Samuel Richardson's Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, first published in 1740, is widely regarded as the first English novel. It was certainly the first bestseller, publicized intensively, respected and expressed contempt in equal measure.
Summary of Pamela
Pamela, who had barely reached the age of fifteen, the daughter of a poor but virtuous married couple, Andrews, said in a letter to her parents that the noble lady, in whose service she had spent the last few years of her life, had died from a serious illness. Her nobility and good attitude towards Pamela was expressed not only in the fact that she taught the girl to read and count, but also did not forget about her future on her deathbed, entrusting the care of Pamela to her son. The young gentleman was so sympathetic to the girl that he endowed her with a significant sum for the peasant daughter - Pamela by the hand and offered to use the library of her deceased mother in the future, the naive girl was assured of his infinite kindness. It followed from the parents' response that the kindness and generosity of the young master was extremely alarming, and they urged Pamela to follow only the path of virtue. The spouses Andrews, having consulted with one very worthy lady about the behavior of the young owner, ask the daughter to remember that the doors of their house are always open for her if she considers that her honor is in the slightest danger. In subsequent letters, the girl talks about the good attitude of herself to everyone living in the house. So, the host’s sister who came to visit - Lady Devers, noting the beauty of Pamela, gives her good advice - to keep men at a distance. The kind lady, in addition, promised to take the young beauty to her house. The same thoughts, at the instigation of his master, inspired Pamela and other inhabitants of the house. Only later did it become clear that, allegedly caring for the girl’s well-being, Mr. B. thinks only about his interests, far from preserving the girl’s honor. The girl does not miss a single detail from her relationship with the master and other servants in the house. Parents learn about Mr. B.'s gifts. Pamela remembered Lady Devers' offer and wanted to move to her house, but the master, whose admiration finally passed, categorically opposed, while the falsehood of his arguments was obvious. The most bitter fears of the parents were confirmed. For a long time, even during the life of his mother, the young master drew attention to the charming maid and decided to make her his mistress. Pamela’s letters began to disappear, and the owner and his servants tried to convince Pamela that she should not correspond with her parents, on the ridiculous pretext that she was harming Mr. B.’s family, informing her relatives about what was happening. Therefore, many details of what happened to her are captured not in letters, but in the diary .Pamela was ready to leave immediately. Mrs. Jarvis, the housekeeper, unable to persuade the girl to stay, volunteered to accompany her as soon as she could find the time. The girl put off her departure. Over time, it began to seem to her that her piety and bashfulness softened the cruel heart of Mr. B., as he not only agreed to let her go, but also placed at her disposal a traveling carriage and coachman to accompany him to the place where Pamela was to meet his father. And in the second half she marries Mr.B.
The novel ends with the author's conclusion on those circumstances of the life of the heroes that were not included in the correspondence or diary. The couple Andrews (the heroine's parents) lived twelve years on their farm in contentment and peace and died almost simultaneously.
Lady Devers, after the death of her husband, settled in Lincolnshire, next to her brother’s happy family, and lived for a very long time.
Thinking Activity
Is Pamela a reliable narrator? If Yes, then Why?
Yes Pamela is a reliable narrator. Because Pamela is a honest character in the novel. Pamela is an early realist novel told by the identifying heroine in the first person as a series of letters to her parents, letters that come to be read as morally perfect in literature by the novel's other characters.
Pamela Andrews is a active, smart, lovely, and courageous helper girl, age 15, in the county of Bedfordshire in England. For the past three years, she has served as waiting-maid to the kindly Lady B who unfortunately has just died. Lady B.’s son, the twenty-something Squire B., becomes Master of the country household. After a period of mourning in which he decorously restrains himself from making any advances on his late mother’s favorite, Mr. B. begins flirting with Pamela incessantly. Pamela does not offer a physical description of her master, Mr.B initially, she describes him as "affable" and generous, but he soon makes sexual advances on her, leading Pamela to describe him as "black [souled] and frightful."In letters to her parents, who are destitute through no fault of their own, Pamela reports her Master’s attempts and vows that she will suffer any injury or social penalty rather than sacrifice her chastity. In the novel, Pamela writes two kinds of letters. At the beginning, while she decides how long to stay on at Mr. B's after his mother's death, she tells her parents about her various moral dilemmas and asks for their advice.Her parents encourage this devotion to her virtue and advise her to leave Mr. B.’s employment and return to home and poverty if ever Mr. B. makes a physical attempt on her.
Pamela covers a variety of social themes such as the social classes of English society, the importance of chastity, virtue and femininity, religion, a bit of feminism, and of course love and marriage. As a servant girl about to marry a nobleman, Pamela wishes to be accepted into the highest class of society.
If Yes, then Why? So this is the reason .
In short, Pamela is an instructive representation of virtue. This virtue is presented to us in the story of Pamela's refuse to accept against the sexual advances Mr B. Pamela’s voice more believability and reliability. And indeed, on the level of the narration itself Pamela is treated and presented as both an extremely courageous girl and a reliable narrator.
Reference
https://recap.study/summary/2020/british/204.html
https://www.gradesaver.com/pamela-or-virtue-rewarded/study-guide/summary
https://www.britannica.com/summary
https://www.wikipedia.org/
Word count
1,101
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