journal: the 42nd day of her imprisonment through the 4th of her freedom .
lady davers accepts pamela. mr. b explains to pamela what he expects of his wife. they go back to bedfordshire. pamela rewards the good servants with money and forgives john, who betrayed her. they visit a farmhouse where they meet mr. b' s daughter and learn that her mother is now happily married in jamaica; pamela proposes taking the girl home with them. the neighbourhood gentry who once despised pamela now praise her .
letter xxxii, the beginning of pamela’s journal, through the 6th day of her imprisonment .
12 th september 1741, john kelly, 2 nd vol. pamela´s conduct in high life
loosely bases on samuel richardson' s novel pamela or virtue rewarded, this is the story of pamela who goes to work in the kitchen of lord devenish who is determined to rape her .
the bestseller of its time, pamela, can be seen as a multi - media event .
pamela in the marketplace: literary controversy and print culture in eighteenth - century britain and ireland .
pamela was also the basis for the libretto of niccolò piccinni' s comic opera la buona figliuola .
with ann michelle as pamela andrews and julian barnes as lord robert devenish (mr. b) .
doody, margaret ann (1995). introduction to samuel richardson' s pamela. viking press .
memoirs of the life of lady h -, the celebrated pamela. from her birth to the present time
this poem deals with rumours about who wrote pamela, as the novel had been published anonymously at first. it implies that the author of pamela is already known, and satirically hints to the point that pamela is to be seen as a great piece of work. 25 if there were people who did not know that richardson was the author of pamela, then these people would have had developed more interest in the topic .
pamela is not allowed to write letters to her parents, so she starts writing a diary that mirrors her experiences with mr. b. when, at some point, mr. b discovers pamela’s diary he is suddenly overwhelmed of pamela’s virtue and truthfulness. he feels a high level of remorse and gives her a chance to escape from his capture and develops true love for pamela. he romances her until she admits herself to love mr. b as well, and she agrees to marry him. in the end pamela’s virtue is rewarded .
the next morning, pamela visits lady davers in her room, and they chat amicably about mr. b. ’s character. pamela promises to grant her new sister - in - law’s request to see all her writings .
in may 1742, the first illustrated edition of pamela, the octavo edition, appeared on the market. 27
pamela and mr. b talk of their future as husband and wife and she agrees with everything he says. she explains why she doubted him. this is the end of her trials: she is more submissive to him and owes him everything now as a wife. mr. williams is released. neighbours come to the estate and all admire pamela. pamela' s father comes to take her away but he is reassured when he sees pamela happy .
a few days later, pamela and mr. b. return to the bedfordshire estate, where they receive a rapturous welcome from the servants. mr. b. arranges to set up pamela’s father as the manager of his estate in kent. later they go shopping for clothes and entertain the local gentry, who are uniformly impressed with pamela .
once upon a time there was a male chauvinist pig... .... and then he met pamela
when the the squire’s sister, lady davers, comes to bedforshire to visit her brother, she tells him it is improper for so pretty a girl as pamela to be living under the roof of a bachelor, pamela reports in a second later. instead, lady davers says, pamela should live with her. the squire agrees to the arrangement .
finally, she marries mr. b in the chapel. but when mr. b has gone to see a sick man, his sister lady davers comes to threaten pamela and considers her not really married. pamela escapes by the window and goes in colbrand' s chariot to be taken away to mr. b. the following day, lady davers enters their room without permission and insults pamela. mr. b, furious, wants to renounce his sister, but pamela wants to reconcile them. lady davers, still contemptuous towards pamela, mentions sally godfrey, a girl mr. b seduced in his youth, now mother of his child. he is cross with pamela because she dared approach him when he was in a temper .
by and by, pamela’s father arrives in response to letters from her. when he sees that his daughter and her husband - to - be are happy and that pamela has never compromised her virtue, he approves of their relationship and returns home .
