What Is Novel About Clarissa

‘A new genre is always the transformation of an earlier one, or of several: by inversion, by displacement, by combination' (Tzvetan Todorov). What is novel about Clarissa?

The novel as a genre did not spontaneously appear in the eighteenth century, like any new movement, literary, artistic or philosophical its foundations were formed on previous literary practice and cultivated by social and cultural factors. It is no accident that Defoe, Fielding and Richardson began to develop a new writing style independent of one another. Their texts, though varied, share many critical features which form the basis of the definition of the novel. With historical perspective we can see the evolution of this form of narrative from previous classical styles. "The term novel was not fully established until the end of the eighteenth century" it is therefore important to remember that the novel though now the most widely read form of fiction escaped canonization until some time after it's organic development. "The very name of the genre suggests that it is its newness which is its most striking feature." Clarissa was one of the first published novels in England. Richardson began working on it in 1743 and published it himself in 1748. In a break form tradition Richardson did not follow a classical model for his writing; instead he focused on realistic characters, plots and settings. Clarissa is about "human experience not traditional plots or formal conventions"

One of the most important differences between the novel and earlier forms of fiction, for example odes or tragedies is the author's insistence on realism. In Clarissa, Richardson's use of formal realism enables the reader to be fully absorbed into the plot. The epistolary form adds to this by making the subtle emotional shifts and intimate details accessible. O ne example of this is Clarissa's analysis of her actions and perspective, "I am sometimes tempted to think that we may make the world allow for and respect us as we please." This verimilitude is amplified when Richardson break in the middle of a letter and resumes it by writing in a reason for the break. "Talk of the Devil is an old saying- The lively wretch has made me a visit" explains Miss Howe after one such break, signifying the passing of time. However, there is no attempt to disguise the novel as a biography; Richardson merely uses several literary devices to convey a realistic and therefore engaging story. The use of this form may have been a conscious attempt to evade censorship as Richardson. Controversial subjects such as rape, defiance, deception and dishonour were difficult to express in the eighteenth century when all published material was subject to the censorship of the church and state. "Clarissa has proved such a scandalous text" not because it thrusts violence and sex upon the reader, although it does deal with these

...