Bodily signs and disembodied narrative in «Pamela II»

Autori

  • Riccardo Capoferro Sapienza università di Roma

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13130/2282-0035/9353

Abstract

To a large extent, the detractors of Pamela criticized Richardson’s focus on the body. Pamela’s actions and narrative style appeared to be motivated by her desire, namely, by her passions, traditionally located in the body. In particular, Pamela’s bodily identity undermined her authority as an impartial eyewitness, suggested that she could not act as a disinterested narrator and that her voice was not creditable enough to acquire public relevance. Responding to his critics, in Pamela II Richardson set up a different narrative technique, and inscribed the body of the heroine with new, less problematic meanings. In Pamela II, there is a chronological gap between story and discourse. Moreover, in keeping with the codes and stereotypes of sensibility, Pamela is deeply moved by virtuous behaviour, her bodily reactions signalizing her moral value. Along with the new representation of the body goes the effacement of desire and, inevitably, the disintegration of plot. However, Richardson’s experimentation with narrative was not yet over. Reconciling disinterestedness and desire, in Clarissa he wove a polyphony of epistolary voices, enabling the disinterested assessment of an external interpreter.

Biografia autore

Riccardo Capoferro, Sapienza università di Roma

Riccardo Capoferro teaches English Literature at Sapienza Università di Roma. He has published books and articles on the British 18th century, focusing, in particular, on the relation between epistemological change and the rise of the novel. He has also published on Joseph Conrad, and on the relation between 20th-century Italian culture and British culture.

 

Riccardo Capoferro insegna Letteratura inglese alla Sapienza Università di Roma. Ha pubblicato libri e articoli sull’Inghilterra del XVIII secolo, concentrandosi, in particolare, sulla relazione tra i cambiamenti epistemologici in atto all’epoca e l’ascesa del romanzo. Ha inoltre pubblicato contributi su Joseph Conrad e sui rapporti tra cultura italiana e quella inglese del XX secolo.

 

ORCID: 0000-0002-1957-7796

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Pubblicato

2017-12-20

Fascicolo

Sezione

Representing the Body in Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture