A few weeks ago we read some chapters of Pamela by Samuel Richardson in our English Literature class. It is an epistolary novel in which Pamela, the main character, tells us her story. This novel belongs to the eighteenth century sentimental novel a period in which we can see some important themes such as vanity, charity, the nature of goodness, but here I am going to focus on the topic of appearance.
We talked about this topic in class and I found it very interesting because while I was reading Pamela, I felt it, like Pamela said to her parents if she was acting in a correct form, the way in which she asked her parents, her words and expressions used to it, she needed another opinion, because she wanted her parents to be proud of her and she didn’t want to do something that may put them in danger. I felt it because it is true that each one needs some opinion to know if you are wrong or not. I could see myself represented in Pamela because our parents are the most important people in our lives or at least, they should be and if they tell you are acting correctly I think that you can breathe easily.So I think that in this book we can find some moral advices very useful for our daily life. Pamela gives us an important lesson: chastity is a precious virtue that eighteenth century women had to have.
