Samuel Richardson's Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded

Samuel Richardson's Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded is differentiated from other novels of the time period by a commitment to avoiding the improbable and ultimate satisfaction of wish fulfillment through a psychophysical epistolary study, specifically of the union of two lovers. The question isn't whether or not Pamela's story is marvelous: conceiving a marriage between noble squires and servant girls makes us certain that it is. Instead, consideration must be given to Richardson's extensive efforts in epistolary form that allow the reader access to Pamela's psyche through a record of mainly spontaneous thoughts and feelings, along with the trouble associated with this approach, namely ability of the reader to discern between Pamela's subjective and hasty representations of her reality. A critical analysis of the epistolary form used throughout the novel will offer insight to the themes in this classic Cinderella story, the dream of exceeding one's social class while maintaining integrity and moral values.

To better understand the use of the epistolary form in Richardson's Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded, a solid understanding of the epistolary form must be attained. The epistolary novel is a form in which the plot is advanced through the use of letters or journal entries by its characters. Letters and journal entries both serve as means of gaining insight into the personal and intimate aspects that might not be divulged in a public open manner. It seems that Richardson's intention was to render a profound psychological study by making Pamela's psyche as immediate to the reader as possible through the written recordings of her thoughts and feelings. In Pamela, Richardson wants to convey and keep a moral meaning as to what a virtuous individual should be.

Richardson uses the style and appeal of women in fiction, a popular theme in eighteenth century literature. However, unlike other women in fiction during the eighteenth century, Pamela has an unconventional role as a woman of the working class. It is her role that may justify Richardson's use of the epistolary form. Most women who would read this novel could identify with her lower class status and her attempts to make her way in life, while struggling to not compromise her integrity.

Richardson portrays Pamela Andrews as the model woman who maintains her morals despite her struggles with sexual temptations and continual advances from her Master and Squire, Mr. B. She writes home asking her mother and father for advice in regards to keeping steadfast in her own right, or offending her Master. Here too, the epistolary form serves its convenience by allowing the reader into Pamela's mindset. Pamela's letters were sensitive, emotionally driven, and contained many of her intimate thoughts that as she tells Mr. B., "What one writes to one's Father and Mother, is not for every body." (Pamela, 221)

In literature, physical virginity represents the individual's morals and values, and Richardson wants the reader to believe that Pamela maintains her virginity until marriage. A contemporary perspective on Pamela's virtue might qualify for some readers as old-fashioned, but regardless of the reader's thoughts; the undeniable right of an individual to maintain their standard of conscience, despite social implications, remains true. This is put into words through another vital use of the epistolary form, in a letter to Mr.. Williams, the clergy man who might better understand Pamela as she cries, "O Sir! my Soul is of equal importance with the soul of a princess; though my Quality is inferior to that of the meanest Slave." (Pamela, 158) Pamela contemplates the value of her soul versus the worth of living at the bottom of the social scale, but since the novel is about virtue, she must not forsake her values and the story must go on.

To further paint the picture of Pamela's status, Richardson decorates the imagery with the dirt in which she hides her letters and the clothes she receives from Mr. B, which belonged to his late mother. Although this was a common practice at the time, Pamela writes to her parents, "The clothes are fine silk, and too rich and too good for me," (Pamela, 4) and wishes she could sell them and send them the money instead, illustrating how unaccustomed Pamela was to finer material possessions. In contrast, Richardson does not include images of grand cities of heroic greatness as other novels of the time did. Instead, he uses the "lower class" associations to ensure that the readers are not distracted from the importance of Pamela's private, "virtuous" desires, and humility.

Since Richardson's publication of the novel, it's readers have undoubtedly held a sense of admiration for someone so "virtuous" as Pamela. Still, it is no wonder that all of Pamela's benevolent qualities have led to cynical attitudes regarding someone who is so righteous. Although Pamela is a fictional character, Richardson uses his heroine to set an exemplary model for all to follow. If Pamela is assumed as a role model, then she can be critically analyzed. After all, no one is perfect, and Richardson's use of the epistolary form allows the reader to gain insight into Pamela's laundry list of flaws.

The most apparent question raised has to do with Pamela's portrayal of herself in her writings. First off, Pamela is well read, well spoken, and obviously