In Samuel Richardson’s, Pamela or Virtue Rewarded, one of the most overarching themes was the change and development of social classes and how they affected the main character, Pamela, as well as the other characters in her life. In the eighteenth century, the concept of social status and wealth in European culture gave superiority to specific genders and treated the opposing as lesser than. Due to this social normality, a domino effect was created and resulted in the constant battle between what is right for their status and what is right for themselves. Throughout the book, Samuel Richardson makes implications that men should choose their wives not for their money or social standing, but for their virtue. He then makes another shocking suggestion …show more content…
Pamela believes that the sole reason for these criticisms can be credited to her lower class status. If her and her parents had been upper class they would face no stipulations. Pamela believes her parents’ honesty, hard work, and integrity shines brighter than their social standing. Yet, Lady Davers refuses to acknowledge Pamela by continuing to use words like “thou” and “thee” in when referring to her. The words “thee” and “thou” originate from Shakespeare and are only used in the context of a master talking to a servant. This demonstrates that Lady Davers had zero intention of ever believing Pamela will be of equal status. In her eyes, Pamela’s upbringing set her status in stone and although Mr. B thinks that Pamela is special and an equal to him, due to their marriage, when referring to their social classes, Lady Davers will never treat her as such. The use of this language can be also be seen in letters Pamela wrote to her parents. “This very Gentleman (yes, I must call him Gentleman, tho’ he has fallen from the Merit of that Title) has degraded himself to offer Freedoms to his poor Servant!” As seen by this quote, Pamela continues to refer to Mr. B as a gentleman because of his social status, while disregarding his behavior almost entirely. The degradation is in the fact that he would show any interest in someone viewed as his …show more content…
She endured various forms of mental and physical abuse before being rewarded with a rich husband. What made the difference in the end was that even initially Pamela knew her beliefs, she knew who she was and stayed true to herself. Others say that because she is of lower class her life has no value, however; it is her virtue that gave her value because it was something that no one could take away. Even during the temptations made my Mr. B while he was considered to be her master, Pamela refused to allow him to mold her into something other than her true self. In Mr. B’s mind, he thought her resistance was similar to an older version of playing hard to get and because of this he ultimately fell in love with her. Due to her dedication to her virtue, Pamela reversed the system and changed what people valued. By standing firmly by her own choices Pamela created a happy life for herself whether she knew what she was doing or
In the Victorian era, in New York City, men and women roles within the society were as different as night and day. A man regardless of his extra curricular activities could still maintain a very prevalent place in society. A woman’s worth was not only based family name which distinguished her class and worth, but also her profession if that was applicable.
The angry tone of Wollstonecraft’s “Vindication of the Rights of Women” significantly contrasts with the cautionary tone of Austen’s “On Making an Agreeable Marriage,” seeking to reform society rather than guide people to live in that society. When Austen describes the drawbacks of loveless marriage, she writes that “Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection” (Austen 72-73). Austen uses “preferred” and “endured” to warn her niece against marrying too quickly, creating a cautionary tone. Moreover, “anything” emphasizes the miserableness of a marriage without affection, beseeching Austen’s niece to verify her love before diving headfirst into a marriage. In contrast, when demonizing the education system, Wollstonecraft
...ndicates a level of justification each felt in their actions. These actions, immortalized in two of the most widely read classics of all time, even today call into question the values each society held so dear, and led the modern reader to explore what honor and traditional gendered values mean both in these societies and our own.
In Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, the necessity of marrying well is one of the central themes. In Austen’s era a woman’s survival depended on her potential to acquire an affluent partner. This meant a choice of marrying for love and quite possibly starve, or marry a securing wealthy person, there was a risk of marrying someone who you might despise.
Throughout the story there are several aspects of the Protagonist’s character that play a major role in the shaping of her future. During her childhood she often demonstrates a sense of fear when she is sent to her bedroom. “We were afraid of the inside, the room were we slept (pg. 549).” She is intimidated by her personal space because she does not have control over it. Later, she gains control by adding lace to her side of the room; symbolically adding personality to herself and slipping into womanhood. When she felt uncomfortable she exercised her imagination, to psychologically regain control over the confusion in her life. Her subconscious effort to control confusing times were carried on to her later years as she was constantly put in difficult situations, which helped her to adjust quickly to change during adulthood. The dreams she created changed when she began to place emphasis on her appearance-that which she could control, other than past dreams of heroism that seemed so distant from reality. The Protagonist filled her childhood with much pride and maintained a consistent focused upon the activities that filled her childhood. She relished working at the side of her father, taking immense pride in every aspect of her assigned duties. She proclaimed, “I worked willingly under his eyes, and with a feeling of pride (pg. 551)” Once after her father introduced her to a feed sales man as “my new hired man (pg. 551),” the Protagonist was flooded with pride as she “turned away and raked furiously, red in the face with pleasure (pg. 551).” In her later years her pride helped her to assemble strong self-confidence she used in her years of growing. Passion and depth were characteristics that impacted her future as a woman. Her passion and depth was revealed early on in the story ...
