Clarissa · Chapter
Letter 379: Miss Clarissa Harlowe, to Miss Howe explained
Clarissa writes to Anna Howe, expressing pleasure at Anna's approval of her resolution never to marry Lovelace.
What happens
Clarissa writes to Anna Howe, expressing pleasure at Anna's approval of her resolution never to marry Lovelace. She reflects on her escape from a miserable marriage, defends her family's harshness by imagining her mother's perspective, and urges Anna to oblige her mother's wishes regarding her own marriage to Hickman.
Themes in this chapter
Female Agency and Virtue
Clarissa asserts her moral independence by choosing not to marry Lovelace, framing it as an act of virtue and self-preservation.
Family Obligation and Rebellion
Clarissa reflects on her family's suffering and her own fault, showing the tension between filial duty and personal integrity.
Characters to notice
- Clarissa Harlowe
Author of the letter; reaffirms her decision to reject Lovelace and reflects on her family's suffering.
- Anna Howe
Recipient; Clarissa praises her approbation and advises her to oblige her mother's marriage wishes.
- Robert Lovelace
Discussed as a man whose character would have made marriage miserable; Clarissa considers her escape a blessing.
- Mrs. Harlowe
Imagined by Clarissa as sorrowing and burdened by her daughter's disgrace, yet still a model of virtue.
- Mr. Hickman
Mentioned in relation to Anna's marriage; Clarissa declines to hasten the day.
Key passages
“You have given me great pleasure, my dearest friend, by your approbation of my reasonings, and of my resolution founded upon them, never to have Mr. Lovelace.”
I am delighted that you approve of my reasoning and my decision never to marry Mr. Lovelace.
Clarissa thanks Anna for supporting her resolve.
“I cannot but reflect that I have had an escape, rather than a loss, in missing Mr. Lovelace for a husband”
I see my failure to marry Lovelace as a fortunate escape, not a loss.
Clarissa reframes her situation as a positive outcome.
“Here was my mother, one of the most prudent persons of her sex, married into a family...”
Consider my mother, a very prudent woman who once governed the family wisely.
Clarissa imagines her mother's former happiness and current sorrow.