the couple settle in at bedforshire, where pamela helps her husband adjust to virtuous living and he instructs her in the ways of society. the squire has granted the kent estate to pamela' s parents. the novel ends with the following paragraph .
mr. williams is attacked and beaten by robbers. pamela wants to escape when mrs. jewkes is away, but is terrified by two nearby cows whom she thinks are bulls. mr. williams accidentally reveals his correspondence with pamela to mrs. jewkes; mr. b jealously says that he hates pamela, as he has claimed before. he has mr. williams arrested and plots to marry pamela to one of his servants. desperate, pamela thinks of running away and making them believe she has drowned in the pond. she tries unsuccessfully to climb a wall, and, when she is injured, she gives up .
when lady davers is informed that pamela and her brother are married, she refuses at first to believe that they are really husband and wife and accuses pamela of deceiving her by pretending that she is married. a bitter quarrel erupts between the squire and his sister. however, in time lady davers comes to accept pamela, and the two women even begin to get along .
one day, while pamela sits outside getting fresh air, mrs. jewkes and others rush from the house and surround her, claiming she was about to escape. mrs. jewkes raises a closed fist to strike her, but monsieur colbrand–a huge man hired to help keep watch on pamela–stops the cruel housekeeper, saying it appeared that pamela was merely resting without any inclination to run off .
in the end, mr. b and pamela return to bedfordshire. pamela meets a young woman named miss godwin, who turns out to be the illegitimate child of sally godfrey and mr. b. being the perfect angel she is, pamela invites miss godwin to live with with her new family. mr. b keeps up his reformed behavior, and they all live happily ever after .
the fifteen year old pamela andrews works as a servant in a wealthy household under mrs. b. mrs. b is very impressed by pamela’s modesty, her natural grace and her keen perception, so that mrs. b tries to raise her mannerly. the novel starts after mrs. b’s death, this is learned by the reader in the first letter. mrs. b has entrusted pamela in her son’s, mr. b, care, but instead of taking care of pamela, he tries to seduce her. mr. b tries to take advantage of her dependence, unscrupulously. pamela’s parents give her advice to leave the household and to return to her parents’ house. when pamela tries to leave, mr. b kidnaps her and locks her up in one of his estates, which is monitored by mrs. jewkes and monsieur colbrand. mr. b tries to seduce her with all his power, but pamela always finds ways of escaping his attempts of seduction. often, pamela fakes to faint in order to escape mr. b .
once upon a time there was a male chauvinist pig... .... and then he met pamela see more »
yost, julia. wang, bella ed .
pamela: or virtue rewarded summary
. gradesaver, 8 august 2010 web .
on her way home, however, pamela begins to realize she has feelings for mr. b; when she learns he has fallen ill, she returns to his side and the two reconcile. pamela accepts mr b' s proposal, and the two make plans for the wedding and discuss the proper duties of husband and wife. pamela' s family arrives, and the ceremony takes place .
anti - pamela, written by eliza haywood, was published on the 16 th of june 1741, anonymously. the publication was only eight month after richardson´s publication of pamela and only two month after fielding’s publication of shamela. since anti - pamela is to be seen as a critical response to both of these two books, it is obvious that richardson’s epistolary novel has an outstanding impact on society. the title, anti - pamela, was probably borrowed from james parry’s book, the true anti - pamela, which was published eleven days after haywood’s piece of writing. parry had launched two advertisements for his book, where the name anti - pamela appeared. 34 in anti - pamela there are topics such as sexual hypocrisy and class mobility, but the characters are very different from richardson’s book. the heroine in haywood’s book finds all her suitors sexually repulsive, nevertheless, she tries to climb up the social ladder by trying to marry upward. therefore, critics say, that haywood´s book was only written to capitalise from the hype of pamela and shamela. 35
“it would be little exaggeration to say that the brilliance of pamela lay as much in commercial strategy as in literary achievement. ” 42
eliza haywood, anti pamela, memoirs of the life of lady h - (london: pickering and chatto, 2001) xi .
speaking of which, the first volume of the novel establishes a pattern of attack and resistance between mr. b and pamela. example: mr. b hides in pamela' s bedroom closet at night and unsuccessfully attempts to assault her. the pattern continues until mr. b figures out that pamela is set on returning to her parents, and he has her taken away to his estate in lincolnshire .
in a conclusion, the “editor” of pamela’s letters reveals that pamela’s later life continues to be a happy one: she receives semiannual visits from her parents and bears several children. she remains popular among the local gentry and nobility, and even lady davers continues on good terms with the squire and his wife. pamela succeeds in establishing the moral character of miss goodwin, who does not repeat her mother’s mistakes .
meanwhile, squire b. ’s sister, lady davers, strongly opposes a union of her brother and pamela on grounds that the latter is a mere servant. but the squire ignores her. all is thus going well–so well, in fact, that mrs. jewkes has a change of heart and renounces her past cruelties to pamela. sometime later, pamela and the squire marry in a private ceremony in a chapel at the lincolnshire estate. mr. williams presides, mr. peters gives pamela away, and mrs. jewkes witnesses the ceremony .
the attempt comes, sooner rather than later, and pamela resists it vigorously. disconcerted but only temporarily deterred, mr. b. tries to bribe pamela to keep quiet about the incident; she relates it, however, to her parents and to the motherly housekeeper, mrs. jervis. mr. b. begins to make noise about pamela’s gossiping about him in her letters home, prompting pamela to suspect him of stealing her mail. further offenses ensue, including an incident in which mr. b. , hiding in a closet, spies on pamela as she undresses at night and then rushes out to have his way with her. pamela, however, displays a marked tendency to fall into a swoon whenever her master approaches her with lewd intentions, and this peculiarity has the convenient effect of diminishing the squire’s libido .
since this poem is not concerned with any content of the novel, but rather with connected background information, this poem shows that there was a public interest in pamela and everything that was connected to pamela. the public wanted to know everything about this book and its background .
richardson, samuel (1740). pamela; or, virtue rewarded (1st ed .). london: messrs rivington & osborn .
pamela meets mr. williams and they agree to communicate by putting letters under a sunflower in the garden. mrs. jewkes beats her after pamela calls her a
jezebel .
mr. williams asks the village gentry for help; though they pity pamela, none will help her because of mr. b' s social position. sir simon even argues that no one will hurt her, and no family name will be turnished since pamela belongs to the poor andrews family. mr. williams proposes marriage to her to escape mr. b' s wickedness .
the novel is of course a love story, and pamela is the fulcrum on which the story turns. one day, the story centers on familial love, which pamela exchanges with her parents; the next day, on false love, or lust, which the squire attempts to inflict on pamela; another day, on brotherly love, which pamela exchanges with mrs. jervis and other coworkers; and on another day, true romantic love, which pamela exchanges with the squire. love conquers the cruel heart of mrs. jewkes and the proud heart of lady davers. it softens the heart of a fearsome giant, monsieur colbrand. it causes the squire to free the rev. arthur williams from jail. it enables the squire to renounce his past wrongs. and, finally, it enables pamela to embrace the squire' s illegitimate daughter .
however, the squire delays relocating pamela. in the meantime, he gives her his deceased mother’s fine silk clothes, as well as shifts, handkerchiefs, and aprons. pamela sends the clothes to her mother. a short while later, pamela tells her in another letter that the squire has given her more garments and exquisite shoes. after mrs. andrews writes back to remind her daughter to keep on her guard, pamela replies that the squire has decided to keep her at bedfordshire, for he fears that the nephew of lady davers might make advances toward her .
when pamela returns to the lincolnshire house, she and mr. b get married. yay! throw the bouquet in our direction, pam !
the question and answer section for pamela: or virtue rewarded is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel .
we' ve known it for a while, but then we' re spoiled by over 200 years of reading and watching plots based on pamela .
