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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
THURSDAY MORNING. Mr. B knocks on the door in the morning while Pamela is still in bed with Mrs. Jewkes. He tells Pamela he’s been invited to a ball and will be away for a few days. He also tells her that he’s fired some of his servants, including Mrs. Jervis and Mr. Longman, blaming these servants for contributing to a rift between him and Lady Davers. He kisses Pamela’s hand and leaves, and Mrs. Jewkes promises to watch over her. Pamela feels bad for Mrs. Jervis as well as for Mr. Williams and the others who have suffered for trying to help her.
If Mr. B seemed like he was starting to understand Pamela better at the end of the first volume, his sudden firing of several servants—particularly Mrs. Jervis—shows that he still has a long way to go if he wants to truly understand what Pamela wants. Pamela’s own selfless behavior is the opposite of Mr. B’s as she forgets about her own very real problems and instead focuses on the harm she has accidentally caused others.
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FRIDAY Night. While Pamela and Mrs. Jewkes are out for a walk, a fortune teller happens to be coming by and offers to tell their future. While Mrs. Jewkes isn’t interested at first, finally she calls Nan to bring some food for the fortuneteller. The fortuneteller starts by telling Mrs. Jewkes that she’ll marry soon, which seems to please her. Then the fortuneteller tells Pamela that she’s too pale and needs to rub some grass on her palms so the fortuneteller can see the lines. She then tells Pamela she’ll never marry and that she’ll die during the birth of her first child.
The fortuneteller seems to be specifically warning Pamela not to consider getting married to Mr. B. The fortuneteller’s startling prediction seems like a shift in the story, introducing mysticism into a plot that has so far been grounded in a Christian worldview.
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Mrs. Jewkes sends the fortuneteller away before she can finish saying everything to Pamela. Pamela thinks there was something strange about the woman, so she goes to the place in the grass the fortuneteller pulled up, and finds a note left for her. The anonymous note says that Mr. B is only pretending to want to marry Pamela in order to “ruin” her and will soon bring back a fake parson. The note causes Pamela to despair and wonder what to do next.
SATURDAY Noon, One o’Clock. Mr. B comes back with a man Pamela doesn’t know. Two o’Clock. While Pamela is looking at some of her secret writings, Mrs. Jewkes comes in and takes them, having apparently been looking through the keyhole. Because the contents of those pages may be lost, Pamela writes a brief summary of what was in them. Mrs. Jewkes hands them over to Mr. B.
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SATURDAY, Six o’Clock. Mr. B seems unusually happy when he comes up to see Pamela. He says he hasn’t read her letters yet. He asks who the letters are for, and Pamela says her father. He goes to read the letters, then he summons her back a couple hours later.
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Mr. B accuses Pamela of writing love letters to Mr. Williams, but Pamela says he’s misinterpreting her words. Mr. B says maybe he’d understand better if he could also see Pamela’s earlier letters to Mr. Williams. He says her letters are like a novel, and he wants to know the full story. He wants any other hidden letters she has, and he also wants to know where she hides her paper, pens, and ink. He says he’s already searched the whole house, so the only option left is to search Pamela herself by stripping her. Finally, Pamela leaves to get the letters.
While alone, Pamela writes a note to Mr. B, saying that she will hand over all her papers, but she wants to wait until tomorrow morning. She gives the note to Mrs. Jewkes, and Mr. B accepts her terms. Pamela gets to work putting together two parcels of her papers for Mr. B, keeping some of the most recent ones aside.
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SUNDAY Morning. Pamela gives Mr. B one parcel of papers, telling him she’ll really appreciate it if he returns the parcel without breaking the seal. Mr. B breaks the seal instantly. He’s suspicious she’s still hiding something, so she hands over the other parcel as well. Mr. B takes Pamela down to the pond where he starts reading the papers. He claims to find some parts of the story moving, particularly Pamela’s failed escape attempt. He asks Pamela to kiss him, hinting that maybe he’s willing to risk a scandal if marrying Pamela would make her happy. Pamela says she’s unworthy (while remembering the note she received earlier about the sham-marriage). He sends her off, and she goes back to her closet to write.
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Three o’Clock. Mr. B continues to be angry—Pamela suspects that Lady B must have spoiled him growing up. Suddenly, Mrs. Jewkes comes up and says Pamela has to leave at once to go see her mother and father. Pamela is shocked by the sudden news but gets ready to go.
