A motif in the novel is the use of hyperbole to emphasize the importance of preserving Pamela's virtue at all costs. An early example is in Letter 2, in which Pamela's father warns her to be on her guard and refuse money from Mr. B.:
But we would sooner live upon the Water and Clay of the Ditches I am forc’d to dig, than to live better at the Price of our dear Child’s Ruin.
Pamela has sent her parents four guineas that Mr. B. has given her, and she has described Mr. B. as a nice man who has been somewhat forward in complimenting her. There is nothing immediately wrong with Mr. B.'s behavior, but it raises suspicions for Pamela's parents. Her father tells her that no matter how much money Mr. B. offers them via Pamela, it will never be worth "our dear Child's Ruin." In fact, he and Mrs. Andrews would rather live on water and clay than compromise Pamela's virtue. This is an exaggeration. Pamela's parents are far less wealthy than Mr. B., but they are not poor enough that they are really considering eating mud to survive. What Mr. Andrews means is that he and Mrs. Andrews have accepted a lower standard of living than they once had because it allows them to live according to their morals. Mr. B. is offering Pamela attractive wealth, but Mr. Andrews wants her to understand that her virtue (her virginity and especially the public appearance that she has never had sex) is worth the sacrifice of material comforts. Social status is important, but not nearly as important as moral status.
The trade-off Mr. Andrews advocates between social status and moral status is not as straightforward as he makes it out to be because of course, Pamela's "moral" status has everything to do with her social status; losing her "virtue" by having sex would endanger her marriage prospects at least as much as Mr. Andrews believes it would endanger her soul. Repeatedly, Pamela and her parents avow that any kind of poverty, no matter how dire, would be preferable to Pamela's moral endangerment. As it turns out, preserving Pamela's "virtue" is actually her ticket to greater riches. She proves that she "deserves" to marry Mr. B. and share his wealth as his wife.
Hints that Pamela is an unreliable narrator are a motif in the novel. One example is the opening of Letter 15, when she apologizes to her mother for cutting off her previous letter abruptly:
Dear Mother,
I Broke off abruptly my last Letter; for I fear’d he was coming; and so it happen’d. I thrust the Letter into my Bosom, and took up my Work, which lay by me; but I had so little of the Artful, as he called it, that I look’d as confused, as if I had been doing some great Harm.
The previous letter did indeed end abruptly, but Pamela did not mention there that Mr. B. was on his way into the room. The revelation here that he interrupted her writing suggests that Pamela is writing all of her letters at least in part under his supervision. There is no telling how often he might barge in and disrupt what she is writing. Furthermore, there is a question of how much access he has to her letters. Could he be forging any of them?
In Letter 13, Pamela described how another letter she wrote was stolen after she hid it in Lady B.'s room. Mr. B. already seems to be deciding which letters make it to Pamela's parents. The idea that he could be editing her letters, dictating parts of them, or forging them altogether does not seem so far-fetched. And if he is in control of the information that makes its way from Pamela to her parents, how much control might he have over the information that makes its way into the novel?
A motif in the first half of the novel is Mr. B.'s use of dehumanizing epithets for Pamela. For example, in the Journal, Pamela describes her experience of reading a letter Mr. B. wrote to Mrs. Jewkes in which he used a string of these "bad names:"
The bad Names, Fool’s Plaything, artful Creature, painted Bauble, Gewgaw, speaking Picture, are hard things for your poor Pamela[...]
Each one of these names emphasizes Pamela as an object to look at or play with, often to his detriment. They empty her of her interiority. As a "speaking picture," for instance, she is not a woman, but a frustrating piece of art: he wants to look at her without having her interrupt his thoughts. As an "artful creature," she is constantly putting on a show to get the attention she is looking for from him. As a "fool's plaything," she invites him to manipulate her and become fixated with her against his better judgment. As a "painted bauble," she makes herself eye-catching so that he can't look away from her. As a "gewgaw," she is a trinket with no inherent value except for show.
Pamela is understandably hurt by these names because they assume the worst of her and completely dismiss the notion that her feelings matter. Epithets like these come up elsewhere too. For example, Mr. B. sometimes calls Pamela "baggage," which at the time was disparaging slang for a sex worker or a woman of ill repute. These dehumanizing names are emblematic of Mr. B.'s attitude toward Pamela prior to his redemption arc. Pamela's parents have taught her that real beauty is created in one's soul, through virtue and morality. Mr. B. sees only her external beauty. But she, too, has some growing to do in this arena: for example, she judges both Monsieur Colbrand and Mrs. Jewkes based on their appearance. Part of her growth over the course of the novel involves recognizing what they have to offer as people.
Fainting is a motif in the novel: in the first half, Pamela often faints when she is overcome with emotion and does not have anyone to protect her from Mr. B. Pamela also nearly faints in the Journal (continued), in response to Lady Davers's cruelty:
Come, said she, be comforted; he shan’t fright you!—I’ll try to overcome my Anger, and will pity you. So, Wench, rise up, and don’t be foolish. Mrs. Jewkes held her Salts to my Nose, and I did not faint.
Lady Davers has spent this encounter insulting Pamela and insisting that she can't possibly be married to Mr. B. She claims here that she will do her best not to hate Pamela but rather to pity her as the latest in Mr. B.'s string of conquests. Lady Davers is suggesting that in any of the moments when Mr. B. tried to assault Pamela (moments when she previously fainted because she was so overcome with horror), Pamela gave in. Pamela is deeply disturbed because she has endured so many "trials" on her way to marrying Mr. B., specifically so that she could avoid losing her "virtue" and becoming one of his "conquests." Lady Davers's insult undermines Pamela's confidence in her security as Mr. B.'s wife and triggers all of her overwhelming feelings of helplessness to protect herself.
The fact that Pamela does not faint here, even though she comes close, implies that her strength of character is growing. Whereas she used to be easily overtaken by the idea that she might lose her "virtue," she is now more confident. She has proven to herself that she has what it takes to resist Mr. B. until marriage, and Lady Davers cannot entirely shake her of her belief in herself. It is also important to note that now, Pamela has Mrs. Jewkes on her side to help her maintain her composure. In the past, Mrs. Jewkes has ganged up on Pamela with Mr. B. Even in moments when Mrs. Jervis tried to protect Pamela before, her protection was a bit toothless. Through the many trials she has endured, Pamela has now cultivated more useful alliances among Mr. B.'s servants. Establishing herself in this household gives her the strength and support base to resist attacks on her moral character.
The way Pamela's character growth can be traced through her fainting reflects the sexual politics of the book. It is a stereotype that women—young women especially—faint when overcome by emotion. Richardson leans on this stereotype to emphasize Pamela's naivety and helplessness early on in the book. As she learns more about survival in Mr. B.'s household, she learns how to keep her composure. Maintaining "virtue," this arc suggests, requires women to become less "womanish" and emotional, instead acting strategically and rationally (qualities stereotypically associated with men).
One other way to interpret Pamela's fainting is as a cover for her own sexual desire. Pamela is almost always addressing her parents in her letters and journals. Her parents put a premium on her chastity; it is clear that Pamela is not even allowed to want Mr. B.'s sexual attention, let alone accept it. If readers take her at her word, she is so overcome with horror that she faints in moments when Mr. B. shows up in her bedroom. On the other hand, many parodies of Pamela have played on the somewhat troubling idea that Pamela may be letting her parents imagine that she is horrified when in fact she is overcome with excitement.
