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 recently wealthy family whose preoccupation with increasing their standing in society leads to obsessive control of their daughter, Clarissa.
Many versions of the book exist since Samuel Richardson rewrote the novel multiple 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" and heir to a substantial estate, begins to court Arabella, Clarissa's older sister. However, she rejects him because she feels slighted by his interest in her parents' approval rather than in her. Lovelace quickly moves on to Clarissa, much to the displeasure of Arabella and their brother James. Clarissa, a virtuous young lady, insists that she dislikes and distrusts the notorious Lovelace, but Arabella grows jealous of Lovelace's interest in the younger girl. James, also, dislikes Lovelace because of a duel the two had once fought. These feelings combine with resentment that their grandfather had left Clarissa a piece of land and lead the siblings to be aggressive to Clarissa. The entire Harlowe family is in favour of her marrying Roger Solmes; however, Clarissa finds Solmes to be unpleasant company and does not wish to marry him, either. This makes her family suspicious of her supposed dislike of Lovelace and they begin to disbelieve her.
The Harlowes begin restricting Clarissa's contact with the outside world by forbidding her to see Lovelace. Eventually they forbid her to either leave her room or send letters to her friend, Anna Howe, until Clarissa apologises and agrees to marry Solmes. Trapped and desperate to regain her freedom, Clarissa continues to communicate with Anna secretly and begins a correspondence with Lovelace, while trying to convince her parents not to force her to marry Solmes. Neither Clarissa nor her parents will concede. They see her protests as stubborn disobedience and communication between parents and daughter breaks down.
Meanwhile, through their clandestine correspondence, Lovelace pressures Clarissa into agreeing to elope with him. He has come to view her famed virtuousness as a challenge for him to conquer, bragging to his best friend John Belford that he intends to put it to "trial". He is also delighted by the idea of spiting the Harlowes for their haughty rejection of his suit for Clarissa's hand.
Increasingly desperate, Clarissa reluctantly agrees to elope with Lovelace, but a few days before the agreed-upon date, she changes her mind. She writes to him, reneging on the plan. However, Lovelace deliberately leaves the letter untouched in its hiding place. Clarissa is distressed to discover that he did not get her message. She goes in person, at the agreed night-time hour of elopement, to tell him of her reversal of decision. Lovelace forcefully compels her towards his carriage, and she at first resists. However, unbeknownst to Clarissa, Lovelace has arranged for his servant, Joseph Leman, to make noises mimicking a disturbance in the Harlowe household. Frightened by the repercussions of being seen to be eloping with the enemy, Clarissa stops resisting Lovelace, and allows herself to be carried off by him to his lodgings.
Characters
Major characters:
Secondary characters:
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. However, 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 of the story failed to reach his audience properly. As such, 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.