Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded

Samuel Richardson
1740
Context
● Written in 1740 by Samuel Richardson, who was a printer by trade before becoming
a novelist
● An epistolary novel (written as a series of letters) which was also intended as a
‘conduct book’ that would codify the domestic and social behaviour of men, women
and servants
● Its popularity led to the creation and sale of Pamela merchandise
● The novel also attracted some critics and satirists, and the text was revised many
times by Richardson in response (he revised and released fourteen editions of
Pamela, the last published in 1801 after his death)
 Plot
Pamela is about a fifteen-year-old maidservant
named Pamela Andrews, whose employer, Mr.
B, a wealthy landowner, makes unwanted and
inappropriate advances towards her after the
death of his mother.

Pamela struggles between her strong religious

training and her desire for the approval of her
employer

She writes a series of letters and journal entries

addressed to her impoverished parents
explaining events and her inner turmoil in
depth

After various unsuccessful attempts at

seduction, a series of sexual assaults, and an
extended period of kidnapping, Mr. B
eventually reforms and makes Pamela a sincere
proposal of marriage.

Pamela marries Mr. B and tries to acclimatise

to her new position in upper-class society. Ms Jewkes insists on sharing a bed with Pamela, Mr B poses as another maid and attempts
to get into bed with (and rape) Pamela
Epistolary novels are written as a Epistolary Novels
series of letters or journal entries

Pamela writes letters (and later

journal entries) to her parents and
these form the novel itself - this
novel massively popularised the
epistolary form

Why do you think Richardson

might have chosen this form?

Can you think of any other

epistolary novels you have read or
that you know about?
‘Richardson was fond of saying that his characters’ letters are written “to
the moment”’ (Adelle Waldman, 2016)

‘Pamela fends off assault with one hand and writes about it with the
other’ (Northrop Frye, 1956)
Richardson intended Pamela as a Virtue Rewarded
‘conduct book’ which is instructive and
educational, in particular codifying
domestic and social relationships
between men, women and servants

One of its primary aims was to warn

young women of ‘snares that might be
laid against their virtue’

How are gender and class presented in

the passage?

What do you think about the title and

the novel’s conclusion?
‘The novel is constructed out of Pamela’s power of
defiance...the virtue that is rewarded is in large measure the
virtue of rebellion’ (Margaret Doody, 1980)
Pamela and Shamela
Pamela was so popular that it became what has been described as a ‘multimedia event’

Decorated paper fans, packs of playing cards and wax figurines denoting scenes or
characters from the novel were produced and sold to members of the public - it was an
early example of this kind of mass production and consumer culture centred around a
novel, with this kind of culture more accessible (e.g. than the paintings in museums)

Pamela became a cultural reference point and was generally popular, but Pamela’s virtue
also became the target of criticism and satire

One of the most famous examples is Henry Fielding’s satirical novel, An Apology for the
Life of Mrs Shamela Andrews, which featured a female protagonist named Shamela
whose story mirrors that of Richardson’s Pamela [see extract]