Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson

 

Pamela, Or Virture Rewarded was written in 1740. So taking that into account I can give a little leeway to the way it was written. Relationships and women's roles in society were much different than they are now. This is the second book that is mentioned in the book On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior. A book that was gifted me by a fellow reader. My goal after reading that book was to read all of the books mentioned in it. I can tell you that authors that wrote back in the day were very wordy! AND LONG-WINDED! Pamela was over 400 pages long and I can't say that I liked it all that much. But I persevered because I really wanted to find out how it all ended. Pamela was a servant in a rich man's home. She was servant to his mother but when his mother died he became the master. He set his eyes on Pamela and tried over and over to seduce, compromise etc. Several times he even tried to force himself on her. Pamela was a young woman of 16 and determined to maintain her virtue. The master was determined to not marry so he wanted Pamela his way. Throughout the first part of the book we learn about his trickery in trying to get Pamela alone. All Pamela wants is to be sent home to her poor parents with her virtue intact. The master sends her away to her parents she thinks, but in reality he is kidnapping her and locking her away with some loyal servants of his in order to try and wear her down. Pamela tries several ways of escape but to no avail. Then the master comes and tries a different tact to win Pamela. He declares his love and that he is a changed man. So the second half of the book is their love growing for one another and their eventual nuptials. Hence Pamela is rewarded for her maintaining her virtue. I looked up the year Pamela was written because we all know that such a relationship nowadays would not be considered healthy. I had to laugh while reading a couple of times when the master's sister kept calling Pamela a hussy, and the like. Never did the man get frowned on for his behavior. And he was the one that was the hussy! Pamela maintained her purity throughout the story until they were married. Pamela's virtue entailed more than her purity, she was upright, treated all people well, kind-hearted, fair, loving etc etc. Pamela was everything that was good in a person. The master became a very loving husband to Pamela which shows he mended his ways as a young rake. But to me so far removed from the 1700's I think no thank you to the whole affair!