This week I am deciding to tackle 2 readings at once, more or less, because they are similar. I have been very busy with the presentation and midterms so tackling these 2 stories at the same time makes sense.
Let’s start with The Anti-Pamela; or Feign’d Innocence Detected by Eliza Haywood. Anti-Pamela is clearly a satirical response to Richardson’s Pamela and follows a similar character known as Syrena. Syrena, while playing off of many of Pamela’s actions, is much more deceitful and manipulative that Richardson’s character. She is seen by the reader as someone who will do anything to get what she wants including using her own God-given assets to make that happen. At the same time, Haywood appears to be creating a character that she believes is more “real” than Pamela. I say that because, from my readings, it appeared to me that Haywood could in no way believe that a woman of this timeframe could possibly be as “pure” as Pamela. Haywood’s creation of Pamela in Syrena, gives us a more modern and independent woman, sometimes referred to today, as another student put it, a “gold digger”. After making Syrena a character I could better understand, and even relate to girls that I know, it made it a much easier, and more interesting read.
On the other hand, we have Henry Fielding’s An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews, which is not only a satirical response, but a direct mocking of Pamela, as well as Richardson’s personal writing style. Fielding does not even create a different character for his story like Haywood but instead uses Pamela herself, and later renames her Shamela. By doing this, Fielding claims that his version involves the “true” events of Richardson’s character, who really has an alternative motive. Like Haywood, Fielding also does not believe Pamela as a “pure” individual and says that her virtue is all an act to seduce her master.
When I think of satire, I think of television shows like Seinfeld, Family Guy, South Park, etc. which basically poke fun at anything and everything. When I think of this fact, I would consider Shamela to be more satirical than Anti-Pamela. I don’t, however, believe that Shamela could be read as a stand-alone story like Anti-Pamela could. Either way, I believe they are excellent examples of early satirical prose.