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Monday. After leaving Mr. B’s country home with a coachman, Pamela ends up in a small village she doesn’t know the name of. From this village, she writes of the moments leading up to her departure. Mrs. Jewkes asked Mr. B if he wanted to see “the girl” before Pamela goes, but Mr. B scolded her, feeling that calling her “the girl” was disrespectful. Meanwhile, Pamela was so grateful to be able to leave that she fell on her knees to thank Mr. B. She almost regretted leaving. Monsieur Colbrand rode part of the way next to Pamela’s coach on horseback, armed with pistols to keep her safe, then they finally reached the small village where Pamela is currently writing this journal entry.
Colbrand now reveals that he has a letter for Pamela from Mr. B that he’s supposed to hand over at noon the next day, but Pamela manages to get it early. In his letter, Mr. B says that he’ll no longer keep Pamela captive. He says her journals have helped him understand her and grow in affection toward her, and eventually, he will send her papers back to her. He writes that he trusts her judgment if she wants to accuse him and expose any of the things he did to her. Expecting another scheme, Pamela is pleasantly surprised by the letter and begins to think more positively of Mr. B, particularly now that she knows the fortuneteller’s story was fake.
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Monday Morning Eleven o’Clock. Pamela gets escorted to some relatives of Mrs. Jewkes. Pamela sits down alone, but soon Monsieur Colbrand comes in saying he has two letters from Mr. B—one for him and one for her. In his letter to Pamela, Mr. B says he can’t overcome his affection for her because he keeps reading her journal. He begs her to come back. He would ride over himself, but he can barely move because he’s so heartsick that he needs her to heal him This time, Mr. B promises he won’t kidnap Pamela. He adds that if she comes, she should send a letter to her father with Colbrand, assuring him all is well.
Pamela is excited but tries to remain skeptical, since she still fears the warning she got about a potential sham-marriage. Pamela also reads Monsieur Colbrand’s letter, which confirms that Mr. B wants him to deliver a letter to Pamela’s father—unless she refuses to come back, in which case Colbrand should take Pamela back to her father and mother. Pamela feels this is generous of Mr. B. After considering the matter, Pamela decides to go back to Mr. B’s estate. She hurries back, getting there late, after Mr. B is already asleep.
TUESDAY Morning. Having slept in Mrs. Jewkes’s bed again, Pamela gets up early to write. When Pamela comes in to see Mr. B, he’s grateful to see her and kisses her hand. He says that Pamela will be free while she stays and that he’s already paid to get Mr. Williams out of jail. He then shows her a letter from Lady Davers. In the letter, Lady Davers says that Mr. B has caused a scandal by running off with Pamela and imprisoning her. She knew something was wrong from the start when Mr. B wouldn’t send Pamela to her. She feels that someone of Mr. B’s standing shouldn’t throw away his love.
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Pamela finds Lady Davers’s letter sad. She feels her family’s blood is just as pure as any rich family’s and believes that everyone faces the same God at the end of their life. She recalls a poem about the equality of all people.
WEDNESDAY Morning. The next morning, Mr. B goes out riding with Pamela, and Mrs. Jewkes suddenly treats Pamela as respectfully as if she were Lady Davers. Still, in the back of her mind, Pamela still fears a sham-marriage. They talk after breakfast, and Mr. B says he’s willing to disown Lady Davers if needed and cease to recognize her as his sister. Pamela worries that others will continue to look down on Mr. B and spread rumors, but he says that doesn’t concern him.
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Mr. B and Pamela make plans about how they would run a home together. While Pamela feels that Mr. B is generous with everything he offers her, she still can’t get over her uneasiness about the fortuneteller’s letter, which she now produces for Mr. B. When he sees the handwriting, Mr. B realizes the anonymous letter is actually from Mr. Longman. He wonders how Pamela got the letter, so she tells him.
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Then Mr. B admits that yes, he did plan to have a fake parson come and say a few words so that he could trick Pamela into having sex without having to marry her. He clarifies that he wasn’t going to tell her about the trick right away and might have lived with her for years—he just wanted to power to break it off whenever he pleased. Pamela is horrified and asks what made him change his mind. He says it’s Pamela, because if she ever had a child after a sham-marriage, he’d be powerless to help that child inherit his estate.
