Another thirty pages of Clarissa read through today and only 338 more pages to go!

One of the most astonishing things about the book is the letters. Given it is an epistolary novel, why do I find the letters astonishing? There are a number of reasons.

Foremost is the sheer number of letters that fly about in this book via the post, servants, friends heading in the direction of the recipient. Without telephones or computers or even telegraphs, letters were the primary means of communication over distances. But even when Clarissa is at home and happy she and her friend Anna exchange letters almost daily and they live in the same town and see each other frequently.

The letters exchanged are not often short notes either, they are generally quite long. The amount of time spent writing letters everyday must have been hours. I suppose without all the distractions that we have today, there may have been hours to fill especially if you were part of the upper classes and didn’t have to work. And, it seems, the letters sent were second drafts, or clean copies. On top of that, it is not uncommon in Clarissa for copies of letters from other people to be sent along with one’s own letter. Perhaps it is because of the amount of time involved that everyone in the book is always thanking their correspondent for their “favour,” something that refers both to the letter received and, I think, to the gift of time and attention spent in writing it.

The culture surrounding letters is fascinating. Letters were entirely private and no one had the right to ask you what was in one or to read one without your express permission. To violate this, especially the reading of a letter, is an unforgivable trespass into a person’s privacy. Lovelace has a maid steel some of Clarissa’s letters on several occasions. He has the maid copy the letters and return them so Clarissa will not be the wiser. As if that is not bad enough, he also intercepts some of the letters between Clarissa and Anna and has the nerve to forge a couple from Anna, keeping the originals. Given the familiarity between the two women, I am surprised Clarissa never noticed anything suspect about the forged letters. Nevertheless, Lovelace’s interfering with Clarissa’s letters is presented as a very low and wicked thing to do, damning evidence of just how bad he is.

At the same time letters were private, they are also public. Whole or parts of letters get read aloud to other people or, as I mentioned earlier, copied into other letters. This goes far to explain why the letters, so private and intimate, are written in such a formal tone. Always there is a salutation and a signature, often the writer’s full name. Clarissa addresses her letters to Anna “Dear Miss Howe” or “My Dearest Miss Howe.” She signs them “Clarissa Harlowe.” Though on a rare occasion she will sign “C. H.” The body of the letter too is fairly formal. No slang and all politeness. It as though the writer is paying a visit on paper to the drawing room of the recipient. But just as things go on below the surface of a drawing room conversation, so too are there things that go on below the surface of these formal-mannered letters.

Letter writers also kept all correspondence received. I would love to know where and how they kept them as I can only imagine drawers and chests overflowing with missives. The most effective way of breaking a friendship/aquaintance/correspondence is to return all the letters someone sent you. Lovelace is furious when Clarissa returns to him all of his letters. But he refuses to accept the gesture as a termination of connection and continues to make plans on how he might gain entrance to Clarissa’s rooms.

I wanted to find out a little about the history and culture of letter writing for this post but there is so much out there I couldn’t even begin to delve in to it. I can say there are lots of Google results that bemoan the decline of letter writing. And I found myself wondering if the people who make the most noise about the disappearance of letters write letters themselves?

With the ease and speed of communication these days it is oh so easy to forego letter writing in lieu of a phone call or email and I am as guilty of going for convenience as the next person. Still, I currently have three correspondents and I value their letters greatly and keep them all (very unorganized in two plastic totes), my grandma, my childhood friend Alicia whom I have known since I was six, and my first college roommate, aptly named Clarissa. It is sometimes weeks or months between letters, but truly, what a “favour” when one arrives.

There are three books I found on letter writing that seem worth exploring:

Thet are all so expensive I hope to find at least one at the library. In the meantime, there are some internet links to explore.

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