later, in front of pamela and mrs. jervis, the squire attempts to downplay the incident, claiming that pamela exaggerated the details. when he asks mrs. jervis for her opinion, she sympathizes with pamela but is afraid to accuse her master of wrongdoing. at this point, pamela has made up her mind to leave bedfordshire and return home. however, she decides to remain at bedfordshire to complete a waistcoat she has been fashioning for the squire. mrs. jervis assures her it will be safe to stay awhile. besides, pamela has worked hard on the coat and observes in a letter to her parents ,
i never did a prettier piece of work; and i am up early and late to get it over; for i
unfortunately for pamela. mr. b takes a shine to her. he harasses and attempts to rape her, but pamela manages to escape (though not without severe psychological trauma). this phase of the book is chock full of arguments and attempted violence, which means lots of conflict / complication .
it is fielding’s shamela that is without doubt the most important counter fiction of the original. shamela is also the first response published after richardson’s novel. other examples of importance are eliza haywood´s anti - pamela and memoirs of the life of lady h -. these two examples are of importance because on the one hand they show that authors tried to capitalize from the hype of pamela. on the other hand, shortly after the publication, there was a hype about the topics in pamela, as a result the public asked for other books concerned with pamela. the demand in society grew as the topic was omnipresent .
eventually mr. b. takes pamela to meet miss goodwin, a little girl at a local boarding school, who pamela rightly concludes is his daughter by sally godfrey. pamela is delighted with the child and requests, though in vain, to take her in as part of the bedfordshire household. mr. b. fills out the story of sally godfrey, detailing the circumstances of their affair and her eventual flight to jamaica, where she is now happily married .
pamela is fifteen - years - old. she is described as a pretty girl, who is also outgoing, sweet, and devoted to her parents. when we first meet pamela, she is working as a servant in mr. b' s home and regularly fighting off his inappropriate advances... .
but before she can enjoy being rich and married, pamela has to contend with her mean - girl sister - in - law, lady davers. while lady davers is disturbed to hear that her brother has been brutalizing his servant, she' s even more upset to think that he might have married her. after extended confrontations between pamela and lady davers and then lady davers and mr. b, everyone makes up, and lady davers accepts pamela as her sister .
in protecting herself from the clutches of her male employer, pamela is at a considerable disadvantage. the european culture of the 1700s gave every advantage to males, especially upper - class males. pamela, of course, is a lower - class female servant. a pretty servant girl was easy prey for a wealthy master who took a fancy to her, for he could use his money and power to entice her or sexually harass her. after the squire begins treating pamela as a young woman instead of a sexual object, he declares his love for her. however, his sister, lady davers, strongly opposes his relationship with pamela on grounds that she is a mere servant from a lower - class family. only after a long and painful struggle does she come to accept pamela .
the climax occurs when the squire declares his love for pamela in the letter he sends her after she leaves his lincolnshire estate. a minor, or secondary, climax occurs when the squire' s sister, lady davers, overcomes her upper - class pride and prejudice and accepts pamela as her sister - in - law .
pamela and mr. b return to bedfordshire, where pamela wins over all the local gentry, dispenses some of her new - found wealth to the poor, and sets a good example for mr. b' s illegitimate daughter. see, ladies? just find yourself a nice abuser and you, too, can live the dream .
pamela: or virtue rewarded study guide contains a biography of samuel richardson, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis .
the author of memoirs of the life of lady h - claims that richardson’s pamela is lady hesilrige. lady hesilriges suitor is arthur hesilrige, seventh baronet of northamton. there were a lot of dates, such as the wedding date and the dates when they lived, in common with the dates richardson gave in pamela. since there are many other examples of women which shared parallels to the life of richardson’s pamela during that time, it cannot be said for sure that arthur hesilrige and lady hesilrige are the basis for richardson’s pamela. 38 also the fact that richardson himself never admitted that these two characters are his role models to his novel, indicates that there is no parallel. the fact that there are authors writing books about speculations, whether richardson’s novel was based on real events, emphasises the fact that it was of high importance to the people and that there was an urge for the public to gain as much information about pamela as they could. it also indicates that writers wanted to capitalise from the public interest on pamela .
