Was Pamela really as innocent as Richardson depicts her to be
After reading an exert of the novel, Pamela, by Samuel Richardson, it is apparent that there is a common theme that seems to appear throughout the novel, which is the idea of innocence. The problem with this reoccurring theme is that it is hard to decipher between the outward authorial intention of using Pamela as a literary device to depict a “how to” on being a virtuous young person in the society and the actual characters actions and underlying tone throughout the novel. Although Richardson wants adolescents to learn from this obvious message that it is always best to be innocent, pure, and honest, it was difficult to ignore the not as obvious, yet contradictory actions that the character of Pamela took. This leads to one specific question: Is Pamela really as innocent as she is meant to be perceived by Richardson’s audience? A great aim for the publication of these letters into a novel, which was depicted in the Preface written by Richardson himself, was to “. ... ” This statement right away opens the novel up to public with the explicit message that they should pay close attention to what is demonstrated by Pamela in these letters and follow her ideal behavior of innocence and virtue. This proves to the reader that Richardson was attempting to use Pamela as a literary device to depict innocence, virtue, and basically how exactly a young teen-ager should be thinking and behaving.