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Hailed as a mimetic triumph in narrative fiction, Samuel Richardson's style of “writing to the moment” has become attached to the sub-genre of the epistolary novel ever since his publication of Pamela, in the year 1740. Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded presents its reader with a detailed plot structured in a series of letters, mostly written by the protagonist, Pamela Andrews.
The course intends to approach the genre of the epistolary novel through this exemplary case of epistolary narrative. Following a brief introduction into the socio-political context of Pamela, a second thematic unit will deal with the Pamela reader. Key concepts related to the genre such as sentimentalism, representation of consciousness and mimesis will direct this inquiry into the aesthetics of reception of the novel. As a highly self-reflective text, Pamela is a clear product of the eighteenth-century print culture and so are the several responses it elicited. Among them Shamela, a parody by contemporary Henry Fielding, stands out as a direct reaction to the metafictional nature of the original work.
Primary texts:
Samuel Richardson, Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded
Henry Fielding, An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews |
