Henry Fielding Shamela Criticism
Shamela, authored by Henry Fielding, is acclaimed by Sheridan Baker as possibly the finest parody in English literature. This 1741 work satirizes Samuel Richardson's popular novel, Pamela, subverting its narrative and moral stance with Fielding's characteristic humor. While Richardson's Pamela is depicted as a virtuous maid resisting her master's advances, Fielding's Shamela is a cunning opportunist who manipulates her so-called 'virtue' for social ascent. Fielding's parody is not merely a critique of Richardson's moralizing but expands into a broader satire of contemporary societal norms, targeting political figures, clergy, and literary peers, as noted by Hugh Amory. This work also foreshadowed Fielding’s later and more significant comic novel, Joseph Andrews, which further developed themes introduced in Shamela, as discussed by Simon Varey.
Fielding's biographical context is key to understanding Shamela. By 1741, Fielding's theatrical career had been curtailed due to political controversies, leading him to explore other mediums, including founding a newspaper to critique societal norms. This burgeoning satirical voice translated into Shamela, written during a financially turbulent period for Fielding. The novel, published anonymously, parodied not only Pamela but also works by Colley Cibber and Conyers Middleton, targeting their stylistic and substantive flaws as pointed out in R. Humphreys's analysis.
Thematically, Shamela overturns the moral dichotomies of Pamela, suggesting that virtue is often a guise for expediency. Fielding's incisive humor critiques the hypocrisy embedded in social and moral pretenses, as examined by Ian Watt. The novel's layered satire extends to the church, aristocracy, and politics, reflecting Fielding's broader cultural critique. Critically, Shamela initially gained notoriety as a bold parody but only later was recognized for its literary merit and innovative style, with scholars such as Charles Richard Greene contributing evidence supporting Fielding’s authorship. Subsequent scholarship has deepened the understanding of its complex narrative methods and rich thematic explorations, encompassing issues of class, gender, and authenticity, as discussed by Judith Frank and Albert J. Rivero.
Contents
- Principal Works
-
Essays
-
An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews
(summary)
In the following essay, Jensen provides textual evidence to show that Shamela was written by Fielding.
-
A Note on the Authorship of Shamela
(summary)
In the following essay, Greene notes similarities between a passage in Shamela and a passage in Fielding's translation of a work by Moliére, and suggests that this is evidence for Fielding's authorship of the novel.
-
Fielding and the Authorship of Shamela
(summary)
In the following essay, Woods argues that Shamela was written by Fielding, citing as evidence the similar subject matter in Fielding's essays and Fielding's distinctive prose style.
-
Introduction to An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Baker discusses Fielding's authorship of Shamela, the novel's thematic concerns, and its relationship to Pamela. Shamela is not only a little book of great historical interest; it is not only a work which turned Henry Fielding from a minor dramatist and journalist into a major novelist: it is itself a masterpiece. It may well be the best parody in English literature.
-
Shamela
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1956, Watt discusses the major theme of faith versus good works and analyzes Fielding's brand of satire.
-
The Art of Parody: Shamela
(summary)
In the following essay, Johnson considers Shamela, besides being pure, humorous fun, to be a prelude to Fielding's more serious, realistic works.
-
The Framework of Shamela
(summary)
In the following essay, Rothstein shows how the framework of Shamela, beginning with the prefatory material, sustains the burlesque of the novel's action and satirizes English social, political, and religious life.
-
Shamela as Aesopic Satire
(summary)
In the following essay, Amory claims that Shamela satirizes Cibber's Apology, Middleton's Life of Cicero, and Richardson's Pamela, which Fielding thinks are testaments to the social and political corruption of the age.
-
Introduction to Joseph Andrews preceded by Shamela
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Humphreys argues that Shamela attacks a number of literary and political figures, and that Fielding's parody is a result of his irritation with the moralizing tone of some of his contemporaries, which was brought to a head with the publication of Pamela.
-
‘Pamela’ and ‘Shamela’: A Reassessment
(summary)
In the following essay, Olivier maintains that Fielding's purpose in Shamela was not much different from that of Samuel Richardson in Pamela, in that both attempt to entertain, but do so by different means.
-
Public Context and Imagining Self in Pamela and Shamela
(summary)
In the following essay, Golden examines the social and cultural context in which Pamela and Shamela were written, which he argues is of particular interest because it sheds light on the origins of the novel.
-
Shamela and Joseph Andrews
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Varey examines the parody of Pamela which Fielding uses in Shamela as a forerunner of the parodical elements in Joseph Andrews.
-
Politics, Novels, and The Law
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Battestin examines the political, social, and cultural context for Fielding's composition and the public reception of Shamela.
-
Literacy, Desire, and the Novel: From Shamela to Joseph Andrews.
(summary)
In the following essay, Frank offers a reading of Shamela that departs from earlier analyses about bourgeois politics and literary representation, arguing that the novel is about literacy and desire among the lower classes, a theme that Fielding further develops in Joseph Andrews.
-
Pamela into Shamela
(summary)
In the following essay, Bell argues that Shamela suggests themes and cultural critiques that are developed in a more serious and disciplined manner in his later works.
-
Ambiguous Language and Ambiguous Gender: The ‘Bisexual’ Text of Shamela.
(summary)
In the following essay, Wilputte contends that in his novel Fielding uses sexually ambiguous creatures and bisexuality to represent perversions of language.
-
Towards Fiction: The Champion and Shamela
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Uglow offers a general reading of Shamela and notes the reader's collusion with the author in the novel's pretense.
-
Pamela, Shamela, and the Politics of the Pamela Vogue
(summary)
In the following essay, Gooding discusses the similarities and differences between Richardson's Pamela and the parodies it spawned, including Shamela.
-
Pamela/Shamela/Joseph Andrews: Henry Fielding and the Duplicities of Representation
(summary)
In the following essay, Rivero discusses Fielding's concerns with representation, authority, and authenticity in Shamela, which the novelist explores more fully in Joseph Andrews.
-
Georgian Libertinism and the Reclamation of Virtue: Shamela and Joseph Andrews
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Potter argues that Shamela displays the coherent ideology of libertinism that Fielding embraced, with its rejection of contemporary standards of virtue, religious dogma, and vision of human behavior.
-
Theatrical Fielding
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Lockwood claims that, with its dramatic elements, Shamela shows the current of Fielding's theatrical imagination.
-
An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews
(summary)
- Further Reading