Richard Rodriguez’s The Achievement of Desire puts a very unusual point of view on how to look at the education system and how it affects the everyday person. Rodriguez talks immensely about the term he uses called “The Scholarship Boy.” He claims that the scholarship boy is technically defined as a student who is extremely talented but is changed by the school environment. This means that they (the students) can be extremely cultured at home but as soon as they start learning about other cultures through the education process, they change remarkably. Doing this can cause a lot of things to go right or wrong in the ones culture back home. It can cause problems between the kids and parents, siblings and siblings or even the parents at each
... their positions and their stand in society. Material privileges and money distinguish the upper class people from the harder working lower class, and with this we can see how morals play an important role in their life. Arrogance and vanity control the lives of those with all the money, and modesty and inner happiness is what lower class people strive for. In Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier is able to glorify a phenomenon that takes the main character life from the bottom of the sea to a cruise ship sailing the seven seas. The narrator goes through the different social classes but keeps her own mind and morals; she is not over taken by all the riches and material privileges that come with such a life, but on the contrary, she remains true to her self and makes sure that the only thing that matters is the she and Maxim De Winter share and carry on with their lives.
...udice in the social ladder. The Bennet family, although wealthy, was looked down upon, is relation to their social status. They were seen as low on the social ladder, because they had "new money." Lady Catherine, is another example of pride and prejudice displayed through social status, "Now and then they were honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothing escaped her observation…" Lady Catherine noticed flaws in everyone and used her position and title of "Lady" to rise above everyone and make herself seem superior to them. Her position gives her pride and she flaunts it in a negative way.
In actuality, she was defiant, and ate macaroons secretly when her husband had forbidden her to do so. She was quite wise and resourceful. While her husband was gravely ill she forged her father’s signature and borrowed money without her father or husband’s permission to do so and then boastfully related the story of doing so to her friend, Mrs. Linde. She was proud of the sacrifices she made for her husband, but her perceptions of what her husband truly thought of her would become clear. She had realized that the childlike and submissive role she was playing for her husband was no longer a role she wanted to play. She defied the normal roles of the nineteenth century and chose to find her true self, leaving her husband and children
Over the centuries, women’s duties or roles in the home and in the work force have arguably changed for the better. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen teaches the reader about reputation and loves in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries by showing how Elizabeth shows up in a muddy dress, declines a marriage proposal and how women have changed over time. Anything a woman does is reflected on her future and how other people look at her. When Elizabeth shows up to the Bingley’s in a muddy dress they categorize her as being low class and unfashionable. Charles Bingley, a rich attractive man, and his sister had a reputation to protect by not letting their brother marry a ‘low class girl’. Reputation even today and back in the nineteenth century is still very important aspect in culture. In the twenty-first century, women have attempted to make their lives easier by wanting to be more equal with the men in their society. Women are wanting to be the apart of the ‘bread winnings’ efforts within a family. Since evolving from the culture of the nineteenth century, women have lost a lot of family and home making traditions but women have gained equality with more rights such as voting, working, and overall equal rights. In the twenty-first century world, most women are seen for losing their morals for and manners for others. As for example in the novel when Mr. Darcy is talking badly about Elizabeth she over hears what he and his friend, Mr. Bingley, are saying about her but she does not stand up for herself.
Early in Pamela's career, she leaned on her "youthful naivety" to avoid abusive situations and falling prey to powerful men in the business. When confronted with uncomfortable situations, she'd strongly redirect the person accosting her and immediately create distance from the
The author Jane Austen was writing in the most transformative eras of British history. Austen experienced the beginning of industrialization in England. The movie shows concerns over property, money and status that highlight’s the social scale of the eighteenth and early ninetieth-century England. The film shows the broad social class that included those who owned land as well as the professional classes (Lawyers, doctors, and clergy). Throughout this time there were strict inheritance laws. The law for owning property was that it would go to male children or male relatives rather than breaking it up ...
The path to marriage initiates in the very first paragraph of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. This courtship novel begins with the premise that “a single man in possession of a fortune must be in want of a wife” (pg. 5) Throughout the competition for the single men, characters are naturally divided by the norms of their social standing. However, the use of social conventions and civility further divides them. The characters in need of the most moral reform remain unchanged, leaving a path for the reformers to travel to each other’s company. Austen uses the stagnant characters and their flaws as a line that needs to cross in order to achieve a dynamic marriage of mutual respect.
The class system in this time period is very similar to our time. They both have a lower, middle, and upper class system in place. We both judge and see people in the terms of their class and use this daily in our thoughts of others. In the book a great representation is the knowledge of the difference between the Middleton’s and the Dashwood’s. This is shown also with Colonel Brandon and his placement in the class system and the way he helps those around
...y a set of expectations and values that are established on mannerisms and conduct challenged by Elizabeth. From this novel, it is evident that the author wrote it with awareness of the class issues that affect different societies. Her annotations on the fixed social structure are important in giving a solution to the current social issues; that even the class distinctions and restrictions can be negotiated when an individual turns down bogus first impression s.