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Materie:	Appunti
Categoria:	Inglese
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Data:	16.03.2006
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Pamela is Samuel Richardson’s first work of fiction. It an epistolary novel. Most of the letters are written by the heroine, Pamela (a young servant girl) to her parents. The book became very popular and soon was translated in many European languages.
Pamela’s letter is typical Richardson’s style. The novel is not static and it is full of narrative passages, containing action and dialogues always in letter form. Richardson, as well as Defoe has a realistic style fully described through everyday life.
Pamela became a very popular novel even because it tells the story of a girl who manages to convince her master to marry her although she is poor and she does not give herself to her master.
The letters tell the story of Pamela, a young servant who, after her mistress’s death, decides to stay and work for Mrs B.’s son. Very soon Pamela will understand Mr. B’s real intention is to seduce her. After many verbal and physical assaults Pamela, who is prisoner of her master, manages not to leave her virginity bringing Mr B to ask her to marry him.
The passage we read is built around the dialogues between Pamela and Mr B. each of the speaker is characterized by a typical language and tone: Mr. B is very proud and uses imperatives and strong words. Pamela, on the other hand, is respectful and meek but she is clever enough to react against her master’s verbal assaults.

Both Richardson and Defoe, have a realistic style. While the first uses the epistolary style, the second uses the diary style but both of them fully describe everyday life and are based on two very popular themes in that period. As a matter of fact, Richardson tells the story of a woman who reacts to verbal and physical assaults of her master and at the end manages to marry him (let’s remember that marriage and women’s courage were very popular theme among women “audience”). Defoe tells the story of the English Hero of that period: a proud man who leaves his country and who is shipwrecked and who has to survive alone on an island; after a while, he meets Friday, a native of the Island. We can say that Crusoe is the allegory of the typical British man of the Period. The book has there interpretations:
• The Religious allegory (puritan tract about man’s redemption from sin)
• The Economic allegory (the celebration of the British Mercantile Spirit)
• Imperialistic allegory: (Crusoe wants to demonstrate his superiority on Friday, or better the White Christian Superiority)

Tom Jones is constructed according to the Augustan Principles of harmony and balance. It is divided into 18 books. Each book is introduced by a chapter of critical and philosophical reflections. These 18 books are divided into a three-part scheme: In the first six the story is set in the England Countryside; the next six describe Tom’s picaresque wanderings across England; while the final six take place in London. The range of the novel manages to convey a complete and rich picture of the 18th century England life. Fielding uses several accents to convey life to his characters. The author does not give a realistic description of the events as Defoe and Richardson do. He chooses a classical narrative style meant to indicate moral progresses in the main characters. The happy ending has a moral meaning: in this world there is Providence and devil will not win on good. He celebrates aristocratic and Christian virtues of courage, generosity and benevolence.
The long and ironical descriptions by the omniscient narrator convey to the novel its comic tone.
The novel tells the story of a young foundling boy who loves women and who is hated by Mr. Blifil who is one of Miss Molly Seagrim’s lovers. She is in love for Tom and the two young are obstructed by their families. Tom escapes and Molly decides to follow him. At the end of the story an intrigue is resolved and Tom becomes rich and respectable and Molly can marry him.