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A few years before the publication of Samuel Richardson’s last novel, he and his young friend Hester MulsoMulso, Hester, correspondent of Richardson, later Hester ChaponeChapone, Hester see also Mulso, Hester, conducted a debate in letters on filial duty, she generally taking the side of children, he of parents. Richardson had invited Mulso to put her views in writing. She did so, as she wrote in the first letter (Oct 12, 1750)1, “to expose my opinions to you, in order to have them rectified by you” (Mulso 205). As it turned out, Mulso’s opinion was not easily “rectified”. By the third and last letter of her side of this exchange, she even began to doubt that he had any need to correct her. She writes that “I began to perceive (at least I thought I did) that we were both on the same side of the question” (227). To make sure of this, however, she systematically rehearses the questions which had spawned their debate in the first place. In a passage which reflects not only the debate itself, but also the mode in which it had been conducted, she writes:

But that I may know with certainty how far we agree or differ, will you give me leave, for once, to be a saucy girl, and catechise my adopted papa? Though indeed I do not mean to do it saucily, but really and truly for my information. For when you left it to me to make the applications, inferences, and conclusions, from all the quotations, stories, and observations you produced, you left me a task which would have been much better performed by yourself; my head is not clear enough to do it as I ought. Permit me then, my dear sir, to put it upon you to decide on the questions I am going to put: and when I have your positive answer to these, I shall know whether we have all this while been arguing about words, and whether what Mr. LockeLocke, John calls honour, what I called gratitude, and what you called duty, be indeed the same thing or not. (228)

It is no coincidence that the terms whose meaning is so disputable are “honour”, “gratitude”, and “duty”. All three define the moral obligation of children towards parents, but perceived from different angles. “Honour” specifies the form which filial “duty” should take, and “gratitude” specifies what such behaviour is based on, while the term “duty” emphasizes adherence to rules. Ideally, these concepts prove mutually reinforcing, but they can also come into conflict. MulsoMulso, Hester, correspondent of Richardson’s word “gratitude”, for example, indicates her preference for viewing a child’s “duty” as the natural response to parental kindness when it occurs, while Richardson’s “duty” shows his reluctance to admit a factor of variability into filial obligations. Mulso’s disclaimer – “I do not mean to do it saucily, but really and truly for my information” – is therefore less innocuous than it might look at first. Her inquiry aims to distinguish, at least in the context of this debate, terms which are frequently mixed – in order to define the basis of a child’s duty and, thus, its limits. The ‘testing ground’ for these limits is Richardson’s second novel, Clarissa.

Richardson’s anxiety that his readers draw the correct “inferences” from his novels is well-documented (e.g. TaylorTaylor, E. Derek, Reason and Religion 60). Indeed, some of the rules to be deduced from his texts are specified at the beginning and ending of his books. In Pamela, these teachings appear in their least subtle form, as a list whose lack of complexity perhaps justifies the ironic or apologetic way in which critics tend to mention them. The “[a]pplications” that readers should draw from the “[i]ncidents” of Pamela (500), or from his other works, tend to be both general and uncontroversial. The following exhortation is fairly representative: “From the same good Example [of Pamela], let Children see what a Blessing awaits their Duty to their Parents, tho’ ever so low in the World: And that the only Disgrace is to be dishonest; but none at all to be poor” (502). MulsoMulso, Hester, correspondent of Richardson would probably have agreed that Pamela’s parents deserve all the “duty” – or gratitude – she shows them in return for their love and care. This “application” of Pamela’s story is therefore too clear; Pamela has so much reason to respect her parents that little about the limits (if any) of filial duty can be learned from her case.

