Pamela Characters

Too Good to Be True?The first thing you might notice about Pamela is that she seems too good to be true. Even by make-believe standards, she seems a little unnaturally perfect. First of all, she's...

Mr. B is a wealthy gentleman and the son of Pamela's late mistress. At the beginning of the novel, he takes over the household and becomes Pamela's boss. Pretty soon he becomes her worst nightmareâ...

Mrs. Jewkes is the housekeeper in Lincolnshire, which is one of Mr. B's estates. When we first meet her, she has a pretty shaky moral compass; she believes that her duty to Mr. B trumps any moral o...

Lady Davers is Mr. B's sister. Overall, her friends and family think she's a good egg, with the rep of being a good and kind friend and a devoted sister. As Mr. B notes, "She was a dutiful Daughter...

Mrs. Jervis is the housekeeper at the Bedfordshire estate who, according to Pamela, was "a Gentlewoman born, tho' she has had Misfortunes" (8.2). She's generally pretty cool and well meaning—in f...

Mr. Williams is Mr. B's chaplain in Lincolnshire, which means he's working as a religious leader on Mr. B's land. When we first meet Mr. Williams, he expects that Mr. B will be conferring a "living...

When we first meet Colbrand, he's assisting Mr. B in keeping Pamela prisoner. So, naturally, he's not Pamela's favorite person, and her disdain is really clear in her first description of him: He i...

A servant at the Bedfordshire estate, he is initially responsible for delivering Pamela's letters to her parents. Pamela thinks he's a great guy until she discovers that he has been passing all of...

Lady B is Pamela's previous mistress; Pamela was Lady B's waiting-maid until her death (which occurred just prior to the opening of the novel). Lady B is the mother of Mr. B and Lady Davers. Lady B...

Jackey is Lady Davers's nephew. At first, he seems like a real jerkwad, joining his mom in taunting and insulting Pamela when they believe she is Mr. B's mistress, and even pulling his sword at Pam...

Mr. Longman is the house steward in Bedfordshire. In a perhaps somewhat creepy expression of enthusiasm for Pamela's virtues, he says he wishes he were younger so he could have married Pamela.

Lady Arthur, Lady Brooks, Lady Towers and the Countess are four gentlewomen from Bedfordshire who, having heard rumors of Pamela's extreme beauty and excellence, come to check her out while she's s...

Beck is Lady Davers's maid. She visits the Lincolnshire estate with her mistress, lending a helping hand when Lady Davers attempts to question and detain Pamela. Like Lady Davers, Beck operates und...

Pamela's parents are pious, hardworking people who have fallen on hard times through bad luck (and some nasty debts Pamela's brothers managed to run up). When Mr. B reforms and marries Pamela, thei...

She was once Mr. B's girlfriend; in fact, they were almost married, but things fell apart when Mr. B realized Sally's mom was playing some tricks to try to bring about the match (and he really does...

Miss Goodwin is Mr. B's love child with Sally Godfrey. She is about six or seven when Pamela first meets her during a visit to the dairy near Miss Goodwin's school, and, according to Pamela, pretty...

These gentlemen pay Mr. B a surprise visit on his wedding night (not knowing that he was just married, naturally, since the wedding was a secret). Mr. B refers to them as "three mad rakes," since a...

Widow Lady Jones is a widow (surprise), lives near the Lincolnshire estate, and she is a friend of Mr. B's. She is one of the people to whom Mr. Williams appeals for help when Pamela is initially t...

Sir Simon and his family live near Mr. B's estate in Lincolnshire. He is another friend of Mr. B's who declines to help Pamela when Mr. Williams tries to advocate on her behalf during her imprisonm...

Isaac is the backup footman at the Bedfordshire estate. (All the best estates have backup footmen.

Jane is the cook at the Bedfordshire estate. Supposedly she's a bit of the sourpuss, but apparently Pamela is able to win even her over with her charms.

Widow Mumford is a woman Pamela's parents trust for advice. They consult her early on when they're concerned about the fact that Pamela will be working for a single gentleman.

He is the Lincolnshire coachman. He is responsible for taking Pamela to Lincolnshire and helps to trick her into thinking she's going home. Pamela also calls him Robert from time to time.

Nan is a maid in the Lincolnshire estate. She likes to drink, a fact that the master uses to his advantage when he plots to replace her as one of Pamela's bedfellows.

Mr. Williams expects to inherit a living from Mr. Fownes, who dies midway through the book. And that's all we know of Mr. Fownes.

Abraham is a servant at the Lincolnshire house who replaces John when he was fired for disobedience. He sits up with the master when he falls ill upon Pamela's brief departure.

He is a servant at the Lincolnshire house who sometimes delivers letters for Pamela.

Mr. Carlton has multiple business dealings (including a mortgage) with Mr. B, who visits him when he is ill and dying.

Mr. Perry, the Miss Buroughses, and some other randos are guests at the party Sir Simon is throwing while Lady Davers is detaining Pamela.

Lady Davers had planned to set Lady Betty up with Mr. B before he decided to marry Pamela. Sorry, Lady Betty.

An heiress to whom Mr. B was supposed to be married several years before the events of the book take place.

Mrs. Dobson is the proprietress of the dairy where Pamela and Mr. B meet up with Miss Goodwin.

Sir Thomas Atkyns is an acquaintance of Mr. B's from Bedfordshire. Apparently, he's quite talkative, and it can be hard to disengage from a conversation with him.

One of Mr. B's acquaintances in Bedfordshire.