Pamela

Okay, first of all, I believe it is inevitable that anyone reading this book will come away with a list of pet peeves, and although my fascination with this book outweighs all negatives, I will now air the irksome bits and get them off my chest. Aside from the fact that the same plot points (like, say, escaping the arms of Mr. B…) happen innumerable times (a tendency to which Moll Flanders has already jaded me), the constant use of the italicized word virtue drove me round the bend!!! I understand that, from what I’ve seen, italics were in vogue at this time anyway, and it is definitely something to be emphasiszed in this work, but every time I saw it I could hear it in my head with the same intonation as Jerry Lewis’ “La-dy” and it got very old, very quickly.

However, I really did like this. I am a huge fan of the epistolary novel now and I prefer it to a more consistent narrative. For one, it breaks things up nicely, (although perhaps not into chunks of consistent length) and avoids the sometimes awkward transitions of Moll’s story; Pamela can change locations and move ahead in time smooth and swiftly (okay, relatively speaking) from one letter to the next like nothing.

When it comes to this novel (beast, monster)’s relationship to amatory fiction, it is shockingly clear. I really wouldn’t have expected as much, but Richardson’s scenes with near rape – heaving bosoms, swoonings scarcely soon enough (there’s a mouthful), and constant disguises were far more tantalizing – at least in theory – than the blunt approach of Behn’s Gracelove. This was also far darker; it was impossible to tell when, and with whom, Pamela was really safe; escape was beyond her reach, and even those she most trusted were firmly in Mr. B’s power – It’s one thing to make the critique that she never left for all that she kept saying that she wanted to, but I don’t think that she ever really could have. Mr. B owned everything and everyone with whom Pam had contact (not that she didn’t have the hots for him, I wouldn’t put it past her…).

The only escape, like the only possession, of Pamela is her body, and accompanying femininity. What can save here when her master is aroused, in bed, and fondling her barely-clad body? Why, a fainting spell, of course! Pam is able to reatreat into and rely upon herself and her feminine identity for escape; her highly stereotypical femininity is both the source and solution of her struggles.

Of course, the real, long-term saving grace for Pam is her writing, and their thorough and earnest nature. However, this element cannot be separated from her body and these thoughts, which she even  sews into her undergarments, are as intimate a part of her as the rest of what these garments conceal, so that his invasion of her privacy and person marks for me the real molestation of Pam and the moment of her compliance with his will to see them signifies her acquiescence to his advances.  It also seems telling on this note, that this is an activity that also characterizes their married life. Hmmmm, and as it is these letters and entries which so profoundly move Mr. B, both to remorse and heavenly feelings and, ultimately, to turn him on, it is no surprise that this novel falls under scrutiny for being erotic literature with the same effect on its audience. Also, it seems to me to resemble amatory fiction with the whole notion of a misunderstanding between men and women. B has to steal her thoughts and peruse them first hand, all spelled out before he can see what she’s all about.

I like writing in this book…I get the message that once things are written down they become real, actualized; it turns mere thought into action, authentically and literally blending word and deed…too bad this holds true for Shamela and Syrena too…

November 6, 2007. Uncategorized.