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This time, when Mr. B kisses Pamela’s hand, she feels honored. She feels that Mr. B’s sudden kindness is a fitting reward for everything she’s suffered. He tells her that he’s having some important guests over soon for dinner and wants to show Pamela to them, if she agrees to come. Pamela feels she’ll be a poor fit, but she agrees to come if he’s sure he wants her there.
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Mr. B goes with Pamela to Mrs. Jewkes and tells Mrs. Jewkes that from now on, she’ll need to always treat Pamela with respect. Pamela agrees to forgive Mrs. Jewkes. In fact, later that evening Mrs. Jewkes offers to sleep somewhere else, but Pamela decides that they can continue to share a bed.
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THURSDAY. In the morning, Mr. B comes to Pamela to discuss more important topics. He suggests a small marriage and says that Pamela can memorize the whole church service to make sure it’s not a sham-wedding. Pamela replies that the only thing she fears is being unworthy of Mr. B. He proposes a date to get married at the house—while Pamela accepts the date, she prefers to get married in a chapel. Luckily, Mr. B’s family owns a chapel that they’ve been using as a lumber room. He plans to have it cleaned out.
Mr. B wants to keep the wedding date secret, but Pamela asks if she can make an exception to tell her father and mother, and Mr. B allows it. Just then, a servant comes up and tells Pamela that her father won’t accept letters from her because he believes she was forced to write them. Mr. B gets annoyed, but Pamela reassures him that her parents just don’t understand how good he’s been to her. When Pamela starts to cry, Mr. B reassures her that he’s not angry with her father and that her father’s skepticism is understandable.
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Pamela puts together her papers that tell about Mr. B’s kindness to her. She offers it to Mr. B to read before she sends it to her parents. Mr. B then goes out for a ride in his chariot. When he comes back, he tells Pamela while he was out, he saw Mr. Williams. They had a pleasant conversation, leaving Pamela hopeful that perhaps Mr. B will reinstate Mr. Williams into his old position.
FRIDAY. Mr. B’s wealthy neighbors, which include Simon Darnford and some of the other Darnfords, come over for a meal to see Pamela. Mr. B has already told them good things about Pamela, and they find her even more impressive in person, especially her beauty and manners. They invite her to play and sing a song on the harpsichord, which she does. Later, Mr. B tells Pamela that she’ll see a surprise guest the next time she goes into the parlor, hinting it might be Mr. Williams. But when Pamela goes down to the parlor, she finds that it’s actually her father.
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It turns out Pamela’s father was so worried about her that he came himself to see how things were. When he hears about Pamela’s upcoming marriage to Mr. B, he thinks at first that everyone is mocking him, but eventually he accepts the news happily. Mr. B asks if he’s eaten, and since he hasn’t, Mr. B invites him to share their meal with the other guests.
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Pamela and her father go aside to praise God and have a private conversation. Her father can’t wait to tell her mother the good news, but he fears that their poverty will only embarrass Pamela with her new family. Pamela reassures her father that she’s proud of him. At the meal later, all the other guests try to make Pamela and her father feel welcome, with Mr. B putting Pamela’s father at his right hand.
After the meal, all the guests invite Mr. B to bring Pamela to their own houses. When they’re gone, Mr. B and Pamela discuss a wedding date: Pamela wants it to be soon but also doesn’t want to make it look as if she’s trying to pressure Mr. B before he changes his mind. Mr. B is willing to get married next week, so Pamela promises to pick a specific date the next day.
SATURDAY. When Mr. B comes to visit Pamela the next morning, he says he hasn’t slept well because he was engrossed reading more of her papers. He tells Pamela’s father that he must have raised his daughter well for her to avoid all of Mr. B’s tricks and yet still remain kind and virtuous. He does note that Mrs. Jewkes seemed to take things too far, but Pamela repeats that she and Mrs. Jewkes have forgiven each other.
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Mr. B invites Pamela’s father to stay with them until after the wedding. Her father wants to get back earlier, so Mr. B replies that he’s willing to get married at the earliest possible date, in a couple days. Pamela’s father still insists on leaving but wishes them well. Pamela goes up to change her clothes. She surprises her father when she returns dressed in her new clothes, and he mistakes her for a noblewoman.
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Mr. B, Pamela, and her father all go for a ride in a coach. He lets Pamela know that the family chapel is now cleared out and ready for use. During a stop on their coach ride, they see Mr. Williams reading a book. Mr. Williams apologizes for almost coming between Mr. B and Pamela, but Mr. B assures him he’s not angry. They introduce Mr. Williams to Pamela’s father, and Mr. Williams joins them in the coach.
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When Mr. B, Pamela, her father, and Mr. Williams get back to the house, they dine, and then go to view the chapel and discuss details of the service. At last, Mr. B offers Mr. Williams a chariot home, but Mr. Williams says he’d prefer to walk and meditate on all the nice things Mr. B has done for him recently. Mr. B and Mrs. Jewkes discuss what clothes Pamela’s father should wear to church the next day, since he didn’t bring formal wear. She suggests a wig, but Mr. B says that Pamela’s father’s natural gray hair is noble enough.
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SUNDAY. Everyone gets ready to go to a service at the family chapel. Pamela’s father knows part of the service and performs it, to everyone’s approval. Mr. Williams gives s sermon on generosity. At dinner that evening, Pamela sits at the end of the table, right across from Mr. B. Mr. B does embarrass Pamela a little when he mentions how in one of her letters she adapted a psalm to be about her imprisonment, but Mr. B reassures her that everyone in attendance already knows most of her story. Together, Mr. B and Pamela’s father recite the Psalm; Pamela’s father recites the original Psalm and Mr. B recites Pamela’s version.
Later, Pamela and Mr. B go for a walk in the garden. The upcoming wedding proves to be popular, and some of the guests want an invitation. After supper, Mr. B hands over Pamela’s writings to her father, saying he hopes he’ll read them but that he’d like them back. Pamela’s father prepares to leave, with new clothes in his portmanteau and a gift of 20 guineas, although he doesn’t plan to use either until he gets news of Pamela’s wedding.
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MONDAY. Monsieur Colbrand comes back with a marriage license that Mr. B sent him to get. This motivates Pamela and Mr. B to talk more seriously about setting a date for their wedding. After debating the merits of various days of the week, they finally land on the next Thursday. Mr. B picks Mr. Williams to officiate. Lady Davers continues to disapprove, and her husband recently sent Mr. B a letter, which Mr. B publicly tore up to show his own disapproval of their attitudes.
TUESDAY. Pamela hears that her father got home safely. One o’Clock. Mr. B entertains Pamela during a chariot ride with a conversation about English authors and his trips abroad to Europe. Sometimes Pamela gets embarrassed and feels like she can’t say anything intelligent to Mr. B, but he encourages her to speak her mind with him.
WEDNESDAY. Pamela’s wedding is tomorrow, and she feels both nervous and thankful. WEDNESDAY Evening. Mr. B can tell that Pamela is deep in thought about the wedding. Though he doesn’t understand her hesitancy, he offers to postpone the wedding if needed. Pamela says she doesn’t doubt his goodness, but she worries about how the wedding will affect Mr. B’s relationship with Lady Davers. Pamela feels that despite everything, Mr. B should try to maintain a good relationship with his family.
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Mr. B and Pamela talk about having a woman attend to her during the wedding. While at first Mr. B considers some of his wealthy neighbors, eventually they land on Mrs. Jewkes, who feels unworthy of the honor but eventually accepts it.
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THURSDAY, Six o’Clock in the Morning. Pamela barely gets any sleep, as she thinks about the wedding all night. She worries again about how society will look at Mr. B after their marriage. Half an Hour past Eight o’Clock. Mr. B once again declares his intentions to treat Pamela well as a wife. He tells her, perhaps jokingly, to look happy and not too modest or else he might get the impression she wants to marry someone else. Pamela makes her best effort to look cheerful as she gets dressed and prepares for the wedding.
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THURSDAY, near Three o-Clock. Pamela surprisingly finds herself with time to write later on her wedding day because three gentlemen come to visit Mr. B at breakfast. Pamela is nervous, but she joins the gentleman and Mr. B. As they get ready for the wedding, Mrs. Jewkes keeps her smelling-bottle on hand in case Pamela faints again. Nan will guard the door of the chapel to make sure nobody intrudes. Finally, it’s time for the wedding. Pamela says, “I will.” She and Mr. B clasp hands, and Pamela writes to her father and mother that she is finally happily married.
