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 her mother and father that she will keep sending letters because John seems to like visiting with them so much when he delivers them. She has no news about going to Lady Davers’s house yet, but she assures her parents that Mrs. Jervis treats her like a daughter. When Harry, one of the male servants at the house, started talking about Pamela’s beauty and grabbed her once as if to kiss her, Mrs. Jervis scolded him angrily and praised Pamela for her restraint in avoiding him.
Mrs. Jervis’s concern for Pamela’s safety suggests that she has similar concerns to Pamela’s parents, and so she ends up acting as a surrogate parent to Pamela while she’s away from her real parents. The brief episode with the male servant shows that Pamela’s parents and Mrs. Jervis aren’t just imagining the threat that Mr. B might pose to Pamela.
Themes
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Continuing her letter, Pamela says she doesn’t like the way male servants look at her, even though most of them treat her well enough, particularly when Mrs. Jervis is around. Pamela assures her parents that she feels safe and that she knows Mr. B won’t try to harm her because he knows it would ruin not only her reputation but his as well.
Pamela herself recognizes the danger she’s in as a young woman away from her parents in a new house. Nevertheless, Pamela still remains optimistic about her prospects in her new role and refuses to let these potential dangers discourage her.
Themes
Literary Devices
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