Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Pamela, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Value of Virtue
Class and Morality
Religion and Marriage
Sexual Politics
Summary
Analysis
Pamela writes to apologize to her mother for ending her last letter abruptly—she heard Mr. B coming. He told her to stop writing and pay attention to her work. He wanted to talk about how he was “kind” to her earlier, but she reacted foolishly, going to tell Mrs. Jervis. Pamela asked why Mr. B cares if everything he did was honorable. Mr. B replied that he didn’t like her gossiping about him.
Mr. B gets frustrated by his inability to control Pamela. He feels that because of his higher status it should be easy to manipulate people’s opinions, but he finds that while he can give orders that influence people’s behavior, he can’t change how people feel about him on the inside.
Themes
Literary Devices
Quiz
Test Yourself
Pamela continues her letter, writing that Mr. B threatened to put her on his knee (to kiss her). Then he actually did kiss Pamela, saying that when Lucretia (a famous ancient Roman noblewoman) was raped, people blamed the rapist, not her. Pamela responded that, like Lucretia, she might kill herself if anyone ravishes her. Mr. B congratulated her for being well-read.
Mr. B’s language is shocking, and his reference to Lucretia seems to suggest that he is himself willing to rape Pamela, or at the very least threaten rape to make her comply with his wishes. Nevertheless, despite Mr. B’s attempts to dominate and intimidate Pamela, she still humiliates him by seemingly understanding his reference to Lucretia better than he himself does.
Themes
Quiz
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Pamela continues the story, writing of how when Mr. B put his hand on her chest, she ran away. As she fled, he managed to catch and tear off part of her gown. She locked herself in her room, imagining Mr. B looking through the keyhole. Eventually, he called Mrs. Jervis, who began to cry when she saw Pamela in her ripped dress. She and Pamela agreed that Pamela should leave the house.
Although Mr. B’s schemes are unsuccessful at first, he succeeds in instilling a sense of paranoia in Pamela. Mr. B recognizes that he doesn’t have to watch Pamela around the clock to control her—he just needs to give the impression that he could be watching her at any moment.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