The situation is different in Clarissa, which announces on its title page that it will illustrate “the distresses that may attend the misconduct both of parents and children, in relation to marriage”. Tom KeymerKeymer, Tom has suggested that this novel is designed to depict an exact balance between a situation where the daughter is right to rebel and where the parents may uphold their authority, thus exercising the reader’s judgment (cf. Richardson’s Clarissa 122, 140–1). In this regard, Hester MulsoMulso, Hester, correspondent of Richardson’s debate with Richardson indicates the urgency of showing the point at which the balance tips in favour of the weaker party – the child. Her italics emphasise the importance of the points to be decided, and the directness of her questions – simple syntax and frequent question marks – leaves as little room as possible for her correspondent to manoeuvre in his answers:

What must their children [those of unnatural parents] do, if “the want of duty on one side, justifies not the non-performance of it on the other, where there is a reciprocal duty?” […] (228)

But give me leave […] to ask you, whether the child […], when injured, when cruelly and inhumanly treated, when deprived of its natural rights, and reduced to a state of slavery, is not then at liberty to disobey, or the subject to rebel? […] (229)

But this is one question which I would refer back to you for an answer, viz. who is to be judge in points contestible, of the reasonableness, or unreasonableness of the exertion of the parent’s authority? (229)

[…] The question is then, whether the bare title of father or mother, shall give to such, a right to make their children miserable for life? And if not, what kind or degree of duty is owing to such, and on what grounds? (230)

These pointed questions indicate just how little justification for filial disobedience is granted in Clarissa. Although Richardson’s best characters – and many of his worst ones – are preoccupied with questions of proper conduct, and despite (or because of) his avowed didactic intention, he refuses to clarify exactly when and how a child may refuse to obey an unjust command. In this, he follows texts like the classic The Whole Duty of Man, attributed to Richard AllestreeAllestree, Richard, or Patrick DelanyDelany, Patrick, correspondent of Richardson’s Fifteen Sermons Upon Social Duties. Both these works acknowledge the rights of children only in so far as parents have duties. As a consequence, the right of rebellion can either be denied outright – as in The Whole Duty of Man – or be glossed over, as in Delany’s sermons (see part I). This poses a problem for those serious-minded readers who seek to reconcile duty to personal liberty. Indeed, MulsoMulso, Hester, correspondent of Richardson’s slightly tongue-in-cheek remark – “my head is not clear enough to do it as I ought” (emphasis mine) indicates that she counts herself in this number. The duty of a good reader is to draw not just any, but the correct inferences, and the correct inference is also a moral one.

Richardson’s part of this debate is not extant2, but from the evidence of his last novel, as well as of some of his letters, his answers to the questions cited above would have been evasive once more (cf. also KeymerKeymer, Tom, Richardson’s Clarissa 122). The History of Sir Charles Grandison once again takes up many of the conflicts in the earlier novels, especially in Clarissa. These conflicts concern not only relations between parents and children, but also between husband and wife, master and servant, neighbours, and friends. In contrast to Clarissa, however, the focus of Grandison is not on ongoing struggles, but on the depiction of an ideal community where conflicts can be reconciled (cf. also DoodyDoody, Margaret Anne, A Natural Passion 340). This allows Richardson to address the issue of conflicts of duty while, at the same time, avoiding the critical point where they might lead to the breakdown of social relations – either through the abuse of authority or through rebellion on the part of those who should obey. Instead of solving the question of how the virtuous can defend themselves, he shows how virtue can be propagated – creating a world which affords the secure space for the good (especially good women) which they may not carve for themselves. Thus, whereas Clarissa is a novel of division, Grandison is one of unification. In the former, the different demands of virtue are found to be in conflict, and human frailty and virtue, body and soul, pull in different directions. In the latter, body and soul, friendship and love, the control of one’s self and influence over others merge in a harmonious whole which enables virtue and happiness to spread. The answer to conflict is not the exact settling of rights – including the right to rebel – but the teaching of harmony.

A number of critics have discussed Richardson’s three novels as they relate to each other. Studies of his works tend to be structured in three parts, beginning with Pamela and ending with Grandison (e.g. DoodyDoody, Margaret Anne, A Natural Passion; GwilliamGwilliam, Tassie; ShepherdShepherd, Lynn). This sequence parallels Richardson’s own thinking – he recalled his earlier novels in the preface to Grandison, for example. As Derek TaylorTaylor, E. Derek has noted, “the author approached each new novel as an opportunity to clarify, generally in a conservative direction, issues of morality or propriety a previous novel had raised” (Reason and Religion 103; cf. also EagletonEagleton, Terry 95). Likewise, Linda ZionkowskiZionkowski, Linda states that “Richardson’s novels take as their subject the power of obligation within patriarchal family life, with Sir Charles Grandison attempting to answer the questions raised in Clarissa” (Women and Gift Exchange 19). Bonnie LatimerLatimer, Bonnie, too, connects all three novels, but reverses the direction of analysis by reading Richardson’s novels “through the lens” of his last one (cf. Making Gender 3).

