In Letter 21, Clarissa takes a daring and valiant walk up a flight of stairs that will change her life completely. Here, she demonstrates how strongly she feels against the marriage of her and Solmes, as she walks up to her room and alienates herself from her family. In this letter, Clarissa is thinking clearly and she is not yet influenced by outside forces. Had Clarissa obeyed her parents' wishes, she may have lived a long and miserable life, similar to her own mamma’s. Instead, Clarissa lived a much shorter life of deception, isolation, and shame.