Samuel Richardson's second novel, Clarissa: or, The History of a Young Lady, one of the longest novels in English, has appeared in dozens of significantly different editions, many of them abridgments. This study examines the means by which Richardson and later editors altered the text of Clarissa, primarily by working with three variables: its epistolary format, its length, and its explicit moral lessons.The first half of the study reviews relevant scholarly research and traces Richardson's uses of internal editors in his four editions of the novel. Richardson's omniscient editor, the most visible and conventional of the internal editors of ClarissR, operates both inside and outside the epistolary framework of the novel. Inside, the editorial voice adds identifying tags to letters and summarizes missing letters. Outside, the editor emphasizes moral elements of the novel by means of a preface and postscript, numerous footnotes, a list of principal characters, and a judgmental table of contents. Richardson expanded the role of this editor in each of his successive editions.Richardson's mastery of the epistolary format further appears in his use of all the major correspondents as internal editors. Jack Belford operates most visibly, assembling correspondence to and from Clarissa and Lovelace to vindicate Clarissa's memory and instruct possible readers. Belford's Conclusion serves a similar function to the nameless editor's preface and postscript. Richardson also gave Clarissa, Anna Howe, and Lovelace editorial tasks, including introducing and summarizing letters, footnoting, and altering letters before showing them to someone other than the intended recipient.Each major correspondent also has a unique individual editorial function.The study's second half analyzes and compares seven abridgments of Clarissa published between 1868 and 1971, concluding that all seven drastically change the novel (yet in differing fashions) despite their retention of its plot and epistolary format.All seven external editors alter Richardson's stated intentions. Four variables shape the comparison: stated editorial intent, omissions, alterations, and additions. An appendix lists the contents of all seven abridgments by individual letter. / Department of English
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/175134 |
| Date | January 1989 |
| Creators | Bobbitt, Curtis W. |
| Contributors | Rippy, Frances Mayhew |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 2, iv, 271 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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