LETTER 98 Commentary

In this letter, Lovelace pawns off Clarissa as his sister, his runaway bride—everything but what she really is.  He bends the truth to cover himself and successfully execute his scheme.  Clarissa begins to realize the nature of Lovelace, making such statements as “I am now in his power” and “I behold him now with fear.”  She is beginning to come to firmer grips with Lovelace’s manipulative nature.  This idea goes along with the mutual love-hate relationship developed throughout the novel between Clarissa and Lovelace.  Lovelace often goes back and forth between referring to Clarissa as his love or a foolish rogue.  Clarissa seems to know that Lovelace does not have pure intentions but is also intrigued by his rakish demeanor.  The two are an unlikely pair, but seem to almost work together due to Lovelace’s conniving nature and Clarissa’s innocent naivety.-AD