Afterward, Pamela thanks Mrs. Jewkes for accompanying her. Everyone goes to the parlor, where many people, including Mr. Williams, wish Pamela well in her new marriage. They all plan to keep the wedding secret for a couple more days. On a chariot ride, Mr. B asks Pamela if there’s anything he can do for her, and Pamela just says she wants Mr. B and her to try to make each other happy, which Mr. B agrees to do.
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Eight o’Clock at Night. Pamela tells her mother and father that Mr. B’s assurances have put all her fears aside. Ten o’Clock at Night. At supper, Mr. B allows Pamela to have some time to herself while he entertains the guests, although he regrets not being able to spend more time with her alone. Pamela kisses his hand, then she goes up to her closet to write. Eleven o’Clock THURSDAY Night. Mrs. Jewkes asks Pamela if Mr. B can come up to her closet. Pamela asks for just a couple more moments to finish her writing.
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FRIDAY Evening. Pamela appreciates how Mr. B has indulged her since their wedding. At breakfast, he suggests that she should enclose 50 guineas in the letter she’s writing to her mother and father; that way, they can pay off their debts. Additionally, he gives her 100 guineas for the staff at Lincolnshire, including 20 for Mrs. Jewkes and 10 for Monsieur Colbrand.
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Mr. B says he doesn’t want to deal with Lady Davers until he and Pamela are back home at his main house in Bedfordshire. As they make plans to go back, Pamela recommends re-hiring Mrs. Jervis, Mr. Longman, and some others. When John comes up, Mr. B suggests that perhaps he’d make a good husband for Mrs. Jewkes, and Pamela agrees. When Pamela finishes her latest letter to her mother and father, she signs it Mrs. B.
SATURDAY, Morning. Pamela shows Mr. B the letters she wrote to Mr. Longman and Mrs. Jervis, inviting them back to work at Bedfordshire again, and Mr. B approves. Meanwhile, Mr. B has given Mr. Williams his new “living” (position with a salary), and Mr. Williams stopped by earlier to show gratitude for it. Pamela hopes that she will be able to use her newfound wealth and influence for good.
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SATURDAY, Seven o’Clock in the Evening. Mr. B comes back for dinner after arranging for some more guests to come to the house later. He has still kept his wedding with Pamela a secret from most people. Pamela suggests sending a guinea to a local person in town who is sick, and Mr. B responds by sending two guineas. Mr. B also suggests giving Pamela’s mother and father an estate with an annual income. Pamela will get her own allowance of 200 pounds a year, and the two of them discuss how Pamela might spend it.
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SUNDAY, the Fourth Day of My Happiness. Pamela is content at breakfast, but she tells Mr. B that he must eventually make amends with Lady Davers. He agrees. Meanwhile he requests that she continue to dress well, even after they’ve been married for a while, since women often neglect to do this after a long period of marriage. Pamela agrees. Mr. B sets forth other rules about their daily schedule, which Pamela finds are all agreeable.
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Mr. B asks if there are any rules he can follow in return for Pamela’s benefit, but she can’t think of any. Later, after the guests arrive, several of them talk about what they’ll do at Mr. B and Pamela’s wedding (not knowing it already happened). But when Mrs. Jewkes and Nan come over to Pamela and address her as “Your Ladyship,” everyone realizes the marriage has already occurred. They all congratulate Mr. B and Pamela before the two of them go to afternoon prayers in the chapel.
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MONDAY, the fifth Day. Mr. B has to leave shortly after breakfast to meet with a local dying man, whose family would owe a lot to Mr. B after his death. He’s gone most of the day, and so Pamela doesn’t expect him to return. Eleven o’Clock. Mrs. Jewkes has dinner with Pamela. She has been kind to Pamela ever since the marriage, showing Pamela how a servant’s behavior often follows the example of the master.
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TUESDAY Morning, Eleven o’Clock. Mr. B still isn’t back, so Pamela and Mrs. Jewkes go to breakfast together. A letter arrives from Mr. B saying he may still be awhile and suggesting that perhaps Pamela would like to go visit the family of Simon Darnford. But before Pamela can do anything, Lady Davers herself arrives at the house with Lady Davers’s nephew Jackey. Lady Davers immediately begins interrogating Mrs. Jewkes, and eventually Pamela has no choice but to come down and meet her.
