Liking Pamela

Conceptually, I enjoyed Pamela. In practice, I found the epistolary form challenging. It is difficult, using letters, to sustain suspense while building a narrative and causes the reader to question the accuracy of the account. Perhaps it is this issue that presents the reader with the greatest challenge in determining the authenticity of Pamela. The argument against Pamela as an unrealistic, inaccessible character has merit. She is unwavering in her piety and virtuousness to a degree that most find not only unfathomable, but undesirable. These qualities make her less authentic and not the ‘every woman’ that, as a disadvantaged maid, one might anticipate her to be. Richardson presents these particular aspects of Pamela as an ideal, but succeeds more in making it difficult for the reader to root for her.
When the reader takes Pamela at Richardson’s face value, it becomes less problematic to identify with her and appreciate the psychological complexities in the novel. When the book begins, Pamela has lost a mother figure in Lady B and is put in the care of her son. From the beginning, her feelings for Mr. B are complex. For me, the fits she falls into when Mr. B makes advances seem a combination of being overwhelmed with a desire to protect the only possession of value she has, which is her virtue, and the internal struggle she faces when confronted with powerful sexual feelings. It is easier to faint than to identify desire within oneself.
Ultimately, the reader must decide the message of Richardson. It is clear that he intends to examine class as well as the possibility, or impossibility, within that society of upward mobility. He also challenges the idea of elite education (for Pamela has been exposed to and continues to pursue, on her own, knowledge) and romantic love over strategic alliances. Overall, I felt a sense of being transported into a time and place far removed from the conventions of modern society and I, surprising myself, enjoyed the ride.