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coldxperience's review
1.0
L1 English major university reading.
Creepy dude doing stuff, and she aint doing anything again it ; yes, I did not enjoy it.
“Well, my story, surely, would furnish out a surprising kind of novel, if it were to be well told.” -> don't like it.
Creepy dude doing stuff, and she aint doing anything again it ; yes, I did not enjoy it.
“Well, my story, surely, would furnish out a surprising kind of novel, if it were to be well told.” -> don't like it.
books_and_cappuccinos's review
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mariamwazeer's review
1.0
I read this for class in sophomore spring. It was entertaining to examine, and I know revolutionary for its time, but that doesn't stop it from being an absolute gagfest.
moth03's review against another edition
I looked up spoilers and uh yeah I'm not reading that.
I can't believe I read 250 pages of SA
I can't believe I read 250 pages of SA
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
lady_literati's review
5.0
I am utterly appalled at how low the rating for Pamela is on goodreads. Pamela is by far the most enjoyable book I have read to date. This novel (one of the first) published in 1740 takes on issues of society. An epic case of Stockholm syndrome between a young maidservant and her unruly master. What's not to love? This epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson deserves more respect! It's a phenomenal read.
beetific's review
3.0
I tried to be more generous with my rating and toyed very much with giving Pamela a 4 vs. a 3, but in the end my overall distaste for the novel (and constant screams of: COULD RICHARDSON NOT HAVE FOUND AN EDITOR ANYWHERE?) won and I brought it down to a 3/5.
HOWEVER, I've decided that it's best to write a lengthy review to defend my rating because I know that there are several reasons why I perhaps should have rated it higher. Pamela's unnecessary length, ridiculous (and somewhat offensive) plot line, annoying characters, and tendency towards repetition are all excusable when you remember that is one of the first ever 'novels' published. It was published in installments, I believe, (which is likely the reason why Pamela's letters constantly refer back to past occurrences, in order to remind Richardson's readers of any important plot points they might have missed/forgotten) and was more or less the Twilight of its day (although, in my opinion, the craze over the two leads and their ridiculous 'romance' might be more aptly likened to the craze over the 50 Shades of Grey series). Apparently, there was even Pamela merchandise and it spawned a couple of parodies! Needless to say, Pamela was definitely a big deal in its day and inspired a lot of later prominent novelists, Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte among them. There were several moments when I was reading it when I was like !! uppity society gentleman struggling with his pride in order to reconcile his feelings with marrying below him? Uppity society gentleman's haughty relative refuses to accept his marriage and refers to it as "not be borne"? Austen was certainly thinking of Pamela when she started writing Pride and Prejudice! Similarly, I can definitely see a lot of Bronte's inspiration for Jane Eyre in Pamela, although GOD BLESS Jane Eyre for being a heroine you can actually LIKE and RESPECT.
I think as a study of history and for getting a better idea of the context of eighteenth century society, Pamela is helpful as well. Richardson discusses class, gender, religion, and marriage laws during the eighteenth century and it's very interesting to consider the perspectives on such themes at that time. The novel is full of contradictions and its through its main characters' oftentimes unexpected actions that Richardson makes the case for the societal change that he wished to see: a more reformed class system, in which servants were actually considered people and individuals worth respecting, and the almost ludicrous idea that marriages should be based on love and affection between two people rather than arranged due to parental expectations and economic matters. Pamela is in a sense a hugely powerful character because she resists Mr. B's advances and justifies her doing so because her virtue and innocence are just as valuable as that of the highest lady although she is but a waiting maid–and Mr. B, as her employer, has almost complete power over her.
INFLUENCE ASIDE, however, there were many moments throughout this novel where I wanted to scream. I was really into it for the first third because it was exciting and I wasn't sure if Pamela was going to be able to succeed in fending off Mr. B. However, once her imprisonment started, it just kind of dragged on and the whole 'romance' wrapped up about halfway through the book!! I remember I reached 70% of the way through and the marriage had happened and I was asking myself, OK, what else do we need to read about? And I know this was, in a sense, a 'conduct' novel so Richardson really needed to drive home the point about marriage roles and the importance of virtue for another hundred pages. The length would not have been so bad if huge portions of it weren't just rewritings of Pamela's earlier expectations and totally unnecessary- Richardson could have really used an editor!! I had to put it down for a little bit right around where Pamela and Mr. B are waiting to get married, because it was getting quite dull- I wish Richardson had skipped over all of that and just introduced the scenes with Lady Davers, which were much more exciting to read about.
I think reading the novel nowadays also infuriated me because it was so annoying to read about how Pamela's entire worth was so dependent on her virtue; on top of that, the novel's ridiculous character development, where Mr. B, magically becomes a reformed rake (I'm blaming Pamela for the reformed bad-boy possibility that continuously infiltrates YA literature and the media) and Pamela falls in love with him too, telling her family and herself that she always knew he really wasn't that bad (mhm Pamela, even though he kept trying to rape you?????).
