Pamela, or virtue rewarded

[alias_sqbr]

Following on from my earlier post I was skimming through Pamela since I want to make a reference to it in my fic and Oh My God. This section for example would make for a great if disturbing characterisation of a creepy would-be rapist taking advantage of 18th C classism and sexism, if I didn't know that he's the romantic hero of the piece. Argh! *stops reading and wipes brain*

And oh look, he calls her "saucy" :/

Comments

[bunny-m.livejournal.com]

*reads as much as he can stand, which is all of a page*

GAH!

*vigourously applies the BrainBleach™*

[alias_sqbr]

Hey, I did warn you!

[mothwentbad.livejournal.com]

Maybe the living dead (http://mothwentbad.livejournal.com/291569.html) can cleanse your palate of this distasteful thing?

[alias_sqbr]

I. Don't. Do. Zombies.

(I have this huge illogical fear of them. I am waiting with great impatience for the zombies-are-cool trend to finish)

But yes, that was mentioned with much bemusement at pridenprejudice :)

[melberon.livejournal.com]

I clicked through from your wikipedia link about Pamela to a page about Marquis de Sade's novels and ended up reading plot summaries of a few of them. And now I'm feeling pretty scarred.

[alias_sqbr]

It was either Sandman or The Invisibles which illustrated some of them in graphic detail (I think the latter) and..yeah. That was enough for me.

[nico-wolfwood.livejournal.com]

oh my god.

[sanguinity]

*reads the page* O_o

*reads the WP summary* O_o

Um, so, the moral of the story is that if you're FIRM about resisting your rapist, you can get him to marry you instead of raping you? Am I getting that right?

So this is basically a twist on Leviticus, what with the "if you rape a virgin, you have to marry her" thing, but without having to rely on societal intervention OR getting raped first? Strictly DIY solution, yes?

Gods, it's as bad as Horatio Alger, in some ways.

(And yes, I'm being a coward and completely ignoring the lack of solution here for marital rape, because I'm sure wots-is-name can't even conceive of marital rape, and Pamela is MORE THAN HAPPY to give it up for her new husband, whenever and wherever he wants.)

[alias_sqbr]

Um, so, the moral of the story is that if you're FIRM about resisting your rapist, you can get him to marry you instead of raping you? Am I getting that right?

As far as I can tell. I learned about the novel via an OH JOHN RINGO NO-style sporking and that was the impression I got.

But see, it's a happy message: look at how far gender roles have progressed!