Beyond Words: The Language of Clarissa

Abstract

<p>For Samuel Richardson, language is the means by which he tells the story of Clarissa but, more importantly, it is his symbol within the novel of the deceptions of the world. It is language that leads the heroine away from herself and from everything that she holds dear; it is language that frustrates her and Lovelace's attempts to reach an understanding; and it is language, finally, that must be abandoned by Clarissa as she<br />prepares herself for death. Through a close study of the language of Clarissa, this paper attempts to define the heroine's relationship to the words she and the other characters use and to trace Richardsen's involvement with this theme. It is argued that Richardson emphasizes Clarissa's attitude towards language through the use of imagery, lmagery which is especially noticeable and important towards the end of the novel when the heroine rejects ordinary words in favour of sacred language.</p>