samuel richardson' s pamela: or virtue rewarded gives us one of the eighteenth century' s most famous love stories, though the novel may not sound very romantic to modern readers. in it, a rich gentleman named mr. b relentlessly pursues the virginity of a beautiful and chaste serving girl named pamela. an unscrupulous rake, mr. b, wishes for nothing more than to have his way with the young girl. he repeatedly tries to rape and assault her. unfortunately for mr. b, pamela is a paragon of virtue, and she always manages to escape his attacks. eventually, pamela' s innate goodness reforms mr. b, and he gives up his pursuit, instead offering her his hand in marriage. in a surprising twist, pamela eventually accepts mr. b' s proposal and becomes the wife of her would - be rapist .
on their second sunday in bedfordshire, pamela and mr. b. attend church twice, with pamela appearing in a spectacular white - and - gold dress. all the neighbors are appropriately stunned, and the local poor gather to receive alms from the new lady bountiful. a few days later, pamela and mr. b. walk together in the garden, are caught in a shower, and shelter in the summerhouse. there he explains the provisions he has recently made for her in his will. near the end of the week, the newlyweds host another dinner for the neighbors; it is an occasion for pamela to reflect piously on the goodness of providence and to plan for future good works .
pamela: or, virtue rewarded by samuel richardson, edited by thomas keymer and alice wakely oxford, 592 pp, £6. 99, june 2001, isbn 0 19 282960 2
on 9 january 2007, bbc radio 4 broadcast the long view which contrasted pamela' s effect on 18th - century society with that of video games on 20th - century society .
at lincolnshire, pamela is a virtual prisoner under the watchful eye of the housekeeper, mrs. jewkes. not long after pamela’s arrival, she meets the rev. williams. he has an apartment at the lincolnshire estate but resides most of the time in a village three miles away, where he operates a latin school and sometimes preaches for the village minister at sunday services. he is sensible and sober, and he sympathizes with the deeply distressed pamela. however, there is little he can do to liberate her, for he depends on the squire for his livelihood. when he talks with mrs. jewkes about pamela’s plight, she rebuffs him. she has the authority to ban him entirely from the lincolnshire estate if she so desires .
the second volume of the book is a change of pace from the sexual assaults in the first volume. mr. b gets past his issues with pamela' s social standing and proposes; however, having been warned by a fortune teller about a possible fake marriage, pamela does not initially accept. at this point, she is finally allowed to return to her parents .
there were a lot of written reactions towards pamela in a rich variety of form. many books appeared during a period of about ten years after the publication of the original book. most books expressed a kind of criticism towards richardson’s pamela. to give a brief overview of the dimension of responses that were written, here is an overview of the first ten years after richardson’s publication :
there are many more alterations in the three paragraphs of this one letter, almost all small ones calculated to rescue pamela from stylistic inelegance. between the oxford and penguin texts as a whole, there are thousands of differences. yet richardson’s gradual ‘improvement’ of pamela’s blunt diction and unsophisticated sentence construction almost everywhere gives the impression of a retreat. the author’s last thoughts were invariably his worst. yet, as isn’t the case with wordsworth’s prelude, for example, readers have not been able to see this for themselves and make their own judgments. many of those who have read pamela in 20th - century editions will have wondered why the novel was ever spoken of as daring or innovative. even pamela’s prose style seems prim, as well as implausibly polished for someone of her occupation .
the popular tv series (26 episodes) elisa di rivombrosa is loosely based on pamela. the story takes place in the second half of the 18th century in turin (italy). the role of pamela is that of elisa scalzi (played by vittoria puccini) in the series. the role of mr. b is that of count fabrizio ristori (played by alessandro preziosi) .
