After reading the preface to Clarissa, I was intrigued by Richardson's own discussion of epistolary writing describing the letters that follow to contain both "critical situations" and "instantaneous descriptions and reflections." In the preceding images, a book titled The Accomplished Housewife, or The Gentlewoman's Companion from 1745 has a brief poem discussing the purposes of epistolary writing as a means of instruction. The rest of the manual is also relevant in researching the expectations of the time period. These images were found on ECCO. They seem to illuminate the purposes of letters, for and by women at that time.
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What I find interesting about this piece (and perhaps also the piece posted earlier on Graham Greene) is the terminology of "art" that circulates around the act of letter writing. Especially in The Gentlewoman's Companion, where letter writing seems to be hailed as "mystic Art!".I'm not sure how relevant this is, really, but there's this neat play on the word "art" as artistic creation, artifice and/or craftiness. Stumbling around Clarissa, that's certainly one of the words that stuck out to me. One of the most striking instances is when she uses it to describe Lovelace's letter writing (his arts). It'd be really interesting to investigate the etymology of art, where that wordplay comes from. But, you know, maybe it's also because I've been reading Hamlet lately, and that little word is cropping up everywhere.
Regarding the "art" of letter writing, I am struck by the multiplicity of "art's" connotations and interpretations but particularly as it applies to Lovelace's letter writing. At first glance, I identify his "art" with that of "artifice" or "intrigue." Reading through his letter #31 more carefully, however, I notice his extensive allusions to the "art" of others, namely poetry (i.e. Dryden and Cowley). Lovelace's tone and "Roman style" seem more characteristic of the authorial persona of Fielding than of Richardson. The quotations from outside poets (who can be called "artists" of a sort), employed to substantiate Lovelace's own commentary about his love for Clarissa (examples on page 146), bring to mind the introductory chapters of Fielding's Tom Jones in which the authorial persona would adopt a mock epic style, at once paying tribute to and mimicking the literary tradition...
Stepping back a level, I was also impressed by Richardson's "art," particularly because of his sudden insertion of Lovelace's letter (#31) into what had previously been correspondence exclusively between Clarissa and her family and friends. What might be possible reasons for the placement of Lovelace's letter at such a point in the narrative?
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