CONCLUSION
SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY MR. BELFORD
What remains to be mentioned for the satisfaction of such of the readers as may be presumed to have interested themselves in the fortunes of those other principals in the story, who survived Mr. Lovelace, will be found summarily related as follows:
…
Temporary alleviation, we repeat, as to the Harlowe family; for THEY were far from being happy or easy in their reflections upon their own conduct.
…
Happier scenes open for the remaining characters…
Mr. BELFORD was not so destitute of humanity and affection, as to be unconcerned at the unhappy fate of his most intimate friend. But when he reflects upon the untimely ends of several of his companions, but just mentioned in the preceding history—On the shocking despondency and death of his poor friend Belton—On the signal justice which overtook the wicked Tomlinson—On the dreadful exit of the infamous Sinclair—On the deep remorses of his more valued friend—And, on the other hand, on the example set him by the most excellent of her sex—and on her blessed preparation, and happy departure—And when he considers, as he often does with awe and terror, that his wicked habits were so rooted in his depraved heart, that all these warnings, and this lovely example, seemed to be but necessary to enable him to subdue them, and to reform; and that such awakening-calls are hardly ever afforded to men of his cast, or (if they are) but seldom attended the full vigour of constitution:—When he reflects upon all these things, he adores the Mercy, which through these calls has snatched him as a brand out of the fire: and thinks himself obliged to make it his endeavours to find out, and to reform, any of those who may have been endangered by his means; as well as to repair, to the utmost of his power, any damage or mischiefs which he may have occasioned to others.
With regard to the trust with which he was honoured by the inimitable lady, he had the pleasure of acquitting himself of it in a very few months, to every body’s satisfaction; even to that of the unhappy family; who sent him their thanks on the occasion. Nor was he, at delivering up his accounts, contented without resigning the legacy bequeathed to him, to the uses of the will. So that the poor’s fund, as it is called, is become a very considerable sum: and will be a lasting bank for relief of objects who best deserve relief.
There was but one earthly blessing which remained for Mr. Belford to wish for, in order, morally speaking, to secure to him all his other blessings; and that was, the greatest of all worldly ones, a virtuous and prudent wife. So free a liver as he had been, he did not think that he could be worthy of such a one, till, upon an impartial examination of himself, he found the pleasure he had in his new resolutions so great, and his abhorrence of his former courses so sincere, that he was the less apprehensive of a deviation.
Upon this presumption, having also kept in his mind some encouraging hints from Mr. Lovelace; and having been so happy as to have it in his power to oblige Lord M. and that whole noble family, by some services grateful to them (the request for which from his unhappy friend was brought over, among other papers, with the dead body, by De la Tour); he besought that nobleman’s leave to make his addresses to Miss CHARLOTTE MONTAGUE, the eldest of his Lordship’s two nieces: and making at the same time such proposals of settlements as were not objected to, his Lordship was pleased to use his powerful interest in his favour. And his worthy niece having no engagement, she had the goodness to honour Mr. Belford with her hand; and thereby made him as completely happy as a man can be, who has enormities to reflect upon, which are out of his power to atone for, by reason of the death of some of the injured parties, and the irreclaimableness of others.
3 thoughts on “The Conclusion”
Comments are closed.
Richardson ends the letter portion of the narrative but appends this “Conclusion, Supposed to be Written by Mr. Belford.” So I included the odd place, then, where Belford would've been writing about himself in the third person.
Were there any surprises in the conclusion–things that happened or didn't happen–that you found particularly interesting?
I found it interesting that while Clarissa died a sad death everyone else got what they deserved so to speak. Lovelace got to die a rather lame death, James and Arabella had terrible marriages because they married for money and titles, Anna was happy with Hickman and had her own Clarissa, and that because Belford genuinely repented and reformed himself, he was honored with a happy marriage to Charlotte. Sadly, if Clarissa had not died then all of this things might not have happened.
As for the section on Belford where he is apparently writing about himself in the third person, I found it to be very interesting. He becomes happy and has meaning in his life after he reforms from his old ways. Belford is juxtaposed with the others in this concluding section because he is the best of example of what can become of one who repents of their old ways. For instance, James and Bella didn't change and ended up suffering. There's also Sally and Polly who did not change their “profession” and eventually died from illness. There's something clearly didactic about Belford and it is applicable to all readers not just rakes.
Nice question, nice comment. I also get a sense that Belford, as a believable reformed rake, strikes some kind of “balance” between the extreme religious behaviors of Clarissa (a model, of course, but an extreme one) and the libertine behaviors and awareness of Lovelace. So, we can add one more the the novel's fully formed characters (Anna being, of course, the fourth).