epistolary novels - - novels written as series of letters—were extremely popular during the 18th century, mainly because of richardson' s pamela. richardson and other novelists of his time argued that the letter allowed the reader greater access to a character' s thoughts. richardson claimed that he was writing
to the moment
: that is, pamela' s thoughts were recorded nearly simultaneously with her actions .
mr. b. leaves the lincolnshire estate for a few days, during which interval pamela receives from a gypsy fortune - teller a note warning her of mr. b. ’s plans for entrapping her in a sham - marriage. this note causes pamela to react strongly against mr. b. and against her own softening feelings for him. when he returns from his trip he receives from mrs. jewkes a set of pamela’s recent writings; inferring that her “scribbling” has proceeded unabated in lincolnshire, he demands to see the rest of her literary output, which pamela reluctantly hands over. his reading of these papers only increases his admiration of her character and virtue. he tells her how deeply the writings have moved him and expresses his regret over his rough usage of her, promising to make amends. when pamela, still fearing the sham - marriage, nevertheless repeats her request to return to her parents, mr. b. is hurt and finally, in anger, allows her to leave .
mr. b. , suspecting mr. williams of colluding with pamela, sends him to prison for debt. pamela concludes that she has run out of options and makes a desperate escape attempt in the middle of the night. the attempt fails when a crumbling wall causes injury to her head and legs. despairing, pamela considers drowning herself in the garden pond, but a sudden renewal of her commitment to life and virtue, which she credits to a divine intervention, saves her. in the morning, the other servants find her lying wounded in an outhouse, and her captivity continues as before .
this book was published anonymously on december the 4 th in 1741. it dealt with the question whether richardson’s pamela had lived in real life. it is likely that the author wanted to profit from the hype of richardson’s novel and therefore the author raised another point of discussion in his book which appeared of interest to many readers. 36 the question whether the character of pamela had existed in real life or not. in the first edition of pamela, richardson himself gave information in the preface that this story had happened in a thirty year period of time before publication. later, in the first publication of the continuation of pamela, richardson states that the story is based on real people and events. richardson only claims that characters’ names and places have been changed, due to avoiding offending the real people. 37
pamela; or, virtue rewarded is an epistolary novel centering on the relationship between a beautiful servant girl and her aristocratic master. an epistolary novel is one in which a character (or characters) tells the story through letters (epistles) sent to a friend, relative, etc. , and / or through journal entries. samuel richardson began writing pamela in 1739 and completed and published it in 1740 .
the final thing you should know is that pamela: or virtue rewarded reflects anxieties about society in eighteenth - century england, namely the country' s changing class structure. just think about it: pamela starts off as a regular nobody, and she ends up living in a fancy house with a rich husband. this may not seem like a big deal to us, but the story was quite shocking for many eighteenth - century readers who weren' t used to social mobility. the novel argues that regardless of her rank, pamela has innate value; this message appealed to growing numbers of middle class readers .
after the wedding, pamela' s final obstacle is mr. b' s snooty sister, lady davers. lady davers is skeptical of the marriage because she does not wish to accept a servant into her prestigious family line. witnessing pamela' s dignified behavior, however, lady davers eventually comes around, but not before letting slip that mr. b has seduced many women, including a woman named sally godfrey .
in pamela, the letters are almost exclusively written by the heroine, restricting the reader' s access to the other characters; we see only pamela' s perception of them. in richardson' s other novels, clarissa (1748) and the history of sir charles grandison (1753), the reader is privy to the letters of several characters and can more effectively evaluate the characters' motivations and moral values .
fifteen - year - old pamela andrews, the protagonist, tells the story in first - person point of view in (1) letters she writes to her parents and other characters and (2) in a journal in which she reports daily happenings as well as the contents of letters written to her. an omniscient narrator intrudes briefly to inform the reader of events outside the scope of pamela’s purview. the author presents the chapters in the form of letters or journal entries. the rising action and development of the conflict take place at squire b.' s bedfordshire estate. the conflict intensifies after pamela is taken against her will to the squire' s lincolnshire estate. the conflict reaches its climax when pamela is at an inn between lincolnshire and bedfordshire and receives a letter in which the squire declares his love for her. the long denouement of the story takes place mainly at the lincolnshire estate after pamela returns to the squire. the story concludes when the newlyweds return to the bedfordshire estate. after the conclusion, the author presents observations intended to instruct the reader .
