Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady — Volume 6

An extended epistolary narrative follows a young woman's determined resistance to unwanted advances and the family and social pressures around her, presenting letters that reveal manipulation, seduction, and moral debate. Correspondence charts the suitor’s schemes, the anguished responses of the woman and her defenders, and the escalating consequences of coercion that culminate in serious physical and emotional collapse. Themes probe virtue, consent, reputation, and gendered power, while the dense letter form alternates intimate confession, legal and ethical argument, and third-party reports to expose how private suffering becomes entangled with public judgment.