Letter 52 begins as Clarissa forwards to Anna Howe a copy of a letter she received from her brother, James. The letter, beginning as Letter 52.1, is a response to a letter Clarissa had sent earlier that day. Because Clarissa has been forbidden to write to her parents directly, she addressed them via a letter to James, of which, in his response, he asserts was a way to “make me the vehicle of your whining.”

The letter continues. James asserts that Clarissa’s letter did not have the effect he presumed she hoped. He described how Clarissa’s mother was shocked that she would be so devious as to disguise a letter to them, and how in doing so, Clarissa made them question her state of mind. James discusses how her mother spoke of her daughter’s sense of defiance, and wondered if she would extend it as far as to marry someone they so strongly despise, meaning Lovelace.

James tells Clarissa that the reason they are all so displeased with her, keep her confined, and are generally unpleasant toward her is because she has acted in a way which deserves such treatment. He tells her that they do not trust her to make her own decisions, because up until then, all of her choices ended in unhappiness for them. He then tells her that he and the family are through with keeping her pent up in their home, and will therefore send her to her Uncle Antony’s home, despite her protests. He ends the letter with a request for Clarissa to, essentially, give Mr. Solmes a second chance. He says that she has not given him the benefit of the doubt and seems to believe that he is a good man that she could grow to like. He offers her the opportunity to meet with Mr. Solmes to offer an apology.

Clarissa explains to Anna that she was so “vexed” and enraged by her brother’s letter that she nearly wrote to her Uncle Harlowe. She planned on setting up the estate she had for her own, but realized quickly that she had no person—not friends nor family—who she felt would support her in doing so. She instead, to end the letter, told her friend that she was unsure of what to do. She feels as though she has no place to turn, especially since her brother and sister have turned against her in a time when she needs them.

This letter may be especially upsetting to Clarissa, because within the letter was assurance that her entire family was against her. Her brother, James, explained a detail regarding every close member of her family who was upset or disgusted by an action of her own. They were so upset, as far as she could understand, that they couldn’t stand to keep her around any longer.-LM