The Epistolary Novel!

After researching for this weeks presentation, I found what is considered the first  Epistolary Novel: "Pamela" by Samuel Richardson.

This novel was immensely popular when it was published in 1741, and even led to a "Pamela" craze!The novel is written in the form of letters, written from Pamela to her parents--long and sometimes dull letters, if it weren't for all the drama contained in them.

Pamela is a fifteen year old servant girl who is very beautiful and virtuous. In fact, she manages to maintain her virtue (hint: virginity) throughout an ordeal that includes the  unwanted sexual advances of her master Mr. B. In fact this man goes so far as to spy on her, read her letters, fondle her, attempt to force himself on her, kidnap her, speak roughly to her, etc, etc, etc--which, by the way, we learn from her own hand, as she is the one writing these details in long letters to her poor frightened parents.

Finally, she marries him. How did that happen? I thought charges and an arrest might be in order after the way Mr. B acted. Sigh, I guess its only 1741, after all. And in Pamela's own words, she was but a "poor weak girl" who also happens to be a "dutiful daughter" and a virtuous girl!

Thankfully, we have Eliza Haywood, who wrote the satirical response to Richardson's story of virtue--"Anti-Pamela; or, Feigned Innocence Detected," which chronicles the lives of a mother/daughter con artist team who make attempts to trick men into marrying the beautiful daughter, Syrena Tricksy, so that they might be able to secure a wealthy financial future for themselves.

This leads me to think, however, what a true epistolary form would like in the 21st century--a series of texts, tweets, emails and sticky note letters? Hardly anyone writes letters to one another nowadays. At least not in the form that Pamela wrote them.

That brings me to "The Best of Betty" which is a contemporary take on the epistolary novel, obviously a shorter version, in the form of letters to an advice columnist who has her own style of giving advice (maybe Anti-Dear Abby)?

Until tomorrow,

Jaa Mata!!

~Night~