a publication, memoirs of lady h _ _, the celebrated pamela (1741), claims that the inspiration for richardson' s pamela is the true life marriage of a coachman' s daughter, hannah sturges, to the baronet, sir arthur hesilridge, in 1725. samuel richardson claims that the story was based on a true incident related to him by a friend about 25 years before, but did not identify the principals .
mrs. jewkes follows pamela everywhere, even when she goes for walks on the grounds alone or with williams. however, pamela and the minister communicate in secret via messages left between rocks in the flower garden. they devise an escape plan that requires the help of others. in agreeing to assist pamela, williams is taking a considerable risk, for he appears to be in line for a ministerial promotion–with a generous salary paid by the squire. when he asks local citizens–lady jones, sir simon darnford, and lady darnford–whether they might lodge pamela for a time if she escapes from the squire' s estate, they refuse to take part. when he asks another minister, mr. peters, the same question, peters tells williams ,
what! and embroil myself with a man of mr. b.' s power and fortune! no, not i, i' ll assure you! –
the second thing you should know is that pamela: or virtue rewarded was written in the style of a conduct manual. richardson was heavily influenced by nonfiction texts written to improve a person' s moral character. the result? richardson' s novel, especially the second volume, is didactic; the book attempts to teach its readers. pamela is offered to readers as an example of virtue because she is chaste and obedient to her family and god .
besides the consumer culture, which grew up around pamela, there was the development of advertisement. due to new printing methods a much larger number of pamphlets and posters could be given to the consumers, shops and published on advertising pillars. newspapers were produced and sold in much larger numbers, as well. of course, these new ways of attracting consumers were also used not only for the advertisement of the new editions of pamela, but also for merchandise products .
several encomiums on a series of familiar letters, publish’d but last month, entitled pamela or virtue rewarded, came too for this magazine, and we believe there will be little occasion for inserting them in our next; because a second edition will then come out to supply the demands in the country, it being judged in town as great a sign of want of curiosity not to have read pamela, as not to have seen the french and italian dancers. 30
pamela departs the lincolnshire estate, though not in so happy a mood as she had expected. during a stopover at a country inn, she receives another letter from mr. b. in which he avows that further reading in her papers prompts him to request her return to lincolnshire. pamela, having reconsidering, decides to trust him and complies. upon her return, they discuss the likely social fallout from a marriage between a squire and a serving - maid; undeterred, they enter on their engagement. pamela then tells mr. b. the story of the gypsy fortune - teller, and he admits to having considered perpetrating a sham - marriage but says that he thought the better of it .
one day the squire proposes to give pamela’s parents fifty guineas a year if she pledges to marry the rev. arthur williams, the squire’s chaplain at lincolnshire. (the proposal is, of course, a ploy to keep her within reach .) when pamela refuses the offer, he decrees that she may return home the next morning and will order a carriage to await her. as she prepares to leave, mrs. jervis gives her five guineas from the master .
pamela tries to escape on her own by scaling the wall on the estate, but she falls and suffers injuries to her shins and an ankle. maids have to carry her back to the house, where she is bedridden while recuperating .
mr. b. , who has intercepted and read all of the correspondence between pamela and her parents, writes to mr. and mrs. andrews with a consoling but phony explanation for her failing to appear in their village as planned. mr. andrews sees through the ruse and approaches the bedfordshire estate, bewailing the disappearance of his daughter, but to no avail. meanwhile, pamela has arrived in lincolnshire, where the crude and malignant housekeeper mrs. jewkes watches her every move .
