Clarissa · Chapter
Letter 277: Mr. Lovelace, to John Belford, Esq. explained
Lovelace recounts a tense confrontation with Clarissa, who refuses to promise to stay at the brothel while he visits Lord M.
What happens
Lovelace recounts a tense confrontation with Clarissa, who refuses to promise to stay at the brothel while he visits Lord M. She insists on going to Mrs. Moore's at Hampstead and rejects his attempts to extract a promise of favor. Lovelace admits that only terror seems to move her, and he reflects on the influence of Sally and Polly, who urge him to use force. He also mentions Lord M.'s dangerous illness and his own need to go to M. Hall.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Manipulation
Lovelace uses terror and physical restraint to try to control Clarissa, while she resists with declarations of independence.
Female Agency and Virtue
Clarissa asserts her will, refusing to promise anything and insisting on leaving the brothel, despite Lovelace's pressure.
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
Lovelace plans to feign grief over Lord M.'s illness while remaining inwardly indifferent, highlighting his duplicity.
Characters to notice
- Robert Lovelace
Narrates the letter; frustrated with Clarissa's resistance, contemplates using terror, and prepares to visit Lord M.
- Clarissa Harlowe
Refuses to promise to stay at the brothel, insists on going to Hampstead, and expresses indignation at Lovelace's constraints.
- John Belford
Recipient of the letter; Lovelace addresses him as a friend and confidant.
- Sally Martin
One of the women at the brothel; mocks Lovelace and quotes Dryden, urging him to use force.
- Polly Horton
Another woman at the brothel; joins Sally in criticizing Lovelace's handling of Clarissa.
- Lord M.
Mentioned as being in great danger; Lovelace must go to M. Hall due to his illness.
Key passages
“She regarded the concession she made, as a concession extorted from her: and we are but just where we were before she made it.”
Clarissa saw her earlier promise as forced, so nothing has changed between them.
Lovelace's frustration that Clarissa does not feel bound by her promise.
“Terror, Jack, as I have heretofore found out, though I have so little benefited by the discovery, must be my resort, if she make it necessary—nothing else will do with the inflexible charmer.”
Lovelace concludes that only fear can influence Clarissa, as gentleness fails.
Lovelace's strategic turn to intimidation.
“I am but a woman—but a weak woman. But my life is in my own power, though my person is not—I will not be thus constrained.”
Clarissa asserts that while she may be physically vulnerable, she retains control over her own life.
Clarissa's declaration of agency despite captivity.