Abstract

Abstract:

Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa (1747–48) explores the social geographies of London neighbourhoods, contrasting the characteristics of genteel and commercial regions yet acknowledging the flux and instabilities of city life. Clarissa’s relocation from genteel to commercial London affords temporary sanctuary where she can live as a single woman and die as a feme sole. When she relocates to the commercial region of Covent Garden, she lives among shopkeepers and sells pieces of her clothing. Counterintuitively, this neigh-bourhood, which was associated with sex work during the period, is framed as a location where the title heroine can find community and participate in commerce without sexual exploitation. By teasing out the mobility available in Covent Garden, this article illustrates how the novel imagines alternative possibilities to marriage or sex work and locates these possibilities within commercial urban space. Presenting a complex view of the metropolis, Richardson contributes to the literary representation of London and to the plotting of women in circuits outside of sexual exchange.

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