A Pair of Scribbling Lovers (L105)

Never was there such a pair of scribbling lovers as we;—yet perhaps whom it so much concerns to keep from each other what each writes. She won’t have any thing else to do. I would, if she’d let me. I am not reformed enough for a husband.—Patience is a virtue, Lord M. says. Slow and sure, is another of his sentences. If I had not a great deal of that virtue, I should not have waited the Harlowes own time of ripening into execution my plots upon themselves and upon their goddess daughter.
My beloved has been writing to her saucy friend, I believe, all that has befallen her, and what has passed between us hitherto. She will possibly have fine subjects for her pen, if she be as minute as I am.

4 thoughts on “A Pair of Scribbling Lovers (L105)

  1. Debra

    I had to put this one in, because it is such a wonderful epigraph for the novel: "a pair of scribbling lovers." And I do think it suggests that in many ways Clarissa and Lovelace would have been suited for each other..

  2. Rachel Gramer

    As I read throughout the novel, I marked places where I noticed various traits that Clarissa and Lovelace have in common (and, of course, where they differ).The writing was definitely one of those places—not only their skill at it, but also their interest in it. I’ve been thinking, too, about the rhetorical purposes that they have in common as well: for expression and correspondence, yes, but also for justification of their actions or reactions and for pleading their cases with a close friend and various family members.Pride is another shared trait that I marked in Letter 103, which Meghan also posted, where Lovelace writes:“Why will she, by her pride, awaken mine?”I scribbled “Pride & Pride” in the margins—Richardson’s version is slightly different from Austen’s (or maybe not so different at all).

  3. Kendra

    Lovelace and Clarissa definitely share some common traits aside from writing. They both love poetry and are clearly well read, as well will see later in the novel. Anna and Belford serve as foils for Clarissa and Lovelace respectively, but Clarissa and Lovelace are set up as two sides of the same coin. Lovelace is immoral and Clarissa is moral, Lovelace is world experienced and Clarissa is not, and among other things Clarissa is virginal/virtuous whereas Lovelace is diabolical — they are complete opposites of each other. In later volumes both show a knack for cunning and deceit.

  4. Jessica

    “A pair of scribbling lovers” – an interesting characterization. Partly this shows Lovelace's proclivity for mischaracterizing the relationship he has to/with Clarissa; but in another sense, it draws attention to writing as so central in their dealings with each other. Lovelace chooses to define their relation to each other as being primarily in writing. The word “scribbling” has some significance here, and it's a word that comes up frequently. Scribbling suggests the physical act of writing, writing quickly and maybe without regard to neatness. “Scribbling” might also invoke the compulsory nature of writing for the both of them.

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