Letter 471: Mr. Belford, to Robert Lovelace, Esq. explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Suffering and Redemption

  Clarissa reflects on her sufferings as working out her everlasting happiness, emphasizing redemption through endurance.

• Female Agency and Virtue

  Clarissa's serene acceptance of death and her assertion of having offered no injuries highlight her virtuous agency.

Characters to notice

• Clarissa Harlowe

  Serenely cheerful, dressed in white satin, experiencing increased dimness of eyes and tremor, at peace with her dying state.

• John Belford

  Reports to Lovelace, attends Clarissa, deeply moved by her virtue and holiness.

• Robert Lovelace

  Recipient of Belford's letter; Belford notes his lack of serenity compared to Clarissa.

• Mrs. Lovick

  Observes Clarissa's temporary tranquillity as a 'lightening' before her fainting fit.

• Mrs. Smith

  Also observes Clarissa's condition and the fainting fit.

Key passages

• “If this be dying, said she, there is nothing at all shocking in it. My body hardly sensible of pain, my mind at ease, my intellects clear and perfect as ever.”

  Clarissa says that if this is what dying is like, it is not frightening at all; she feels little physical pain, her mind is calm, and her thoughts remain clear.

  Clarissa expresses peace with her approaching death.

• “I have rather suffered injuries myself , than offered them to others.”

  Clarissa states that she has preferred to endure harm rather than cause harm to others.

  Clarissa reflects on her moral choices.

• “Her late tranquillity and freedom from pain seemed but a lightening , as Mrs. Lovick and Mrs. Smith call it.”

  Her recent calm and lack of pain appeared to be only a brief respite, as Mrs. Lovick and Mrs. Smith describe it.

  Belford notes that Clarissa's peaceful state was temporary.