Anti-Pamela

I really enjoyed the realism that Haywood used to portray situations a young girl may find herself in. The adventures of Syrena were very entertaining and they provided a different sort of connection. Haywood places Syrena in situations that are very probable, even today. For example, Syrena gets pregnant and decides to have an abortion. Another example, is when Syrena contracts gonorrhea from having so many partners. These two elements make her story a little more relatable. The contraction of the STD reminded me of the show Sex and the City. These women go around sleeping with random guys that they meet in a bar or even on the street corner but never worry about the possibility of contracting one of the many diseases that are out there. These sexual escapades that Syrena indulges in made me think that there was a little more to it than simply trying to support herself. While Haywood did use situations that are relatable she still included didactic messages. For example, when Mr. W meets Syrena at the park and decides to take her in at the end of this ‘adventure’ there is a lesson, “and ought to be a Warning to all Gentleman how they suffer themselves to be beguiled in the Manner he was, or expect Sincerity from Persons whom they commence an Acquaintance with in the Street” (215).
I found it very interesting that even if Syrena felt that she loved the guy she was with the thought process would default to a business transaction. She kept herself very distant from any of the men she was with, neither love nor hate was present. Which in doing so she gained my respect more than Shamela did. Shamela was an ingrate. While she did not love him, she did not have to harbor such animosity towards him. This is where Syrena maintains a balance.
Both of the anti-Pamela texts that we have read have an absence of a father figure. Whether he is in prison or has died does not matter so much as the result of his absence. Haywood and Fielding both portray Pamela as a gold digger. By the lack of a patriarch in the household they seem to suggest that women can be corrupted without their guidance. In Pamela, Richardson seemed to focus on the fact that her father was the driving force behind her virtuous behavior. Haywood could be suggesting that independent women are a threat to the traditional male role. If a girl is raised by her mother the mother plays both roles, she takes on double the responsibility because she has to act both the parts. This was probably not seen as ’proper.’ Taking a psychoanalytical view, Syrena could be seen as trying to get approval from any male figure she runs into, maybe the acceptance she never received from her father. In fact with so promiscuous a character, I am surprised that Haywood did not exceed the letters of the alphabet.
A couple things did bother me about Syrena and her mother. The first was after scamming Mr. L and being damned by the “pen and paper,” why did they continue to correspond that way while trying to scam Mr. D (139)? It was like they did not even consider the probability of that happening again. Also, why in the world would they continue to use their real names? It would have been easy to create and use aliases. Mrs. Tricksey often has doubts about how she raised her daughter throughout the text, “tis possible the old Woman now began to repent the having tran’d up a Child in that manner” (167). While she had these doubts from time to time she does nothing to hinder the scam that is currently in process. Oh! and did anyone else notice the return of the window theme? Maybe because windows are like people at times. They are transparent, can be dressed with rich fabric, etc. They also have the ability of keeping people out and in. I dont really know what to think just throwing some ideas out there.