Such a proceeding tends to change one’s perception of the values endorsed by each novel. After reading the sequel to Pamela, for example, the heroine’s proud statement in the first part – “No Husband in the World […] shall make me do an unjust or base thing” (194) – is put into perspective by her forced submission to her husband’s prohibition to breastfeed their child. Similarly, after reading Grandison, one is left to wonder just what is the difference between Clarissa’s mother, who is criticized for not supporting the heroine more actively, and the mother of Sir Charles Grandison, who is praised for her exemplary submission to her husband. The picture changes yet again, however, if one returns from such a potentially demoralizing second reading of the apparently more radical novels to a second reading of Grandison. If the first process leads to the conclusion that patriarchy is endorsed without question in Richardson’s works, the second leads, among other things, to a realization that his last novel unexpectedly opens a space for women who diverge from the ideal of passive submission.

My own interpretation is the result of such a combined reading of Richardson’s novels, based on the questions raised by his correspondent Hester MulsoMulso, Hester, correspondent of Richardson. What happens when a subject with a low position in the hierarchy – a position which is the lot of most women – tries to act on the basis of all her duties as outlined by writers such as AllestreeAllestree, Richard or DelanyDelany, Patrick, correspondent of Richardson? On the basis of this question, the narrative trajectory of the three novels can be summarised as follows. In Pamela, Richardson illustrates how an individual who seems powerless may yet exert an influence which is beneficial not only to herself, but to those around her. Pamela, young, female, and a servant, must submit to her superiors in age, gender, and class. Nevertheless, she manages to influence her would-be seducer, Mr. B., through her virtue. In the original novel, her efforts are rewarded by a Cinderella-like marriage; in the sequel, she slowly but surely influences her husband until he becomes indeed an excellent husband, father, and master of a household. Through her example, the reader is shown how even those occupying a very humble position within the system of duty have the power to do good. In Clarissa, in contrast, the focus is on the factors which disturb this system. Its heroine, though virtuous herself, is hindered from fully exerting her good qualities by those who have power over her, be it rightful and according to what I call the system of duty – as in the case of her father – or usurped – as in the case of Lovelace. The novel is a powerful plea against the abuse of power, as well as a plea to the powerless to do what is right even in apparently hopeless circumstances. Grandison, finally, focuses on the good which will result if those in power are thoroughly good themselves. Viewed in another way, Clarissa illustrates the problem that those without authority also lack the power to be both good and happy, while Pamela and Grandison present a (partial) solution to this problem.

This shift in Richardson’s focus can be observed on many levels, for instance with regard to agency. In Pamela and Clarissa, the emphasis is on the ability to act, and to act well. For considerable portions of each novel, the heroine’s right to act on her own judgment is denied by those holding authority and/or power over her. In both cases, moreover, the heroines have to combat deceitful lovers who would force them to commit immoral actions. In contrast, such conflicts are rarely depicted in Grandison. Even when unjustified coercion occurs – such as Sir Thomas’s tyrannical behaviour to his daughters – it is not clear that it would lead to deeds which are wrong in themselves and which the victim of oppression has a moral duty to resist. Even the most striking example of violence, Sir Hargrave’s abduction of Harriet, differs from Mr. B.’s and Lovelace’s confinement of Pamela and Clarissa, respectively, for its purpose – marriage – is not immoral, although the means he takes to enforce it certainly are. Although Harriet has to undergo a brief period of fear and heroic resistance, this first ordeal is not the real test of her character. Instead of treacherous lovers or abusive parents, the main conflicts she has to confront are situated inside herself.

