Saturday, September 29, 2007
Trapped
In reading Pamela, (well, all 18th c. novels--so far, two in my repertoire) I have been struck by a constant tension that exists for the protagonist. In both Pamela and Robinson Crusoe, the title characters suffer from back and forth opposing expressions of imprisonment and rulership within their abodes. Crusoe, several times, called his island something to the effect of his 'kingdom,' but also recognized the limitations of the land mass, sometimes feeling confined. Pamela expresses similar feelings (on the bottom of page 349) "But, Oh! My Prison is become my Palace etc." I couldn't help but notice this connection-- as the plot of both novels center around the vascillation between feelings of freedom and feelings of entrapment. To me, this is reminiscent of the social mobility that exists within each work. Although both Crusoe and Pamela, at times, are made to feel trapped by their surroundings, to some degree, their surroundings are a result of their own choosing (Crusoe landed on the island as a result of his adventurous spirit, and Pamela is trapped by her master although in truth, she is able to pick herself up and leave at any time). But as a result of their entrapment, ultimately comes greater freedom--for Crusoe, he is able to quench his thirst for adventure, meanwhile, Pamela is ultimately able to use her virtue to marry into a greater class.
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3 comments:
That's very interesting...I never made that connection between the two books before reading your comment. I'm not sure if Pamela was always capable of escaping since sometimes she was heavily guarded and locked in, but she did have some opportunities to escape which she didn't take advantage of.
When Pamela goes back to the Lincolnshire house as a married woman, she writes, "When the Chariot enter'd the Court-yard, I was so strongly impress'd with the Favour and Mercies of God Almighty, on remembering how I was sent away the last time I saw this House; the leave I took; the dangers I had encounter'd; a poor cast off Servant Girl; and now returning a joyfull Wife, and the Mistress, thro' his Favour, of the noble House I was turned out of; that I was hardly able to support the Joy I felt in my Mind on the Occasion." (458)
There is a sense of triumph for her on her return, as I think there was for Crusoe upon his. The two of them have made places where they could have been ruined into places that represent their strength and character.
I never made this connection either but I think it is a very important one. We talked about the "makin it" theme, and how that can refer to getting rich or being redeemed. It can also refer to creating the world around you, either through hallucination or projection or through Crusoe's physical creation of a habitable landscape for himself. I think the prison and rule theme highlight some of the ambiguity inherent in representing perspective--what we are seeing is not "objective" but is biased or colored by the subjective experience of the character.
Here are a few lines from Hamlet that play with these ideas:
HAMLET
Denmark's a prison.
ROSENCRANTZ
Then is the world one.
HAMLET
A goodly one; in which there are many confines,
wards and dungeons, Denmark being one o' the worst.
ROSENCRANTZ
We think not so, my lord.
HAMLET
Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing
either good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to me
it is a prison.
ROSENCRANTZ
Why then, your ambition makes it one; 'tis too
narrow for your mind.
HAMLET
O God, I could be bounded in a nut shell and count
myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I
have bad dreams.
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