Robert Lovelace, a wealthy "libertine" and heir to a substantial estate, begins to court Arabella, Clarissa's older sister. However, she rejects him because she feels slighted by his more ardent interest in her parents' approval than in her. Lovelace quickly moves on from Arabella to Clarissa, much to the displeasure of Arabella and their brother James. Clarissa, a virtuous young lady, insists that she dislikes and distrusts the notorious Lovelace, but Arabella grows jealous of Lovelace's interest in the younger girl. James, also, dislikes Lovelace greatly because of a duel the two had once fought. These feelings combine with resentment that their grandfather had left Clarissa a piece of land and lead the siblings to be aggressive to Clarissa. The entire Harlowe family is in favour of her marrying Roger Solmes; however, Clarissa finds Solmes to be unpleasant company and does not wish to marry him, either. This makes her family suspicious of her supposed dislike of Lovelace and they begin to disbelieve her.
The Harlowes begin restricting Clarissa's contact with the outside world by forbidding her to see Lovelace. Eventually they forbid her to either leave her room or send letters to her friend, Anna Howe, until Clarissa apologises and agrees to marry Solmes. Trapped and desperate to regain her freedom, Clarissa continues to communicate with Anna secretly and begins a correspondence with Lovelace, while trying to convince her parents not to force her to marry Solmes. Neither Clarissa nor her parents will concede. They see her protests as stubborn disobedience and communication between parents and daughter breaks down.
Meanwhile, through their clandestine correspondence, Lovelace pressures Clarissa into agreeing to elope with him. He has come to view her famed virtuousness as a challenge for him to conquer, bragging to his best friend John Belford that he intends to put it to "trial". He is also delighted by the idea of spiting the Harlowes for their haughty rejection of his suit for Clarissa's hand.
Increasingly desperate, Clarissa reluctantly agrees to elope with Lovelace, but a few days before the agreed-upon date, she changes her mind. She writes to him, reneging on the plan. However, Lovelace deliberately leaves the letter untouched in its hiding place. Clarissa is distressed to discover that he did not get her message. She goes in person, at the agreed night-time hour of elopement, to tell him of her reversal of decision. Lovelace forcefully compels
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