Letter 345: Mr. Belford, to Robert Lovelace, Esq. explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Suffering and Redemption

  Clarissa's illness and financial destitution are direct consequences of Lovelace's cruelty, yet she maintains her dignity and insists on paying her debts.

• Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

  Clarissa mistrusts Belford's secret charity, suspecting manipulation behind the offer to sell her clothes.

Characters to notice

• John Belford

  Writes to Lovelace recounting Clarissa's mistrust and the sale of her lace to cover debts.

• Clarissa Harlowe

  Mistrusts Belford's involvement in advancing money for her clothes; insists on paying doctor's fees despite her desolate state.

• Mrs. Lovick

  Sells Clarissa's lace for fifteen guineas to repay borrowed money for doctor's fees.

• Robert Lovelace

  Indirectly blamed for Clarissa's illness and suffering due to his barbarity.

• Mr. Goddard

  Mentioned as one of the kind doctors treating Clarissa.

Key passages

• “I was forced to take back my twenty guineas. How the women managed it I can’t tell, (I suppose they too readily found a purchaser for the rich suit); but she mistrusted, that I was the advancer of the money; and would not let the clothes go.”

  Belford had to retrieve the twenty guineas he secretly gave to help Clarissa, because she suspected he was the source and refused to allow the sale of her clothes.

  Clarissa's suspicion prevents Belford's covert assistance.

• “Mrs. Lovick has actually sold, for fifteen guineas, some rich lace worth three times the sum; out of which she repaid her the money she borrowed for fees to the doctor, in an illness occasioned by the barbarity of the most savage of men.”

  Mrs. Lovick sold valuable lace at a loss to raise money, which Clarissa used to repay a loan for doctor's fees incurred from an illness caused by Lovelace's cruelty.

  Clarissa's financial sacrifice highlights the cost of Lovelace's actions.