Terms of Abuse in Richardson's Pamela: With Special Reference to Figurative Expressions

As examined in our previous papers, Richardson's Pamela contains a rich variety of expressions, whether endearing or depreciatory, which are applied to male/female characters in the novel. In succession to Wakimoto(2007c), the present paper continues to examine the terms of abuse found in Pamela. This time, our focus of discussion is on the terms used allusively or figuratively. In figurative language, a referent is substituted by another word or phrase which embodies, in a more effective way, the central features of the referent. It appears quite likely, therefore, that most, if not all, of those which are represented by such rhetorical devices as 'metaphor' or 'metonymy' give more vivid and clearer impressions. Our purpose here in this paper is twofold: first to classify some remarkable of examples of symbolic words in Pamela, and then to make a rough comparison with Fielding's two parodies of it.