The Problem of “Pamela” for Pamela

Last updated on: February 27, 2014 at 9:29 pm by John Mark N. Reynolds

The Problem of “Pamela” for Pamela 2014-02-27T21:29:16-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Pamela is an early English sort-of-novel showing the triumph of the virtue of Pamela: one of the more insufferable characters ever to appear in literature. For those tempted to believe that Elsie Dinsmore, her American soul sister, would be tolerable if English: wrong. Virtue is supposed to be triumphant in Pamela and a certain virtue is, but meanwhile virtue becomes unbearable.

How could virtue be anything other than desirable? It is a ploy of the Evil One to twist an evil around a virtue so that the virtue becomes less desirable than the opposite vice. If a glutton is jolly while the fit man is dull, then it might appear better to be a glutton than fit. Of course, there need be no natural correlation between overeating and jolliness or fitness and grimness, but if I believe there is then I might accept the wages of gluttony, death, in order to be jolly.

Sin as sin has no virtue, but since sin twists a good thing or associates with other goods, then sin can seem attractive. Any loving relationship has this going for it: the relationship is mixed up a form of love. In many ways this makes the vice worse, because it hides behind virtues of self-sacrifice, humility, and moderation and so cheapens them while elevating sin. The self-sacrifice of a father who stays with an abusive mother for the children becomes morally questionable if he enables vice.

The problem with Pamela is that it mixes sexual virtue with unjust social structures and preachiness. The chief problem in Pamela, the problem for Pamela the character, is a world where the powerful, particularly powerful men, can act in vile ways and be tolerated. The rich are treated differently than the poor and most of the evils done to Pamela are due to this social injustice. Everyone, mostly, in the book agrees on sexual morality generally, but many give the rich and powerful (or simply men) a pass on morality.

“Boys will be boys” is false, damaging to men, and also an excuse for sin. The answer is not for women to adopt the vices of these powerful men, but to get rid of the double standard.

The preachiness of Samuel Richardson is an advertisement for sin. First, Richardson talks about vices while condemning them providing an accidental titillation to a certain sort of reader. If not done carefully, and Richardson has little literary skill, the “testimony book” to virtue can end up being most interesting when it describes the sin and least “fun” when describing the “virtue.” Many Christian testimony books are “cool” when they talk about the pre-Christian life and dull when the person is “saved.”

Why?

The life of a drug addict is fascinating to an outsider if utterly destructive to the addict and those around him or her. A drug addict is happier clean and sober, but in the hands of a hack the story lags. Anybody can dramatically relate apocalypse, only the best can make a pleasant dinner party interesting to a reader.

All of us are sinners. Occasionally media outlets will breathlessly report on “sin in the Church” as if pastors did not know all about it. Jesus makes bad people better, not perfect. Who is stupid enough to believe that in a society awash in a particular vice that those opposed to it are immune? Hate racism with all your heart, but growing up in a racist society will corrode your values.

For all but the hypocrite, who pretends to have no sin when he does, or the morally blind, who do not see their sin, there is a strong temptation to condemn nothing. We hope that if we can keep anybody from throwing stones or glass houses will be safe. Richardson and his endless preaching about virtue in the mouth of Pamela breaks that rule. He annoys us and tempts even a moderately skillful writer to parody virtue. Shamala wrote itself.

And so virtue is harmed, because it is not chastity that is annoying and repulsive, but the preachiness, the misogyny, the injustice.

In my life, virtue has been better than vice, but I also know whenever I talk about this truth my lack of literary skill and my own continuing faults make virtue less appealing. I might also make my own failings seem less serious if a careless reader thinks “I got away with it.” How to avoid the problem of Pamela?

I must acknowledge that I am a sinner. Always.

I must do what I can to separate the few things I do well from the many things I do badly. My failure does not undermine the goal. Hope and I long for a happy marriage, we are getting closer to it, but we also fail. Our failures are real, the come with a price, but still we aspire to the good goal and it is better so. We are sinners saved by grace and being saved by grace.

So the Christian faces a tough challenge: communicate the sinfulness of sin without defrauding the pious, without preachiness, and with grace. I love Jesus and Jesus, the person, is altogether good and beautiful. Christian morality is rigorous, but the law of the Lord is also life to me. How can I share that story without the problem of Pamela?

God help me, God help us all.

Culture

On Books

Previous Post

February 26, 2014

Oh Amy.

Next Post

March 3, 2014 Dreams aren't always "valid"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was David's great-grandmother?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ruth Tamar Bathsheba Rahab

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »