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Letter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Pamela, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Value of Virtue
Class and Morality
Religion and Marriage
Sexual Politics
Summary
Analysis
Pamela writes to her father and mother that she’s been sleeping in Mrs. Jervis’s bed for two weeks now. One day, Pamela writes, Mr. B asked Mrs. Jervis if Pamela was being useful about the house. Mrs. Jervis reassured him she was. He asked Mrs. Jervis if Pamela was flirting with any of the male servants, and Mrs. Jervis assured him she wasn’t. Mr. B accepted this, but he warned Mrs. Jervis that Pamela is tricky and that not everything she says or writes is true. Pamela is now afraid, because she believes Mr. B knows she told his secret (about kissing her).
Mr. B wants to find a way to make Pamela seem immoral so that if he makes advances toward her, it will seem like she is the one at fault. Once again, he knows that as a gentleman he has to mind his reputation, so he starts pre-emptively sowing doubt about Pamela’s virtuousness in order to lay the groundwork for his schemes. One of the defining features of Mr. B is that even though he has loose morals, he isn’t necessarily always effective at carrying out his schemes—here, it is clear that Mrs. Jervis doesn’t believe his rumors about Pamela.
Themes
Quiz
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