The Moral Element In Richardson’s Pamela
Introduction
"A book can be moral if it raises moral questions even if it
doesn't provide moral answers." That is the view of Marilyn
Edelstein, associate professor of English at Santa Clara
University. Morality is a widespread term used in literature from
the early beginnings. The writer uses the moral perspective to
discuss the corruption of the society or even the era in which he
lives as a whole, to provide moral lessons and help to replace
vice with virtue. There are many writers used to present moral
lessons through their literary works. For example, Samuel
Richardson is one of the most popular and admired writers of
his time. Richardson’s Pamela is considered the best example to
reveal about the moral element in literature. So let us shed lights
on the moral element through Richardson’s Pamela.
Many of the objections to Samuel Richardson's Pamela: or
Virtue Rewarded have come about because of its alleged
middle-class morality. Samuel Richardson wrote Pamela as an
example of the value of moral behavior. Believing in the direct
intervention of God, Richardson felt that virtuous actions led to
success on earth as well as in heaven.
The Novel was praised for its psychological veracity and
its moral influence on the readers. Pamela is the symbol of
morality in Richardson's Pamela or virtue rewarded. Pamela is a
15 years old servant girl who struggles to keep her virginity.
During the past three years, Pamela has been serving the kindly
Mrs. B but unfortunately she just died and her son Mr. Squire B
takes control of the house hold. He begins to flatter Pamela but
she resists all his attempts to seduce her. In letters to her parents
Pamela reports her Master’s attempts and vows that she will
suffer any injury or social penalty rather than sacrifice her
chastity. 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. In spite
of Mr. B.’s continued harassment, Pamela does not manage to
make the departure that she so frequently threatens. Finally, she
resolves to go and, having resisted a final effort of Mr. B. to
tempt her with money for her parents and marriage to a
clergyman, packs her bags to leave.
Unfortunately her attempt to escape Mr. B's harassments
fails because she was kidnapped and taken to Lincolnshire
estate. As soon as she reaches the estate she planes to escape.
Even though Mr. B's several attempts to rape Pamela of her
virtue, she has never stopped fighting back. Pamela is willing to
protect her virginity no matter what. Pamela continues writing
letters while in captivity, but as she does not know when she
will be able to send them, she dispenses with salutations and
signatures, so that they run together into one continuous journal.
Pamela finds help in the character of Mr. Williams. Mr.
Williams fails to deliver Pamela's letters to her family. Mr. B
realizes the true self of Pamela through her letters. He admires
her character and virtue which eventually led to his proposal to
Pamela.
Pamela's virtue is finally rewarded through Mr. B's honest
proposal of marriage. Pamela's virtue affected the young Miss
Goodwin who is Mr. B's daughter from a previous affair.
Pamela succeeds in establishing the moral character of Miss
Goodwin, who does not repeat her mother’s mistakes.
The virtue described in Pamela was of a much broader and
more significant scope. Pamela's effort to co-ordinate her human
drives and the moral code she had learned represented the real
conflict in Pamela. To the extent that her behavior was morally
acceptable, she was virtuous. Pamela's ability to do what was
right in spite of her own desires was the virtue Richardson
intended to reward.
Works Cited
http://www.users.muohio.edu/mandellc/mccrac/Nove
l.htm
http://www.enotes.com/samuel-richardson-
criticism/richardson-samuel
http://www.bethinking.org/your-
course/advanced/fictional-absence-chapter-2-the-
eighteenth-century.htm
http://www.umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/pamela
_illustrated/pamela.htm
http://www.gradesaver.com/pamela-or-virtue-
rewarded/study-guide/short-summary/
