•  
  •  
 

Disciplines

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, below is the first paragraph of the paper.

One might say that Samuel Richardson's 18th century novel Pamela is essentially a love story that, like the chick lit of today, appeals mostly to a female audience. Contrary to the stereotype that women were the only ones who liked reading such works is the fact that males were also avid novelreaders. Admittedly, male readership is often a barely-trodden segment in the pathway of the study of novels - particularly novels such as Pamela, Frances Burney's Evelina, and Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Considering Richardson's emphasis on virtue, submissiveness, and obedience, it's fairly straightforward to determine the messages that female readers are supposed to get from reading Pamela. The message intended for male readers, however, may be a bit more complicated. Young women know what they're supposed to get from Richardson's text, but male readers don't, which means that multiple messages can be acquired from reading Pamela from a male perspective

First Page

28

Last Page

31

Download

Additional Files

COinS