Pamela: Foil 2 key examples

Sally, on the other hand, has sex with Mr. B. and gets pregnant, then tries to get him to marry her. When Mr. B. refuses, Sally ends up giving up the baby to be raised by Mr. B.'s sister. Meanwhile, she goes to live in Jamaica, one of the many places Britain had recently colonized. Going to a colony was not considered an especially elegant way to make one's fortune; among rich white English people, it was often a last resort for people who could not make it at home in England. Richardson frames Sally's life as a colonist in Jamaica as punishment for her failure to live up to Pamela's standards.

Pamela does not find out about Sally until after she is already married to Mr. B. Pamela becomes preoccupied with Sally and often wonders about her before she hears Mr. B.'s full confession of what happened with her. Still, by the time Pamela has heard about Sally's existence, their divergent fates are already sealed. Sally serves almost as the ghost of who Pamela could have become if she had not remained so strong in the face of her torment. Of course, the idea that Pamela avoids sexual assault through a stronger will than Sally has overlooks most of what we know about the way sexual violence actually occurs. For Richardson though, Pamela demonstrates strength of character by resisting Mr. B. for so long.

Pamela has tried to steal the keys to the two doors into her chamber so that she can lock herself in securely, away from Mr. B. When Mrs. Jewkes catches her, Pamela convinces her to let her have the keys. Still, Mrs. Jewkes tries to physically wrestle Pamela out of her clothes and forbids Nan from aiding Pamela in an escape, even indirectly by giving her information. Pamela just doesn't want to be assaulted. She is so anxious that Mr. B. will show up in her bedroom while she is asleep that once she locks herself in, she wears two coats to bed so that he will have more layers to fight through.

Pamela's exclamation of "how unlike good Mrs. Jervis in everything!" emphasizes how differently Mrs. Jervis would have behaved in a similar situation. Both women are tasked with taking care of Pamela. As her "bedfellows," they are supposed to sleep next to her to keep her safe in bed. However, they each perform this task to very different ends. Mrs. Jervis sleeps next to Pamela as a kind of shield from Mr. B. She does not always do a very good job of keeping the man from accessing Pamela's body, but she is enough of an obstacle that Mr. B. decides to send Pamela away and fire Mrs. Jervis. Mrs. Jewkes, on the other hand, is the bedfellow Mr. B. selects for Pamela. To her, keeping Pamela safe in bed means preventing her from escaping from the estate where Mr. B. is holding her captive.

Just as Pamela comes to align herself with Mr. B. in the second half of the novel, so too does Mrs. Jewkes end up an ally of Pamela's. Pamela also gets Mr. B. to hire Mrs. Jervis back so that she can have both women as part of her household once they are married. Nonetheless, Mrs. Jervis and Mrs. Jewkes are still foils in the second half of the book. Mrs. Jewkes only comes around to Pamela's side once Pamela has a change of heart about Mr. B. Whereas Mrs. Jervis's loyalty is forever to Pamela and her virtue, Mrs. Jewkes's loyalty is to her master and his household. Pamela's "reward" at the end of the novel is the wealth, security, and happiness she obtains once she brings her virtue into harmony with Mr. B.'s desires. This harmony is reflected in the way Mrs. Jervis and Mrs. Jewkes both come to serve Pamela.