pamela
Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded, by Samuel Richardson.
Histories of Writing, Reading, and Publishing
This is the course website for "Histories of Writing, Reading, and Publishing," a course taught by Dr. Williams in Fall 2004 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Links
- Syllabus (PDF)
- Online Discussion Schedule
- Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing
- pamela
- pamela
- the dunciad, books 1 and 2
- the business of print
- johnson's "lives of the poets"
- samuel johnson on richard savage
- darnton to speak in kc
- response to student feedback
- the nature and history of reading
- the nature and history of authorship
3 Comments:
Questions from Justin:
Question 1. The central themes of Pamela seem to revolve around the importance of virtue and the struggles of the working class in 18th century England. After reading over half the novel what role do the themes of this novel play in its overwhelming success and why is this important considering the print culture of the time period? Also, give an opinion on what themes, if any, in novels today generate the same impact in modern print culture as the themes of Pamela did in 18th century England.
Question 2. In writing Pamela, Richardson was initially attempting to create a sort of guide to letter-writing. This guide evolved into a story about the perils of a house-maid yet ultimately the novel is still intended to be a guide on the path of virtue for young men and women. Based on what has already been determined in class regarding the emergence of the print culture in 18th century England, discuss the how new print culture tilted the balance in the favor of a middle-class printer, Richardson, ultimately giving him the right to speak with authority on matters as relevant as virtue.
Answer from Cynthia:
Question 2:
Justin, you stated that initially Richardson was attempting to create a sort of guide to letter-writing. That in and of itself would make an interesting paper. I am taking a class called Women and Rhetoric, and there are "gazillions" of essays from this time frame instructing women how to write a letter. Not only how to write the fundamentals of a letter, but how to write an engaging, interesting, and always "proper" letter. Therefore, Richardson as a middle-class printer in this time-frame would have very easily found a market for his guides to letter writing. What is, however, unique to the middle-class printer at this time is that he was albe to write a novel in this format and have it so widely read. With the emerging middle-class and the increase in literacy, this period as never before had an evolving market with the masses that was not only able to afford a novel, but read it as well. The emerging middle-class literary market was ripe for a story such as Richardson's to be a success. There was an established market for writing guides. Richardson's novel gave them a Cinderella story that they couldn't put down, fabulous examples of letter writing, and principles meant to cultivate the "virtue and religion in the minds of the YOUTH OF BOTH SEXES"(Original Title Page). From what we have studied so far in class, I don't think Richardson would have had the same success even 50 years earlier. I think the time was right for a novel for "general" consumption to be marketed and read once again because of the rise of the middle class and literacy.
Answer from Cynthia:
Question 1
Justin, your question asked what role the themes of this novel play in its overwhelming succes and why it is important considering the print culture of the time period. I think the theme of virtue is an important one because as we've discussed in class, Pamela's virute was the only thing she had of value. Obviously because of her position she would not have a dowry, so her purity and integrity would have been of great value in the marriage market. Also, I will need to verify this with Dr. Williams, but I know for a fact that a bit later in English history there was an overwhelming ratio of women to men. If this was becoming the case in this timeframe, Pamela's virtue would have also made her more "marketable" and of "worth" to the men that might have considered her for a mate. (Nothing like typing this to show how women really were thought of as chattel and not to be valued for their intelligence, etc!!!) Also, the working class was becoming more and more literate in this time. As a result, Pamela's struggles and efforts to maintain her chastity against Squire B would have been very engaging to peers of Pamela that reading Richardson's novel. As Dr. Williams discussed in class, there weren't really class distinctions at this point. People just accepted their lot in life. Therefore, Pamela being a "saucebox" and articulating what she considered sacred, her virtue, would have been very interesting reading to the public at large. The peerage might have enjoyed reading Pamela's story because she was an engaging "saucebox" that was going against the status quo and had the audacity to fall in love with someone above her station. I'm not sure what novels today might have the same type of themes because so many novels don't cherish virtue. However, there are a few novels and even movies, if you consider them as cultural literacy, that do have the Cinderella story theme....Pretty Woman or Maid in Manhattan....rich man that could have "any" woman and falls in love with a maid or prostitute....interchange their characters with Squire B and Pamela....just add sex. Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman held out for it all with Richard Gere, just as Pamela is holding out for what is proper with Squire B.
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