Clarissa: History of a Young Lady: Easyread Large Edition | 
I‘m with Anna on this one - the rope or the sword for Lovelace! I enjoyed the variety of voices this week, and am happy #Clarissa is still free from L‘s clutches. Can it last? Or is Richardson jerking us around?
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BookwormM I am liking the variety of voices all except Lovelace glad Clarissa and Anna are back on form again 1y
Lcsmcat @BookwormM Anna‘s voice is my favorite. ❤️ 1y
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BarbaraJean Oh. I‘m sure Richardson is jerking us around, whether this escape is a lasting one or not! I was hopeful that there would be some consequences for L when Lady Betty found out his schemes, but that scene with his family was so frustrating. He talks his way around and out of so much. And I am SO tired of the “marrying her will fix everything” narrative. I realize that was an accepted “solution,” but a woman having to marry her rapist is horrifying. 1y
Lcsmcat @BarbaraJean Yes, that idea of “it‘s not so bad if he just married her” is infuriating, and one of the reasons some men still don‘t see the problem with it. 1y
Amiable I am fascinated by the various voices who are urging Clarissa to press charges against Lovelace. Going into this I would have guessed that at this time there would be very little (if any) legal recourse for rape. And that very few women would even consider pursuing that path if it were an option because it would make public the news that she was no longer “pure.” I‘m feeling the urge to do a deeper dive into the laws of the early 1700s! 1y
Lcsmcat @Amiable If you do, please share! I‘m thinking that , since women were chattel, rape was considered a crime against either husband or father. So could she even bring charges herself? I don‘t think she was a legal person at that time. 1y
Amiable @Lcsmcat And if that's the case, I can't see Mr. Harlowe filing charges from his end. He basically wrote Clarissa off with the attitude of “you disobeyed me, so you get what you deserve.“ I mean, unless he thinks that it would be a way to stick it to Lovelace since the family hates him so much? It certainly wouldn't be on Clarissa's behalf if he did press charges. 1y
Lcsmcat @Amiable Yeah, that‘s what I was thinking. But I‘m not sure if she could press charges on her own or not. 1y
Jerdencon @BarbaraJean the scene with Lovelace family made me so mad! I keep waiting for something bad to happen. 1y
Lcsmcat @Jerdencon @BarbaraJean Do you think Richardson was slamming the upper classes by having L‘s family fall for his nonsense? I found it hard to believe they were so easy on him. Especially the women he had impersonated. 1y
Jerdencon @Lcsmcat @BarbaraJean my thought is that Richardson thinks so little of women and just the thiught that marriage saved everything but it could very well be a slam against the upper classes too. Who knows with him? 1y
jewright I was just confused by the whole family scene. What was the point? 1y
Lcsmcat @jewright What was the point plot-wise? Or what was the point for the family? 1y
jewright @Lcsmcat I guess both. 1y
Lcsmcat @jewright I think plot-wise it makes L that much more despicable, while poking the ultra rich for their morals. But I had a harder time with it if I imagined them as real people. My experience has been that people who feel strongly about their own importance would be furious at having been impersonated by someone beneath them and would have attacked L more on that point. 1y
BarbaraJean @Jerdencon @Lcsmcat I do think there was a critique there for the upper classes—their willingness to let one of their own off the hook. But I also agree that it underlines how slippery L is. He really can talk his way out of anything, and there‘s a stronger critique there. 1y
BarbaraJean @Lcsmcat I was also really surprised by how easily Lady Betty was talked around. She was furious initially, and I don‘t understand how easily she lets it go. @Jerdencon I wonder about Richardson‘s views on marriage fixing the problem. It seems that‘s how the family comes around, and I‘d have guessed Richardson would think marriage was a reasonable solution. Yet I don‘t think the family comes off well here, so I‘m not sure how to interpret it. 1y
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