After being rescued by the hero, Harriet’s struggles are with the right interpretation of events and characters as well as with her own feelings. The first of these is not important for her actual safety – as in the case of Pamela and Clarissa, whose doubts about their would-be seducers’ intentions need to be resolved so that they can properly defend themselves. Instead, her accurate assessment of other people’s characters and actions will result in her own moral behaviour, as well as her correct choice of a moral mentor. Thus, when she ponders the history of the Grandison family, the doubtful cases she comments on concern such questions as whether or not the Grandison sisters were justified in writing to their brother despite paternal prohibition. Her judgment has little direct bearing on herself; rather, it serves to highlight her sense of morality and to elucidate the characters of the Grandison siblings. Moreover, when she criticises Sir Charles for some of his actions and opinions – for example, the indications of (compassionate) misogyny, or his general secrecy even towards his sisters – such considerations often turn out to be less significant with regard to the hero than to the heroine. Indeed, Harriet’s criticisms of Sir Charles are often emphasised in order to combat her growing love of him or her own self-doubts.

The characters of Grandison, then, have to learn mainly how to control themselves. This is true even for the hero, who frequently claims that he has had to combat his tendencies toward rash anger or pride, and who is “very much dissatisfied” (2:63) with his violent behaviour even to men who draw swords against him in his own house. The same can be said of the hero’s mother, whose actions – and, it is suggested, whose feelings – are bent on wifely love and submission, but who is shown to act thus out of her own free will. When conflict is externalised, as on many occasions when Sir Charles has to fight assassins or evade a duel, or when his sisters have to choose between love and filial obedience, it is usually set in the past. By the time Harriet hears of Sir Thomas’s tyranny, for example, the reader already knows that it has had no irremediably bad effects on his children’s future. The present of the novel, in contrast, is concerned with the good influence which characters have on each other, and the successful struggle for self-control. Despite several discussions on duties and rights, in the present of the novel, right feeling – and displays of right feeling – takes precedence over issues of authority. The shift is visible in the hero, who acts as a father figure but who derives his authority not from biological fatherhood, but rather from providing protection, advice, money, and affection to those around him.

This re-orientation of ‘fatherhood’ corresponds with a new focus on the forging of relationships and the spreading of virtue. The open exercise of authority is replaced with what is now called ‘nudging’: the hero and the other virtuous characters (often by the former’s assistance) prepare incentives for the more faulty characters to mend their ways. Often, however, reform is voluntary and merely welcomed and supported by the steadily growing community of the good. Indeed, one way in which the conflict between individual liberty and authority is contained is by voluntary self-control once control has been granted to the individual. Thus, the emphasis on absolute duties in Clarissa is replaced by a less clearly defined process of conferring benefits3, which allows for individual agency within limits.

Thus, another way to describe the shift from Richardson’s earlier novels to Grandison is that it is a shift of focus from hierarchy to network as the organising element of human relationships. In a thought-provoking study, Caroline LevineLevine, Caroline has shown how forms such as hierarchy and network inform structures of narratives (or of relationships within those narratives). Several forms can occur together, either in conflict or mutually reinforcing. The role these forms play in narrative is both limited and flexible:

To capture the complex operations of social and literary forms, I borrow the concept of affordance from design theory. Affordance is a term used to describe the potential uses or actions latent in materials and designs. […]

Let’s now use affordances to think about form. The advantage of this perspective is that it allows us to grasp both the specificity and the generality of forms—both the particular constraints and possibilities that different forms afford, and the fact that those patterns and arrangements carry their affordances with them as they move across time and space. […] Networks afford connection and circulation, and narratives afford the connection of events over time. […]

To be sure, a specific form can be put to use in unexpected ways that expand our general sense of that form’s affordances. (6)

LevineLevine, Caroline’s concept is useful because it unites the stable features of form (such as materials, patterns, etc.) with their – potentially unlimited – applicability. Thus, it offers a means to describe readers’ differing reactions to a text as they focus on different affordances of the same materials. Similarly, Levine’s concept is applicable to the very different conclusions which Richardson’s contemporaries, as well as he himself, drew from the authority of the Bible (cf. parts I and II). Applied to Richardson’s novels, affordance is a means by which to describe the stable features of his works – including concepts of moral duties and structures of relationships – as they appear in different forms and to different effect. Indeed, the moral system underlying each novel seems remarkably stable, even though its application, and Richardson’s focus, vary. This variability is due, in part, to the moral system being organised according to two differing principles, namely hierarchy and network.

