Clarissa; or, The History of a Young Lady: Comprehending the Most Important Concerns of Private Life. And Particularly Shewing, the Distresses that May Attend the Misconduct Both of Parents and Children, In Relation to Marriage is an epistolary novel by English writer Samuel Richardson, published in 1748. The novel tells the tragic story of a young woman, Clarissa Harlowe, whose quest for virtue is continually thwarted by her family. The Harlowes are a nouveau riche family whose preoccupation with increasing their standing in society leads to obsessive control of their daughter, Clarissa.
Many versions of the book exist, because Samuel Richardson rewrote the novel several times and he had it republished with the revisions. It is considered one of the longest novels in the English language (based on estimated word count). It is generally regarded as Richardson's masterpiece. In 2015, the BBC ranked Clarissa 14th on its list of the 100 greatest British novels. In 2013, The Guardian included Clarissa among the 100 best novels written in English.
Contents
Plot summary
Robert Lovelace, a wealthy libertine, courts Clarissa's older sister Arabella, who rejects him for addressing his suit to her parents rather than to her. He turns to Clarissa, inflaming Arabella's jealousy and the hostility of their brother James, who had once fought a duel with him; both siblings resent that their grandfather left Clarissa an estate. The Harlowes press Clarissa to marry Roger Solmes, whom she finds repellent, and her refusal convinces them that her professed dislike of Lovelace is a lie. The family confines Clarissa to her room and forbids her to write to her friend Anna Howe until she consents. She corresponds with Anna in secret, and begins a clandestine correspondence with Lovelace. Neither side will concede, and communication between parents and daughter breaks down.
Lovelace has come to regard Clarissa's famed virtue as a challenge, boasting to his friend John Belford that he intends to put it to "trial", and relishing the chance to spite the Harlowes. He presses her to elope. She reluctantly agrees, then writes to call it off, but he deliberately leaves the letter unread in its hiding place. When she comes in person at the appointed hour to tell him, his servant stages a commotion at the house. Fearing discovery, she stops resisting and is carried off.
In his power, Clarissa rightly suspects that he means to seduce rather than wed her. Her family refuse to forgive the perceived betrayal of her elopement, and her father invokes a curse upon her, that her disobedience will bring her ruin in this world and punishment in the next.
Lovelace holds her for months in several lodgings, including, unknown to her, a brothel, whose women he passes off as respectable ladies. He introduces her to his rakish friends, among them Belford, who becomes an admirer and urges him to marry her. Lovelace mocks him and continues the "trial". Under the pretence of rescuing her from a fire he forces his way into her bedroom; she repels him and, under threat of rape, promises to marry him. Considering a promise made under duress void, she escapes to lodgings in Hampstead.
Lovelace finds, takes the rooms around her and hires impostors to play his respectable relations. He intercepts a warning letter from Anna Howe and forges others to end the correspondence. He persuades Clarissa to go out in a carriage with the false relatives and carries her back to the brothel, where, with the help of the madam and the prostitutes, he drugs and rapes her.
Principal characters
Clarissa Harlowe – the title character, a virtuous young woman whose family pressure and Lovelace's pursuit drive the novel.
Robert Lovelace – a libertine who abducts and rapes Clarissa; the novel's antagonist.
Anna Howe – Clarissa's closest friend and principal correspondent.
John Belford – Lovelace's friend and correspondent, who comes to side with Clarissa and becomes her executor.
James Harlowe Jr. – Clarissa's brother, whose enmity toward Lovelace drives the family's hostility.
Arabella Harlowe – Clarissa's older sister, courted by Lovelace before he turns to Clarissa.
Roger Solmes – the wealthy suitor Clarissa's family presses her to marry.
Mrs Sinclair – the London brothel keeper who assists Lovelace.
Colonel Morden – Clarissa's cousin, who eventually duels Lovelace.
Publication
The first two volumes were published in December 1747, and the subsequent five volumes were published in 1748. The word count of the novel is approximately 970,000 words, and it is "the longest novel in the English canon".
Response
Clarissa is generally regarded by critics to be among the masterpieces of eighteenth-century European literature. Influential critic Harold Bloom cited it as one of his favourite novels that he "tend[ed] to re-read every year or so". The novel was well-received as it was being released. Many readers pressured Richardson for a happy ending with a wedding between Clarissa and Lovelace. At the novel's end, many readers were upset, and some even wrote alternative endings for the story with a happier conclusion. Some of the most well-known ones included happier alternative endings written by two sisters, Lady Bradshaigh and Lady Echlin. Richardson felt that the story's morals and messages failed to reach his audience properly. In later editions of the novel, he attempted to make Clarissa's character appear purer while also Lovelace's character became more sinister, in hopes of making his audience better understand his intentions in writing the novel. The pioneering American nurse Clara Barton's full name was Clarissa Harlowe Barton, after the heroine of Richardson's novel.
Critical Edition
Penguin Classics (1985), Edited by Angus Ross (based on the 1st edition)
The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Samuel Richardson (forthcoming)
Adaptations
Theatre
Clarissa; or the Fatal Seduction (1788), by Robert Porrett. This adaptation was printed, but never performed.
Clarissa Harlowe (1846), by T.H. Lacy and John Courtney, premiered at the Princess's Theatre on 28 September 1846.
Clarissa (1875), by Dion Boucicalt, premiered in New York in 1875, starring Rose Coghlan as the titular character and C.F. Coghlan as Lovelace
Clarissa Harlowe (1890), opera libretto, by Jules Barbier and Paul de Choudens. This text was written for an unfinished score by Bizet, but was never set to music.
Clarissa (1976), opera, composed by Robin Holloway, who also wrote the piece's libretto.
Radio & Television
The BBC adapted the novel as a television series in 1991, starring Sean Bean, Saskia Wickham, and Sean Pertwee.
BBC Radio 4 released a radio adaptation in March and April 2010, starring Richard Armitage and Zoe Waites.