RE: “out of his league lovelace”

 “I believe more of Lovelaces true nature are revealed in Clarissa than would have been, if it had not been written in the Epistolary format. As Lovelace tells his friend Belford, more of the soul comes out in the writing than would be relayed through a face to face encounter. Basically, he tells him that it is the speaking of one’s soul, separate from the bodily world.”

The Style of Clarissa and the Ignorance of Lovelace

“Why, Sir, if you were to read Richardson for the story, your impatience would be so much fretted that you would hang yourself. But you must read him for the sentiment, and consider the story as only giving occasion to the sentiment.” — Dr. Johnson

Honestly, I was incredibly relieved when I read the quotation from Dr. Johnson that Krystal posted because, so far (I am only in Volume V), Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa is my least favorite book of the semester.