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Library's collection Library's IT development CancelThis thesis deals with the main male character's male dominance and
the main female character's self-ownership as seen in Samuel Richardson's
Pamela since I have the assumption that the novel mainly talks about those
concepts. In this case, according to Brissenden, demonstrating moral and
social predicaments of individual's rights, essentially the women's rights, is
Richardson's obsession in Pamela. Two sets of feelings of the main female
character, Pamela, and the main male character, Mr. B., which are
inextricably involved, trigger the sexual conflicts concerning Pamela and
Mr. B. with their concepts. In the course of their argumentations, I want to
reveal how Mr. B. expresses his notion of male dominance toward Pamela,
how Pamela also performs her notion of self-ownership toward Mr. B., and
what the resolutions of their confrontations are. In this study, I apply a
feminist approach since the theories of male dominance and the theories of
self-ownership are in line with the world of feminist theories. In order to
support the theories of self-ownership, I apply the extropian theories of self-ownership
as they represent the idea of the individual's rights obviously.
In this case, I view the extropian theories of self-ownership still from the
feminist point of view. Furthermore, I apply literary theories, namely
characterization and conflict in order to help me show Pamela's self-ownership
and Mr. B.'s male dominance more clearly. In relation with the
theory of characterization, I want to prove that Pamela and Mr. B. really
have the concept of self-ownership and the concept of male dominance. In
this case, their concepts of male dominance and self-ownership are reflected
through their character traits. Next, I apply theories of conflict in order to
evaluate the conflicts between Pamela and Mr. B.. As of my analysis, I
construe that Mr. B. is a man with dominance while Pamela is a woman
with self-ownership since their speeches and actions prove that.
Conclusively, I find out that despite the fact that Mr. B. has a strong notion
of male dominance, fundamentally his domination fails since Pamela is able
to overcome all his efforts to own her without marriage. Mr. B. also changes
his manners toward Pamela. The fact that Mr. B. even requests her to marry
him becomes the final resolution of their great conflicts.