Abstract:Samuel Richardson is known as one of the most famous novelists in the middle of the 18th century in England and has great influence on European literature. He pays attention to the marriage and morality. Meanwhile, the characters of his novels are mostly maids or women in middle class. Later, many famous writers are influenced by his writing style.

Richardson writes the novel Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded at booksellers’ suggestion. It tells the story of a young maidservant who writes to her parents to find ways to refuse the host Mr. B’s violation. It is the interesting stories that make readers receive moral education which contains the description of social environment and the analysis of the characters’ psychological activities. 

So far, scholars mainly study Pamela from the perspectives of psychological analysis, historical significance and religious attitudes. This thesis aims to interpret Pamela from the perspective of feminism, and explores Richardson's view on women by analyzing the female image of Pamela.

Keywords:  Samuel Richardson  Pamela  feminism

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Samuel Richardson-1

1.2 Introduction to Pamela-1

1.3 Literature Review-2

1.4 Structure of the Thesis-3

Chapter Two Feminism-4

2.1 Definition of Feminism-4

2.2 Its Origin and Development-4

2.3 Its Features-4

Chapter Three An Interpretation of Pamela from the Perspective of Feminism-6

3.1 Pamela’s Self-consciousness-6

3.2 Pamela’s Defense of Chastity-7

3.3 Revolting Against gender Discrimination and Pursing Equality-7

Chapter Four Richardson’s View on Women-9

Chapter Five Conclusion-11

References-12