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What distinguishes Clarissa from Samuel Richardson's other novels is Richardson's unique awareness of how his plot would end. In the inevitability of its conclusion, in its engagement with virtually every category of human experience, and in its author's desire to communicate religious truth, E. Derek Taylor suggests, Clarissa truly is the ''Paradise Lost'' of the eighteenth century. Arguing that Clarissa's cohesiveness and intellectual rigor have suffered from the limitations of the Lockean model frequently applied to the novel, Taylor turns to the writings of John Norris, a well-known disciple of the theosophy of Nicolas Malebranche.Allusions to this first of Locke's philosophical critics appear in each of the novel's installments, and Taylor persuasively documents how Norris' ideas provided Richardson with a usefully un-Lockean rhetorical grounding for Clarissa. Further, the writings of early feminists like Norris' intellectual ally Mary Astell, who viewed her arguments on behalf of women as compatible with her conservative and deeply held religious and political views, provide Richardson with the combination of progressive feminism and conservative theology that animate the novel. In a convincing twist, Taylor offers a closely argued analysis of Lovelance's oft-stated declaration that he will not be 'out-Norris'd' or 'out-plotted' by Clarissa, showing how the plot of the novel and the plot of all humans exist, in the context of Richardson's grand theological experiment, within, through, and by a concurrence of divine energy.
E-Book Content
Reason and Religion in Clarissa Samuel Richardson and ‘the Famous Mr. Norris, of Bemerton’
E. Derek Taylor
Reason
and Religion in
Clarissa
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Reason and Religion in Clarissa S amuel Richardson and ‘the Famous Mr. N orris, of Bemerton’
E . D e rek Ta ylo r L ongwood University, USA
© E . D erek Taylor 2009 A ll rights reserved. N o part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. E . D erek Taylor has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, D esigns and Patents A ct, 1988, to be identi.ed as the author of this work. Published by A shgate Publishing L imited A shgate Publishing Company Wey Court E ast S uite 420 Union Road 101 Cherry S treet Farnham Burlington S urrey, G U9 7PT VT 05401-4405 E ngland USA www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Taylor, D erek Reason and religion in Clarissa: S amuel Richardson and ‘the famous Mr. N orris, of Bemerton’ 1. Richardson, S amuel, 1689–1761. Clarissa 2. N orris, John, 1657–1711 3. Philosophy in literature I. Title 823.6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Taylor, D erek. Reason and religion in Clarissa: S amuel Richardson and ‘the famous Mr. N orris, of Bemerton’ / by E . D erek Taylor. p. cm. Includes index. IS BN 978-0-7546-6531-1 (alk. paper) 1. Richardson, S amuel, 1689–1761. Clarissa. I. Title. PR3664.C43T39 2009 823’.6—dc22 2008029301 IS BN : 978-0-7546-6531-1
Contents A cknowledgments
vi
Introduction: The E nd of Clarissa
1
1 Un-L ocke-ing S amuel Richardson
33
2 Mary A stell, E lizabeth Carter, Clarissa Harlowe, and other “D escendants” of N orris
77
3 O ut-N orrised
111
Bibliography Index
155 167
A cknowledgments My mentor, Melvyn N ew, has been encouraging me and my work on this project for the better part of a decade. He sets an impossibly high bar for professional conduct and for scholarly achievement—I count myself very lucky indeed to have tricked a S terne scholar into spending so much t