Assignment 2 : Narrative Structure & Unreliable Narrator in 'Pamela' by Samuel Richardson : 22393 Paper 102: Literature of the Neo-classical Period

Introduction : 'Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded' is a novel belonging to Epistolary Genre and was written by English writer Samuel Richardson in 1740. It is considered as one among the true novels, it deals with Richardson's approach to conduct literature about marriage institution, particularly that of the Neo-classical England. The customary convention is seen in the characters like Pamela, Mrs. Jewkes, and especially Mr. B - all the three are at much extent seem to delegate the 18th century English way of living, thinking, and the notion of ideal womanhood, especially, represented through Pamela and as the sub-title of the novel itself infers : 'Virtue Rewarded.' 

It tells the story of 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 her mother. Pamela strives to reconcile her strong religious training with her desire for the approval of her employer in a series of letters and, later in the novel, journal entries all addressed to her impoverished parents. After various unsuccessful attempts at seduction, a series of sexual assaults, and an extended period of kidnapping, the rakish Mr. B eventually reforms and makes Pamela a sincere proposal of marriage. In the novel's second part Pamela marries Mr. B and tries to acclimatise to her new position in upper-class society. The full title, Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded, makes plain Richardson's moral purpose. A best-seller of its time, Pamela was widely read but was also criticised for its perceived licentiousness and disregard for class barriers. 

Furthermore, 'Pamela' was an early commentary on domestic violence and brought into question the dynamic line between male aggression and a contemporary view of love. Moreover, Pamela, despite the controversies, was able to shed light on social issues that transcended the novel for the time such as gender roles, early false-imprisonment, and class barriers present in the eighteenth century. The action of the novel is told through letters and journal entries from Pamela to her parents. Richardson highlights a theme of naivety, illustrated through the eyes of Pamela. Richardson paints Pamela herself as innocent and meek to further contribute to the theme of her being short-sighted to emphasize the ideas of childhood innocence and naivety.

(Source : Wikipedia) 

Narrative Structure & Unreliability of the Narrator in the Novel : 

The debate over narrative structure in 'Pamela' has been heated even after the first publication of the novel 250 years ago. It was said to have been a matter of politics and political correctness, denoting the comparable alleged sexual affairs of President Clinton. As far as the Pamela's case is there, we never asked whether he really did it. Nobody wants to spare Mr. B the embarrassment of being guilty of sexual harassment. Mr B., clearly, is not the point of interest. Instead, we ask whether Pamela is really telling the truth about herself. This aspect of her reliability turns out to be the most important one. What is at stake is Pamela’s virtue, and this is the fate

she shares with Mr Clinton. Both have been elected to hold a powerful public

position, with the difference that Pamela has not been elected by the people but

by her author Samuel Richardson. I want to argue that Pamela’s problems apart

from Mr B., i.e. our doubts about her reliability and in turn about her virtue and

vice versa, start with the intentions her author had in mind while allowing her

to tell her story. It is precisely the tension between her intended public position as an example of virtue and the fact that her story is told in letters written and copied almost exclusively by herself that we start to doubt whether she really is the virtuous and therefore reliable person she has to claim to be. 

The reliability of Pamela's character can be trusted as long as there is question of her virtuoso behaviour. In the preface of the novel, Richardson himself declares that he hopes "to incalculate religion and morality" with his book. In order to achieve this he “paint[s]

VICE in its proper colours, to make it deservedly odious; and . . . set[s] VIRTUE

in its proper amiable light, to make it look lovely.”  Both male and female

readers are expected to draw their lessons from a story presented according to these principles. Since our “practical example” of virtue in this case is Pamela

the following description applies to her: she is regarded as “worthy to be followed in the most critical and affecting cases, by the virgin, the bride, and the wife.” In short, Pamela is a didactic representation of virtue. 

When we talk about virtue represented through Pamela herself in her chaste conduct, it gets necessary to know that at what exact points in the novel she displays her breeding thoughts. This virtue is presented to us in the story of Pamela’s resistance against the

sexual advances Mr B. makes to her after his mother’s death. Her unwillingness to comply with his desire – with or without payment – is motivated by her determination that she “will die a thousand deaths, rather than be dishonest in any way.” She is “resolved to be virtuous” (P 54) and remains virtuous through all the temptations Mr B. creates for her. In the end he is not only convinced that she means what she says but is also ashamed of his own behaviour. Pamela’s exemplary virtue succeeds in converting Mr B. to a virtuous life and exerts the same influence over her growing audience in the novel. 

On the basis of her virtuoso conduct, she is fit to be considered as a reliable narrator. Here as the matter of fact, it also remains the question mark for Pamela may be superficially trying to be a virtuoso girl as the very idea of virtue or vice is rooted in the religious belief, here in Christian belief of morality as what is right and what is wrong, what is moral and what is immoral. Thus, the concept of virtue shown in Pamela's character falls to the direct question to religion and social norms as well. Another base factor for her idea of virtue is the social beliefs, mores, and norms. It is social mindset occupied by so-called sacred religious morality which defines what is right demeanour and what is not; this can be misleading also as it lacks its own intelligence to decide the things around as to what is what, but religious texts - as it is said "the letter killeth..." - if misunderstood and taken literally than it can bring disaster to human life and values; so all combined together, besiege Pamela in purview of several penetrative question as far as her virtuoso behaviour is considered and thus, eventually to the reliability of her narrative pattern and credibility of her description of Mr. B. 

First of all the “editor” of Pamela’s letters assures his readers in the preface

that “the following Letters . . . have their foundation in Truth” (P 31). When

he interrupts Pamela’s narration in order to report her abduction to Mr B.’s

Lincolnshire estate and events that happened without Pamela’s knowledge he does neither contradict her version of the story nor expresses doubts about her

virtuous behaviour, quite the contrary. The reader learns that Mr B. intends “to

prosecute his base designs upon the the innocent virgin” (P 123). We also read

that all Bedfordshire servants “greatly loved and honoured the fair damsel.” (P

123) The editor confirms that Mr B. does not only plan to take Pamela’s virtue but also misrepresents her character in a letter to and a conversation with her father. (P 123-129) His summary of Pamela’s situation is that “thus every way was the poor virgin beset.” (P 123)

Not only the editor but also the other characters in the novel share this

evaluation. Mrs Jervis is convinced that Pamela “was one of the most virtuous

and industrious creatures she ever knew.” (P 60) She “never saw any thing

but innocence in her.” (P 60) Lady Davers remarks that “every body gave . . .

[Pamela] a very good character, and loved [her]” (P 47). Mr Jonathan, the butler, is “sure that I will sooner believe any body in fault than you [Pamela]” (P 80) and his colleague Mr Longman is convinced that “every body must be good to her” since she is “so mild and meek to every one of us in the house” (P 105). After Pamela’s victory over Mr B. the whole neighbourhood is full of praise for her. Pamela is regarded as “an honour to our sex, and as a pattern for all the young ladies in the country.” (P 322) 

Summing Up : So far we have discussed the point of the reliability and credibility of narrator of the novel, we can conclude the argument by stating that narration imbues the spirit of moral values, chaste conduct, notion of virtue and vice of the Neo-classical age represented through the characters like Pamela, Mr. B, Mrs. Jewkes, Mr.  Williams displaying the customs and convention of 18th century England, and thus the novel remains the mirror of the society of then England. 

Thank you! 

Reference : 

https://acikders.ankara.edu.tr/mod/resource/view.php?id=11786 

https://anubooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Notions-Vol-X-No.-2-Dec-2019-3.pdf 

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