# Letter 148: Miss Howe, to Miss Clarissa Harlowe explained — Clarissa

> Chapter companion for Clarissa by Samuel Richardson.

## What happens

Anna Howe writes to comfort Clarissa after receiving a cruel letter from Arabella Harlowe containing a parental curse. She reassures Clarissa that God does not sanction such curses and urges her not to despair. Anna criticizes the Harlowe family's hypocrisy and advises Clarissa to marry Lovelace promptly. She also warns that the family's plot to seize Clarissa may not be over and recommends secrecy in London. Anna sends fifty guineas and vows not to marry until Clarissa's happiness is secured.

## Themes in this chapter

### Friendship and Loyalty

Anna's unwavering support, financial aid, and vow to delay her own marriage demonstrate deep loyalty to Clarissa.

### Family Obligation and Rebellion

The Harlowe family's curse and cruelty highlight the conflict between familial duty and Clarissa's autonomy.

## Character check-ins

### Clarissa Harlowe

Recipient of Anna's letter; suffering under her father's curse and family's cruelty.

### Anna Howe

Writer of the letter; offers comfort, advice, and financial support to Clarissa.

### Arabella Harlowe

Sent a shocking letter to Clarissa; Anna condemns her as 'abominable' and 'malevolent.'

### Robert Lovelace

Anna suggests showing him Arabella's letter to spur him to action and secure Clarissa's marriage.

### Mr. Hickman

Mentioned as a go-between for correspondence; Anna has a reason for directing letters through him.

## Key lines

> None but God can curse; parents or others, whoever they be, can only pray to Him to curse: and such prayers can have no weight with a just and all-perfect Being, the motives to which are unreasonable, and the end proposed by them cruel.

Only God has the power to curse; human beings can only ask God to curse, and such requests are ineffective when they are unreasonable and cruel.

_Anna reassures Clarissa that her father's curse is not divinely sanctioned._

> I would not have you be too sure that their project to seize you is over. The words intimating that it is over, in the letter of that abominable Arabella, seem calculated to give you security.

Do not assume the family's plan to capture you has ended; Arabella's claim that it is over may be a trick to make you feel safe.

_Anna warns Clarissa to remain cautious about the family's intentions._

## Links

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- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/clarissa_se/chapters