On the whole though, I'm glad I read it! I'm on a mission to read a lot more eighteenth century texts because I feel like the period contributed so much to what formed the novel of today, and I think Pamela is one of those texts that you just have to read to begin forming your understanding of the period. I'm hoping to read Henry Fielding at some point soon ( [b:The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling|99329|The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling|Henry Fielding|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444450775s/99329.jpg|1350343] but I'm a little wary of the length right now) and so I'm starting my venture into Fielding's works by reading his parody of Pamela- [b:An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews|478684|An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews|Henry Fielding|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348607666s/478684.jpg|1387611]!
HOWEVER, I've decided that it's best to write a lengthy review to defend my rating because I know that there are several reasons why I perhaps should have rated it higher. Pamela's unnecessary length, ridiculous (and somewhat offensive) plot line, annoying characters, and tendency towards repetition are all excusable when you remember that is one of the first ever 'novels' published. It was published in installments, I believe, (which is likely the reason why Pamela's letters constantly refer back to past occurrences, in order to remind Richardson's readers of any important plot points they might have missed/forgotten) and was more or less the Twilight of its day (although, in my opinion, the craze over the two leads and their ridiculous 'romance' might be more aptly likened to the craze over the 50 Shades of Grey series). Apparently, there was even Pamela merchandise and it spawned a couple of parodies! Needless to say, Pamela was definitely a big deal in its day and inspired a lot of later prominent novelists, Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte among them. There were several moments when I was reading it when I was like !! uppity society gentleman struggling with his pride in order to reconcile his feelings with marrying below him? Uppity society gentleman's haughty relative refuses to accept his marriage and refers to it as "not be borne"? Austen was certainly thinking of Pamela when she started writing Pride and Prejudice! Similarly, I can definitely see a lot of Bronte's inspiration for Jane Eyre in Pamela, although GOD BLESS Jane Eyre for being a heroine you can actually LIKE and RESPECT.
I think as a study of history and for getting a better idea of the context of eighteenth century society, Pamela is helpful as well. Richardson discusses class, gender, religion, and marriage laws during the eighteenth century and it's very interesting to consider the perspectives on such themes at that time. The novel is full of contradictions and its through its main characters' oftentimes unexpected actions that Richardson makes the case for the societal change that he wished to see: a more reformed class system, in which servants were actually considered people and individuals worth respecting, and the almost ludicrous idea that marriages should be based on love and affection between two people rather than arranged due to parental expectations and economic matters. Pamela is in a sense a hugely powerful character because she resists Mr. B's advances and justifies her doing so because her virtue and innocence are just as valuable as that of the highest lady although she is but a waiting maid–and Mr. B, as her employer, has almost complete power over her.
INFLUENCE ASIDE, however, there were many moments throughout this novel where I wanted to scream. I was really into it for the first third because it was exciting and I wasn't sure if Pamela was going to be able to succeed in fending off Mr. B. However, once her imprisonment started, it just kind of dragged on and the whole 'romance' wrapped up about halfway through the book!! I remember I reached 70% of the way through and the marriage had happened and I was asking myself, OK, what else do we need to read about? And I know this was, in a sense, a 'conduct' novel so Richardson really needed to drive home the point about marriage roles and the importance of virtue for another hundred pages. The length would not have been so bad if huge portions of it weren't just rewritings of Pamela's earlier expectations and totally unnecessary- Richardson could have really used an editor!! I had to put it down for a little bit right around where Pamela and Mr. B are waiting to get married, because it was getting quite dull- I wish Richardson had skipped over all of that and just introduced the scenes with Lady Davers, which were much more exciting to read about.
I think reading the novel nowadays also infuriated me because it was so annoying to read about how Pamela's entire worth was so dependent on her virtue; on top of that, the novel's ridiculous character development, where Mr. B, magically becomes a reformed rake (I'm blaming Pamela for the reformed bad-boy possibility that continuously infiltrates YA literature and the media) and Pamela falls in love with him too, telling her family and herself that she always knew he really wasn't that bad (mhm Pamela, even though he kept trying to rape you?????).
On the whole though, I'm glad I read it! I'm on a mission to read a lot more eighteenth century texts because I feel like the period contributed so much to what formed the novel of today, and I think Pamela is one of those texts that you just have to read to begin forming your understanding of the period. I'm hoping to read Henry Fielding at some point soon ( [b:The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling|99329|The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling|Henry Fielding|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444450775s/99329.jpg|1350343] but I'm a little wary of the length right now) and so I'm starting my venture into Fielding's works by reading his parody of Pamela- [b:An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews|478684|An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews|Henry Fielding|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348607666s/478684.jpg|1387611]!
cherry_t's review
2.0
I get it. One of the first English novels. Still, Richardson could have set the bar higher than a solid, “meh.”
supitslois's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25