Clarissa · Chapter
Letter 432: Mrs. Norton, to Miss Clarissa Harlowe explained
Mrs.
What happens
Mrs. Norton relays a private visit from Mrs. Hervey, who shares that Clarissa's family is internally conflicted and that her mother is forced to act against her will. Mrs. Hervey suggests that Clarissa's brother James has orchestrated a league to prevent reconciliation, but hopes that Mr. Morden's arrival may improve matters. She also reveals that Miss Dolly Hervey has been pining and censured for supporting Clarissa. Mrs. Norton encourages Clarissa to take comfort from these insights.
Themes in this chapter
Family Obligation and Rebellion
The family's internal conflict over Clarissa's elopement and the league formed by James to prevent reconciliation highlight the tension between duty and rebellion.
Suffering and Redemption
Clarissa's low state and the family's eventual softening, along with hopes for Mr. Morden's intervention, point toward potential redemption through suffering.
Characters to notice
- Mrs. Norton
Reports a private visit from Mrs. Hervey and offers Clarissa consolation based on the intelligence gathered.
- Clarissa Harlowe
The recipient of the letter; her aunt Hervey and others express pity and hope for her recovery and reconciliation.
- Mrs. Hervey
Visits Mrs. Norton privately, shares insights about the family's internal struggles and her hopes for Clarissa's situation.
- James Harlowe Jr.
Blamed for forming an abominable league that prevents the family from reconciling with Clarissa.
- Dolly Hervey
Has pined since hearing of Lovelace's baseness; she vindicated Clarissa's elopement and incurred censure from the family.
- Colonel Morden
Expected to arrive soon and is very zealous on Clarissa's behalf, potentially improving her situation.
Key passages
“She pitied very much your good mother, who, she assured me, is obliged to act a part entirely contrary to her inclinations; as she herself, she owns, had been in a great measure.”
Mrs. Hervey expressed deep sympathy for Clarissa's mother, who is forced to behave against her true feelings, much like Mrs. Hervey herself has done.
Reveals the coerced roles of women in the Harlowe family.
“She is sure they all love you dearly; but have gone so far, that they know not how to recede.”
Mrs. Hervey believes the family still loves Clarissa but has become trapped by their own actions and cannot easily back down.
Highlights the family's pride and inflexibility.
“She owned, that some of them were as much afraid of meeting you as you could be of meeting them.”
Mrs. Hervey admitted that certain family members dreaded confronting Clarissa just as much as she dreaded facing them.
Suggests the family's guilt and fear of Clarissa's persuasive power.