when a group of thieves attacks mr. williams on the road and searches his pockets for papers, pamela becomes concerned that mr. b. sent them to steal her letters, which the clergyman was carrying. the incident prompts her to make her first escape attempt, but her own nerves prevent her even from making it across the garden. soon a further impediment appears in the person of monsieur colbrand, a hideous swiss man whom mr. b. has sent to guard pamela .
even after this period of approximately ten years there were more pieces of works published concerned with the original novel, but the first written novels reflect the fact that there was a huge response and a massive demand in public of everything concerning pamela .
pamela andrews is a pious, innocent 15 - year - old who works as lady b' s maidservant in bedfordshire. the novel starts after lady b has died, when her son, the squire mr. b, begins to pay pamela more attention, first giving her his mother' s clothes, then trying to seduce her in the summer house. when he wants to pay her to keep the attempt secret, she refuses and tells mrs. jervis, the housekeeper, her best friend at the house. undaunted, he hides in her closet and pops out and tries to kiss her as she undresses for bed. pamela debates returning to her impoverished parents to preserve her innocence, but still can' t decide .
that same evening, mr. b. goes to attend a dying acquaintance. by the next morning, he has not returned, so pamela is alone when his sister, lady davers, arrives to browbeat the squire and his beloved, whom she does not know to be married. lady davers badgers and insults pamela at some length, detaining her against her will with the help of a nephew and a waiting - maid. finally, pamela escapes through a window and, with the help of her new allies mrs. jewkes and monsieur colbrand, makes it to the home of sir simon darnford, where mr. b. and the neighbors are expecting her. there she regales the company with the tale of her experience with lady davers .
the first poem published was written by aaron hill and appeared first in the second edition of pamela on the 14 th february in 1741. afterwards, this poem was also published in the newspaper weekly miscellany on the 28 th of february in 1740 .
this poem shows in all clarity that firstly there are two extremes, the pamelists and the anti - pamelists, arguing with each other in public. secondly it shows that the topics raised in pamela are controversial in society and therefore of public interest .
the reactions to the novel included a certain desire for seeing the face of pamela and other characters of the book. the readers could not wait to see her face and so paintings and engravings turned into yet another part of the overall multi - media event which went with the publication of the adaptations and the following editions of the original book. pamela was painted in different stations of her life and many motives were repeated or modified by different artists. there appeared to be a competition between them .
newspapers as a medium clearly played a role of extraordinary importance for this multi - media event. by using the widely spread press, pamela, or virtue rewarded was kept in the focus of interest and controversial discussion for a long period of time .
also, we have seen the merchandising strategies that included different sorts of editions, merchandise products and advertisements. here it is worth mentioning that the demand for such articles clearly shows the desire of the public to identify oneself with pamela and her morality .
in between the publications of the fifth and sixth edition there were two more events of importance. on october 23 rd 1741 an authorized french translation with a total of 1500 copies appeared. these translations were used nationwide as course books at school. 17 another interesting point concerning the different editions is the publication of the octavo edition on may eighth 1742. an updated edition of pamela was for the first time simultaneously published with an edition of the continuation of pamela and 29 engravings by gravelot and hayman were attached. 18
so, there is still a fair amount of conflict going on here, but this section of the book is really about pamela settling down into married life and dealing with the fallout of her class elevation—and that' s falling action if we ever saw it.
mistress pamela is a 1974 british sex comedy drama film directed by jim o'connolly and starring ann michelle , dudley foster , anna quayle and anthony sharp . it was loosely based on the 1740 novel pamela , or virtue rewarded by samuel richardson . 
mistress pamela is a 1974 british sex comedy drama film directed by jim o'connolly and starring ann michelle, dudley foster, anna quayle and anthony sharp. it was loosely based on the 1740 novel pamela, or virtue rewarded by samuel richardson.
mistress pamela is a 1974 british sex comedy drama film directed by jim o'connolly and starring ann michelle, dudley foster, anna quayle and anthony sharp. it was loosely based on the 1740 novel pamela, or virtue rewarded by samuel richardson.