The etymology of the word ‘hierarchy’ is curiously well adapted to its use by moral writers such as AllestreeAllestree, Richard or DelanyDelany, Patrick, correspondent of Richardson: it derives “from the Greek hieros, meaning ‘sacred,’ and arche, meaning ‘rule’” (LevineLevine, Caroline 82). As we shall see, when a relationship is especially important, hierarchy – and the ‘sacred’ duty to submit to it – is crucial, as well. “[H]ierarchies arrange bodies, things, and ideas according to levels of power or importance. Hierarchies rank—organizing experience into asymmetrical, discriminatory, often deeply unjust arrangements” (82). It is notable that to “discriminate” means first and foremost “to distinguish”, although this can happen “in an unjust or prejudicial manner” (OED, “discriminate, v.” 1 & 4). Hierarchies distinguish what is different, imposing order. In contrast, “[s]prawling and spreading, networks might seem altogether formless, perhaps even the antithesis of form. For some influential theorists, in fact, it is their resistance to form that makes networks emancipatory—politically productive” (Levine 112). In contrast to the ‘above’ and ‘below’ of hierarchy, networks can spread laterally, accommodating an indefinite number of component parts. Although the term ‘network’ is not mentioned by the moral writers I consider for this study, it is a convenient shorthand for describing those relationships which are not governed by hierarchy, indefinite in number and flexible in the obligations they impose (notably friendship). Interestingly, the contrast between hierarchy and network even seems to find its way into the structure of The Whole Duty of Man. If the chapter on ‘parents’ and the duties owed them begins in a strictly orderly fashion, duties owed to one’s ‘brothers’ (i.e. approximate equals) seem to spill into each other.

Both hierarchy and network are present in all of Richardson’s novels, but not to an equal extent. In Pamela and Clarissa, the plot structure pits the heroine against an antagonist trying to gain the upper hand – in the earlier novel, this is Pamela’s master, whose position as gentleman and employer, he assumes, gives him rights over her which she does not have over him. In Clarissa, the antagonists are the heroine’s family, insisting on their authority, and later Lovelace, whose desire for her, and dread of control by her, grows increasingly pathological. Indeed, one of the images that Clarissa’s uncle John uses to describe the family conflict – that of an “embattled phalanx” (150) – by implication excludes a number of possible forms that relationships can take. The Harlowes are not a unified, harmonious whole4 – as they were, they insist, before Clarissa’s refusal to marry at their behest. Nor are they a group of individuals whose specific needs are to be negotiated. Instead, they are all – regardless of individual preferences – subsumed into a single group which is entitled to, and required to uphold, paternal authority. Those who refuse this subjugation are seen as rebels who should be subdued and then re-absorbed. Although alternative structures of relationship exist in these two novels – such as the loyalty among fellow servants which leads them to interfere unsuccessfully on Pamela’s behalf, or the friendship between Anna and Clarissa – they are shown to be at odds with the hierarchies at the heart of the novels’ conflicts.5

In Grandison, in contrast, hero and heroine are never in open opposition, nor are they entirely subsumed in each other. Each encounters, befriends, or has conflicts with, a number of people, and each meets with his/her own struggles. None of these – with the exceptions of Harriet’s abduction and Clementina’s madness – take centre stage for long, and even these exceptions are not allowed to take over the narrative entirely. All encounters tend to increase, rather than diminish, the heroes’ social relationships, resulting in two separate but overlapping networks which are combined in the marriage of hero and heroine. While issues of hierarchy resurface intermittently, they are pushed into the past or quickly subsumed into the movement of the expanding network. One example of a theorist finding networks “politically productive” which is mentioned by LevineLevine, Caroline is particularly intriguing in the context of this study. Citing Ella Shohat, Levine raises the idea that “only networked flows and circulations will allow us ‘to transcend some of the politically debilitating effects of disciplinary and community boundaries’” (112). The network, I hope to show, is the (implicit) counterpart and corrective to hierarchy in Richardson’s last novel.

