How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
I am oblig'd to you, Pamela, said he; and pray be only dress'd as you are; for, as they know your Condition, and I have told them the Story of your present Dress, and how you came by it, one of the young Ladies begs it as a Favour, that they may see you just as you are. And I am the rather pleas'd it should be so, because they will perceive you owe nothing to Dress, and make a much better Figure with your own native Stock of Loveliness, than the greatest Ladies do in the most splendid Attire, and stick out with the most glittering Jewels. (75.53)
Take off that designer denim: it's what's on the inside that counts. (No really. Mr. B wants you to take off that designer denim, if you know what we mean.) Jokes aside, this position is hard to argue with. The weird thing is, once they're married, Mr. B demands that she dress the part. Once she's his wife, that is, the outside matters, too. Virtue matters, but keeping up appearances seems to matter just as much.
Quote #8
We Fellows of Fortune, Mr. Williams, take sometimes a little more Liberty with the World than we ought to do; wantoning, very probably, as you contemplative Folks would say, in the Sun-beams of a dangerous Affluence, and cannot think of confining ourselves to the common Paths, tho' the safest and most eligible, after all. (76.26)
Here, Mr. B explains that he has a serious case of affluenza: growing up rich means that he's never learned about consequences. Poor little rich boy, wah wah. Try telling that to the judge. Oh wait. Someone did—and it totally worked.
Quote #9
They all so gaz'd at me, that I could not look up; for I think it is one of the Distinctions of Persons of Condition, and well-bred People, to put bashful Bodies out of Countenance. (77.7)
Did anyone bring the peanuts? The "well-bred" people in the novel treat Pamela like more of a zoo animal than a person; Mr. B likes to show her off to his friends so they'll marvel at her beauty, dress, and intellect. Major point of difference: as aristocrats, Mr. B and his friends would have been used to being looked at. Aristocrats were supposed to display their wealth; it was considered their duty. For them, the outside does count—until Pamela teaches them to value the inside.