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The Queen of Spleen
A lady at court who lends the Baron her scissors to chop off Belinda’s lock of hair. She later finds the whole incident frustratingly trivial and delivers a speech about how physical beauty is ultimately fleeting and that instead women should concentrate on being as morally upright as they possibly can. Looks might prove attractive to the eyes, Clarissa declares, but virtue is most attractive to the soul. While her speech obviously makes good sense, it is typical of a more traditional style of poem which would be primarily concerned with didacticism, or simply telling the reader what the moral is. Pope subverts the conventions of this style of writing by refusing to end the poem here and instead concluding with the absurdity of the courtly battle. But Clarissa’s name, meaning “clarity,” hints that the reader might do well to take her wise advice.
Clarissa Quotes in The Rape of the Lock
The The Rape of the Lock quotes below are all either spoken by Clarissa or refer to Clarissa. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Canto V Quotes
“Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll;
Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.”
So spoke the dame, but no applause ensued;
Belinda frowned, Thalestris called her prude.
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This passage occurs towards the end of Clarissa’s speech in Canto V, in which she chastises the assembled company of lords and ladies for behaving so foolishly. She reminds them that, while the loss of the lock seems dramatic, it is ultimately not very important since beauty is not as valuable as virtue. Beauty might attract the eyes, but virtue attracts the soul, so it is pointless to quarrel over such a trivial thing as a ruined hairdo. The clear-headedness of this speech is emphasized by the fact that Clarissa’s name literally means “clarity,” suggesting she is a wise character Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. D
All side in parties, and begin the attack;
Fans clap, silks rustle, and tough whalebones crack;
Heroes’ and heroines’ shouts confusedly rise,
And bass and treble voices strike the skies.
No common weapons in their hands are found,
Like gods they fight, nor dread a mortal wound.
So when bold Homer makes the gods engage,
And heavenly breasts with human passions rage;
’Gainst Pallas, Mars; Latona, Hermes arms;
And all Olympus rings with loud alarms.
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This is a description of the courtly battle that ensues in Canto V after the Baron refuses to return Belinda’s lock. Belinda and Thalestris, having scoffed at Clarissa’s speech on the unimportance of beauty, lead the charge against the Baron and his crew of aristocratic cronies. Here Pope once again draws out the silliness of the world of the court and its values by evoking a comparison with the battles of classical epics. While the struggles depicted in epic involve huge clashes between gods (like “Pallas, Mars; Latona, Hermes”) and are incredibly high stakes, Pope makes it clear that this Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas de
When those fair suns shall set, as set they must,
And all those tresses shall be laid in dust;
This lock, the Muse shall consecrate to fame,
And midst the stars inscribe Belinda’s name!
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These final lines of the poem occur after Belinda’s lock has mysteriously disappeared from the courtly battle and has ascended into the heavens to become a constellation. But in these final lines Pope appears to finally settle the question of the value of beauty which has recurred throughout the poem. He often paints Belinda’s and the court’s interest in her looks as morally wrong, since all looks ultimately fade, as Clarissa notes in her speech. On the other hand, he emphasizes that the superficiality of the world she lives in at least partially justifies Belinda’s concerns about her beauty, as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum
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Clarissa Character Timeline in The Rape of the Lock
The timeline below shows where the character Clarissa appears in The Rape of the Lock. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Canto III
Just at that moment, Clarissa pulls out a pair of scissors, and offers them to the Baron like a lady...
(full context)
Canto V
Clarissa grows fed up with the situation and steps forward to give her thoughts. She argues...
(full context)
But Clarissa then points out that is not the case. A decline in one’s attractiveness is inevitable—all...
(full context)
No one is very impressed with this speech. Thalestris calls Clarissa a “prude” and Belinda calls “To arms, to arms!” This begins a kind of courtly...
(full context)
