Pamela

Content warning: This Symbols and Motifs section includes references to attempted rape and sexual harassment.

Clothing draws attention to a character’s social status, reflecting the theme of Inappropriateness of Transgressing Class Boundaries. When Pamela anticipates returning to her parents, she worries about “hav[ing] nothing on my back that will be fit for my condition” (76), since she knows it would be inappropriate to wear her elegant estate clothes in her small rural village. Consumed with performing scrupulous propriety, Pamela divides all of her clothing into three piles, explaining to Mrs. Jervis that she only wants to retain “my dear third parcel, the companion of my poverty” (111). Pamela’s insistence that her clothes align with her context and social position, and her eschewing clothes that are grander than what she deserves or can afford reflects her belief that individuals should be content with their social station, and not attempt to supersede it.

Pamela’s wariness around clothing also reflects the theme of Choosing Personal Integrity over Material Rewards because Mr. B often gifts her clothes—an expensive luxury in 18th century England. These gifts have seductive overtures since the clothing will be in contact with Pamela’s body, just as Mr.