Lady Davers (who still doesn’t know about the marriage) is rude to Pamela and makes her cry. Pamela tries to get away to see Simon Darnford, but Lady Davers says she can’t spare Pamela. She orders Pamela to serve her at dinner so that she can talk with her. But Mrs. Jewkes sets the table instead and leaves a place for Pamela.
At dinner, Lady Davers pulls off Pamela’s glove and notices her wedding ring. She still doesn’t believe it to be real, however, and figures that Mr. B must have tricked Pamela. She insists that Pamela serve her, but Pamela replies that, while she’d gladly do so if she were still a servant, but she feels it is no longer her place to do so.
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Lady Davers refuses to drop the issue, insisting that Pamela and Mr. B must not be really married. Pamela says she sees that no answer she gives will be satisfactory to Lady Davers. Pamela produces the letter from Mr. B about dining at Simon Darnford’s as proof, but as Lady Davers reads it, she just makes fun of how implausible it all sounds to her. The letter doesn’t convince Lady Davers, and Pamela regrets showing it to her.
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Lady Davers slaps Pamela’s hand to discipline her and tries to box her ear, but Mrs. Jewkes comes between them. Jackey starts drawing his sword, but Lady Davers tells him to stand down. Still, Lady Davers makes it clear that she doesn’t want Pamela to go around acting like she’s Lady Davers’s sister. She asks Pamela if she’s been “a-bed” with Mr. B, but Pamela objects to the question, feeling the wording of it is rude.
Pamela tells Lady Davers that she is just as married as Lady Davers herself is, infuriating Lady Davers. Eventually, Pamela has had enough and makes a run for it, jumping out a window and getting some help from Monsieur Colbrand in fending off Lady Davers’s servants who try to stop her. Pamela makes it to Simon Darnford’s house much later than she promised. This angers Mr. B, but he understands once Pamela explains what happened.
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After Pamela apologizes for being late, everyone at Simon Darnford’s house agrees that Pamela seems like a lovely, virtuous girl. They all play some of the card game whist for a while. It’s a game that involves taking “tricks,” and so when Pamela wins a round, she worries they’ll think of her as a “trickster.” Afterward, they have dinner, and as Pamela describes the humiliation she suffered earlier that evening, all the guests agree that Lady Davers treated Pamela unfairly. Mr. B assures Pamela that he likes her just how she is.
While Mr. B doesn’t approve of how Lady Davers treated Pamela, he believes his sister nevertheless has some good qualities. Pamela agrees that this is possible, and she wants to try to get on Lady Davers’s good side. Eventually, Mr. B and Pamela head back to his Bedfordshire, getting back around midnight. Mrs. Jewkes tells them Lady Davers is already asleep. Apparently, Lady Davers and Jackey stayed angry even after Pamela left. Pamela and Mr. B decide to try to deal with Lady Davers in the morning.
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TUESDAY Morning, the Sixth of my Happiness. Lady Davers gets up early and knocks on the door to Mr. B’s room (where Pamela is also sleeping). Lady Davers gets angry about Pamela being in Mr. B’s bed, so he physically carries her out of the room. Pamela has breakfast alone to avoid conflict; Mrs. Jewkes brings Pamela’s breakfast up to her room. That afternoon, Mr. B comes back up and tells Pamela that he’s informed Lady Davers that he’s married to Pamela.
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Mr. B tells Pamela that Lady Davers continued to be in denial, still believing that perhaps somehow Mr. B faked his wedding. Lady Davers asked how Mr. B would react if she married a groom, but Mr. B said marriage is different for men and women, and an upper-class man doesn’t lose his status by marrying a lower-class woman, since a man is still the head of the household.
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When Mr. B revealed to Jackey that he and Pamela were already married, Jackey was more accepting, figuring there was nothing else that could be done. Lady Davers just called Jackey foolish. Later, at dinner with Pamela there, Mr. B tries to raise a toast, but Lady Davers won’t join. Lady Davers stays angry and mentions a duel Mr. B got involved with in Italy, then she brings up a woman named Sally Godfrey, all to try to upset Mr. B. Mr. B admits to Pamela that the duel was true and that he did used to woo a woman named Sally Godfrey, but although he took “liberties” with her, he avoided her once he the realized that she just wanted his money.
