Symbol: The Hare
Shamela compares herself to the hare pursued by the greyhounds, and while it is unlikely she is doing anything deeper than grasping at a connection that might paint her in a sympathetic light, the hare/rabbit actually is a symbol of haste and impatience (the "Turtle and the Hare" fable). It also symbolizes fertility and womanhood in Medieval tales, as well as cunning.
Allegory: 18th Century England
Many critics have found Shamela to be an allegory of the political situation in 18th century England: the prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, was improperly manipulating the King, which caused instability within the kingdom. Shamela is Walpole and the Squire is the King, and their fraught alliance destabilizes their society.
Symbol: Blushing
Scholar Soile Ylivuori writes of 18th century women, "Bashfulness, timid air, and downcast eyes were all important signs of virtue, blushing was perhaps considered to be the most requisite one," and thus this quote from Shamela is symbolic of Shamela's lack of virtue: "The most difficult Task for me was to blush; however, by holding my Breath, and squeezing my Cheeks with my Handkerchief, I did pretty well" (34).
Motif: Selling
Henrietta sells oranges and also sells herself; Shamela sells herself; and, perhaps more metaphorically, Parson Williams "sells" religion and Shamela's father "sells out" his country and countrymen. Most of the characters in Shamela engage in transactional relationships, which derive from the intersection of capitalism, patriarchy, and class hierarchy.
Motif: Shams
A sham is a hoax, something counterfeit intended to trick or deceive someone. Thus, changing Pamela's name to Shamela and having characters simply refer to her as "Sham" continually reinforces the fact that Shamela/Pamela (and by extension, Richardson's novel) is not so pure and laudatory as one might think.
