Clarissa · Chapter
Letter 457: Mr. Belford, to Robert Lovelace, Esq. explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Belford writes to Lovelace about Clarissa's declining health. She is so ill she had to pause a letter to Anna Howe, finishing it early the next morning. Mr. Goddard and the doctor are alarmed by the coffin she keeps in her room, which she uses as a writing desk. She receives a letter from Mrs. Norton but does not open it, fearing bad news from her family. She spends the day in devotion and plans to receive the sacrament. Belford will attend her the next day to receive instructions for her funeral. He will send her letter to Miss Howe early the next morning.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Redemption
Clarissa's physical decline and spiritual preparations, including intense devotions and receiving the sacrament, highlight her suffering and quest for redemption.
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
The coffin in her room, used as a writing desk, symbolizes the contrast between her outward calm and the grim reality of her impending death.
Characters to notice
- Clarissa Harlowe
Extremely ill, fatigued from writing, keeps a coffin in her room as a writing desk, preparing for death with devotions and plans to receive the sacrament.
- John Belford
Writes to Lovelace, visits Clarissa twice, attends her at Smith's, and will receive instructions for her funeral.
- Robert Lovelace
Impatient for news; Belford writes to him about Clarissa's condition.
- Mrs. Norton
Sends a long letter to Clarissa, which Clarissa is afraid to open.
- Mrs. Lovick
Assists Clarissa, reports a fine conversation to Belford.
- Mrs. Smith
Provides Belford with hints about Clarissa's preparations for death.
Key passages
“She was so ill overnight, that she was obliged to leave unfinished her letter to Miss Howe. But early this morning she made an end of it, and just sealed it up as I came.”
Clarissa was too sick to finish her letter to Anna Howe last night, but completed and sealed it early this morning.
Shows Clarissa's deteriorating health and her determination to correspond with her friend.
“It is placed near the window, like a harpsichord, though covered over to the ground: and when she is so ill that she cannot well go to her closet, she writes and reads upon it, as others would upon a desk or table.”
The coffin is positioned by the window like a piece of furniture, and Clarissa uses it as a desk for writing and reading when she is too weak to move.
Highlights Clarissa's macabre acceptance of death and her practical use of the coffin.