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Lady Davers feels that Mr. B seems repentant about Sally Godfrey, so she decides she’s gone too far. Mr. B storms out, so Lady Davers begs Pamela to stay to help her patch things up with Mr. B, since he’s been known to hold a grudge. But when Lady B and Pamela go to find Mr. B and Pamela speaks to him, he is so angry about seeing her collaborate with Lady Davers that he threatens to leave the house. Lady Davers intervenes to say that Mr. B should at least forgive Pamela, if not her as well. Pamela requests just the opposite: that Mr. B should channel all his anger toward her.
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Mr. B remains unable to forgive either of them, still too angry about the mention of Sally Godfrey. But when Lady Davers kisses Pamela in preparation to leave, Mr. B is moved. He puts aside his anger, and everyone is calm again. Later that evening, Mr. B, Lady Davers, and Jackey have to go to a dinner, so Pamela writes on her own, hoping the dinner will only strengthen Mr. B and Lady Davers’s bond. They get back around 11 that night, all seeming to be in a good mood.
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Lady Davers prepares to leave, and she kisses Pamela again. She says she hopes Mr. B’s neighbors will all be able to see Pamela’s virtue. After she leaves to go to bed, Mr. B tells Pamela about how everyone at the gathering once again praised Pamela. He then tries to explain why he got upset at Pamela earlier. He explains how it’s partly because rich people like himself rarely have anyone around to contradict them. He gives a summary of the things he expects from a wife.
Pamela writes down everything Mr. B wants and ends up with 48 rules. He doesn’t say any more about Sally Godfrey, and Pamela wishes the subject had never come up in the first place.
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WEDNESDAY, the Seventh. Pamela goes to see Lady Davers in her room the next morning. Lady Davers asks if Pamela has loved Mr. B the whole time. Pamela says that while she disliked the things Mr. B did to her, she always found it hard to actually hate him. She thinks her positive feelings toward him were love, but she didn’t always know it. Lady Davers asks more about what life used to be like for Pamela and Mr. B before marriage.
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Lady Davers says she believes Pamela will be a good wife and that she has also heard good things about Pamela’s mother and father. At last, Lady Davers and Pamela kiss again, and Pamela leaves. As she goes, Pamela regrets not bringing up the subject of Sally Godfrey. Lady Davers plans to leave the next morning, and Pamela and Mr. B are preparing to soon head back to Bedfordshire.
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WEDNESDAY Night. Pamela gives the servants at Lincolnshire their money, including Mrs. Jewkes, who cries with gratitude. SATURDAY. Lady Davers leaves on Thursday, making Pamela promise to send her part of her journal so that she can show it to others to help them understand Mr. B’s decision to marry Pamela.
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Unlike her awful trip to Lincolnshire, on her way back to Bedfordshire, Pamela feels happy, and Mr. B takes good care of her. When they finally make it back, Mrs. Jervis is one of the first to greet them and congratulate them. Pamela walks through the house thinking of all the places where she used to have to run and hide from Mr. B. She also happily reunites with Mr. Longman and Mr. Jonathan. Finally, she goes to see John, who apologizes for everything he did to Pamela earlier.
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Mr. B and Pamela discuss some financial matters related to their move back to Bedfordshire. Pamela hands out the money she promised to the servants, including Mrs. Jervis, Mr. Jonathan, Mr. Longman, and John, all of whom appreciate it and praise Pamela. Pamela excuses herself and goes to the library to pray to thank God. Mr. B happened to be watching her, and he takes the opportunity to give her several of Lady B’s old possessions.
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SUNDAY Night. Pamela continues to thank God at every occasion. Mr. B takes Pamela on a walk around the garden, and once again, Pamela sees places that remind her of how she used to have to run away from Mr. B.
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MONDAY. Pamela chooses patterns for some new clothes. Mr. B wants to present her to the world next Sunday. Pamela sends John to carry some of her new journal pages to her mother and father, asking them to send back the ones they’ve already finished reading. Pamela mentions that she may be able to secure some guineas for the Widow Mumford. She also wants to identify others in the community who might benefit from charity. Pamela plans to send some papers to Lady Davers, but she’ll exclude her reflections on Lady Davers’s angry letter to Mr. B.
