Pamela
or Virtue Rewarded Notes
Samuel
Richardson
Plot:
1-
Pamela
is a chamber maid to a kind lady
2-
The
lady dies, her son pursues Pamela
3-
Her
new master separates her from her friends
4-
He
tries to rape her
5-
He
then offers a mock marriage
6-
She
still refuses him
7-
He
realizes he’s in love with her
8-
She
realizes her love as well, but still denies him
9-
Then
he really marries her and makes all his friends accept her.
Characters:
psychological analysis of his characters made them into dynamic characters,
[or ones that evolve] from flat ones. They are neither heroic ones,
as in the old romances, nor picaresque ones, as in Defoe. Richardson, in
fact, is the first writer to put, at the center of his works, the new
middle-class people, with their problems and desires.
Realism:
unlike Defoe, it is used mainly in the treatment of characters and in the
minute recording of their mental processes and feelings.
It
was a best seller at the time.
Theme:
Virtue is rewarded
Point
of view:
multiple.