Richardson's revisions bear witness to the seriousness with which he
took such criticism. For the fifth edition (22 September, 1741), he
toned down the extravagant praises in the introductory letters, and for
the sixth edition (7 December 1741), he entirely omitted these letters,
substituting in their place a table of contents. The "warm scenes"
furthermore gradually began to loose their warmth. In the fifth edition,
Pamela now lies face down on the floor while Mr. B peeks through the
keyhole (Letter XV). _Pamela Censured_ had attacked the original passage
for exciting "Passions of Desire" by picturing Pamela stretched out on
the floor, presumably having collapsed on her back (p. 31). Richardson's
change indicates more about his sense of decorum and his attention to
_Pamela Censured_ than about his ignorance--as Eaves and Kimpel
imply--concerning sexual perversions.[8]
By the time Richardson's carefully corrected fourteenth edition appeared
in 1801, even more changes had crept into those passages which _Pamela
Censured_ found particularly objectionable. Mr. B no longer offers "to
take" Pamela "on his Knee, with some Force"; he now more modestly lifts
her up and offers "to set" her on his knee, without any mention of force
(Letter XV). While Mr. B originally "by Force Kissed" Pamela's "Neck and
Lips," he now simply kisses Pamela--no portion of her anatomy
mentioned--while she struggles against him (Letter XV). Likewise,
instead of passionately putting his hand in Pamela's bosom, Mr. B in the
revised version merely tries to kiss her neck (Letter XV) or continues
holding her in his arms (Letter XXV). Because of her lover's more modest
approach in Letter XXV, Pamela no longer breaks out "in a cold clammy
sweat." Pamela's reasons for not succumbing to Mr. B's advances (Letter
XIX), which _Pamela Censured_ found morally shoddy, are clarified
somewhat by the inclusion of a new moralizing passage concerning her
relation to Mr. B:
He may make me great offers, and may, perhaps, intend to
deck me out in finery, the better to gratify his own pride;
but I should be a wicked creature indeed, if, for the sake
of riches or favour, I should forfeit my good name; yea, and
worse than any other young body of my sex; because I can so
contentedly return to my poverty again, and think it less
disgrace to be obliged to live upon rye-bread and water, as
I used to do, than to be a harlot to the greatest man in the
world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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