The happy ending of Grandison – as “sprawling and spreading” as any happy end – is brought about by the successful accommodation of hierarchy and network. The flexibility of the latter allows individuals to preserve their agency while voluntarily taking their places in a hierarchical society. By conceptualising individuals as the centre of a network, scope is given for processes of decision-making, self-control, and feeling – even though the desirable aim of these inner processes may be structured hierarchically. The focus on network as a structuring principle is, in part, brought about consciously by the characters themselves. An early example is Harriet’s determination never to let her love even for a husband “swallow up” her other loves (1:180). She will be supported in this feeling by her husband, who promises, after their wedding, that marriage will confirm rather than lessen her other duties (3:239). One of the affordances of hierarchy, as Clarissa shows, is that it has the power to disrupt networks. In Grandison, in contrast, hierarchy sanctions and protects networks. This protective function is then re-interpreted as the core of hierarchies (of generations, but especially of gender). The structure of networks helps mask the dangers of hierarchy. Masquerade in this sense – conceptualising reality in a certain way – is part of the story of Grandison. It shapes the behaviour of the characters, who use social roles and role-play both to do their own duty and to influence others. And it informs the structure of the plot, arranged in such a way as to foreground harmony, hiding a narrative of rule-enforcing behind a narrative of individual empowerment – hiding it all the more convincingly because the ‘cover’ narrative has truth in it.

In the following chapters, I will juxtapose the way in which Clarissa, on the one hand, and Grandison, on the other, treat the issues just outlined. In the first part of this study, I will concentrate on the system of duty as it appears in the writings of AllestreeAllestree, Richard and DelanyDelany, Patrick, correspondent of Richardson and in those of Richardson. I will analyse the network of obligations which good people should fulfil, the extent and limits of the agency it allows those not in power, and the problems this raises in Clarissa. In the second part, I will discuss alternative patterns of structuring and conceptualising moral behaviour. After outlining these patterns, I will show how they can be used either to reinforce or to challenge the system of duty. In a second step, I will demonstrate how the abuse of power in any of these systems disrupts networks among the less privileged – notably ties of friendship among women and the ties between family members. In the third part, finally, I will show how the focus in Grandison shifts from power struggle to inner conflict, which allows Richardson to contain the vulnerability of virtue in a vision of steady and benevolent reform from within. The result is a world where successful patriarchy and female wish-fulfilment seem to operate simultaneously, where the one is, indeed, the basis of the other.

Richardson’s second and third novels are complementary in structure. The respective form of each novel fits well with the patterns of relationships that are emphasized: hierarchy in Clarissa and network in Grandison. While Clarissa, despite its ‘to-the-moment’ style (cf. 721), has something of the measured, symmetrical structure of a tragedy6, Grandison’s form is indeed “sprawling and spreading”. At the same time, the style and scope of these two novels are similar, which facilitates a comparison between them. Occasionally, I will also draw on Pamela to complement my reading of the two later novels. Richardson’s first novel shares elements of both later ones, although its style – suitably for its heroine – is considerably less sophisticated7. While it is an important point of comparison, therefore, the patterns I am interested in are less obvious in this novel than in the later ones.

For reasons of practicability, I use the first edition of each novel, even though this arguably neglects Richardson’s development as an author. The relative merits of the early and late versions of Pamela and Clarissa are still far from decided, and the considerable textual changes between the first edition of the former and the last edition based on Richardson’s own emendations have led Joe BrayBray, Joe to remark that “the extent of his revisions in the 1801 text of Pamela makes this edition a new novel in itself: his fourth and last” (76). Nevertheless, the potential of the patterns that Richardson uses – potential for tragedy as well as happiness – can be shown well even when only the first editions are considered.

My main interest in this study is socio-historical. I am interested in understanding how, and why, Richardson and his contemporaries conceptualised social relationships, how these concepts influenced literary forms, and how the consideration of such concepts affects the impact of his novels. It is inevitable, of course, that my analysis of these issues is informed by modern concepts – and, in turn, any analysis of past ideologies changes one’s perspective on related contemporary issues. Accordingly, I use a selection of letters and treatises which are roughly contemporary with Richardson’s writings to support my reading and point out how his works fit in their historical context. In addition, I draw on several works from 20^th–21^st century sociology, anthropology, and philosophy. Although such sources are not specifically connected with Richardson’s works, non-historical treatments of such issues as structures of relationships help to highlight related patterns within the novels, which are bound by time and space.