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WEDNESDAY Evening. Pamela meets some of Mr. B’s gentlemen friends at dinner. They all approve of her. Later, John brings Pamela a letter from her father. Pamela’s father writes that he’ll accept the farm that Mr. B has offered him. Pamela writes back to her parents, telling them about how Mr. B plans to take her to breakfast at a local farmhouse for dinner the next day.
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THURSDAY. At the farmhouse with Mr. B, Pamela runs into some students from a local boarding school. She and Mr. B greet the girls, and Pamela notices Mr. B paying particular attention to a girl called Miss Goodwin. Mr. B asks Pamela which girl she thinks is prettiest, and she answers Miss Goodwin. Mr. B says Miss Goodwin is his niece, but Pamela tells him she suspects Miss Goodwin is an even closer relative. Finally, he reveals that Miss Goodwin is a daughter he had with Sally Godfrey.
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Pamela goes to talk with Miss Goodwin and likes her a lot. Pamela wants to adopt her, but Mr. B says he needs to think about it first. He begins telling Pamela the story of Sally Godfrey, which Lady Davers knew all along but which Lady B never knew. As Mr. B tells it, Sally Godfrey and her whole family tried to entrap him in a marriage with threats of violence. Mr. B got angry when he realized Sally was in on the plot. Eventually she got pregnant and threatened to cause trouble for Mr. B, but Lady Davers made a deal to take the eventually child off her hands and raise Miss Goodwin (changing her name to protect everyone from scandal) until she was old enough to go to boarding school.
Pamela wonders what happened to Sally Godfrey. Mr. B says she went to Jamaica and got married, passing herself off as a young widow and leaving care of Miss Goodwin to Mr. B and the boarding school. Mr. B says he regrets his past “liberties,” and he hopes Pamela will forgive him.
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MONDAY Morning. On Sunday, Mr. B debuts Pamela as his wife, and all the distinguished people approve, each stopping after church to pay Pamela compliments. After the service, some local poor people come up to Pamela, and she donates everything she has, telling them to meet her at her house if they need more. Mr. B and Pamela go back to church in the afternoon at Pamela’s request. The next day, some of the poor show up at Mr. B and Pamela’s house to receive Pamela’s charity.
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TUESDAY. During a walk with Pamela, Mr. B brings up the subject of inheritance and what would happen if he suddenly died. He wants to arrange things so that Pamela and her father and mother would still receive money. Mr. B also warns her that, while he respects Mr. Williams, he thinks it would be unseemly if Pamela married Mr. Williams after Mr. B’s death, since it would look like Pamela only ever married Mr. B for his wealth. Pamela gets upset over the topic of Mr. B dying, so he tries to cheer her up with some poetry.
Pamela feels better after hearing Mr. B’s poetry. She complains about how in life she often faces “imaginary evils” during times when she doesn’t have real ones. At supper, Mr. B says he’s been working on some essays but struggles to finish them. He tells Pamela that perhaps he’ll show her his attempts at some point.
FRIDAY. The neighbors come to visit Pamela and Mr. B. Pamela thinks happily about her mother and father as well as about all the people who have visited her that she will have to visit in return. Pamela feels happy and says the only thing she still wants is for her parents to visit and give their blessing. She also wants them to give her a list of poor local residents who deserve charity. Pamela also wants to visit the farmhouse to see Miss Goodwin again. She writes that she has heard her parents are on their way, and she looks forward to seeing them.
The Editor announces that this is the end of Pamela’s letters to her father and mother, since Pamela had no reason to write after her parents arrived at the house. They have a nice visit and stay until their new estate is ready, and they continue to visit Pamela over the years. Pamela lives happily for many years and achieves fame for her many virtues. Mr. B remains a kind and loyal husband, while Lady Davers is also affectionate. Finally, Miss Goodwin eventually grows up to marry a rich and worthy gentleman.
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The Editor makes some general observations about the moral of the story. Mr. B was a libertine, but his open-mindedness helped him overcome his past. Lady Davers was too proud, and this caused her to look ridiculous. Mr. Williams showed that even when clergyman face difficulties, God will ultimately reward them. Pamela’s mother and father showed how God rewards people with integrity. The rich must share their wealth for the greater good. Finally, the Editor describes how Pamela was a paragon of virtue and how he hopes that readers will follow her example.
