Clarissa Harlowe Timeline and Summary

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• We meet Clarissa as she's processing some major drama with her BFF, Anna Howe.
• Turns out Clarissa likes this guy, Lovelace, but there's some major Romeo and Juliet drama going on. Basically, Clarissa's family hates the dude.
• The fam proposes an alternate sweetheart for Clarissa, but he's the old and ugly Roger Solmes. No thanks!
• Clarissa opts for being banished to her room rather than accept the Solmes marriage proposal.
• Her mom cries, her dad yells, and her sister whines, but Clarissa's is dead-set on choosing her own hubby.
• In the meantime, Clarissa starts exchanging secret letters with Lovelace. So romantic!
• Obvi, Clarissa's running all this stuff by Anna. Anna asks Clarissa if she's into bad-boy Lovelace.
• Clarissa doesn't know about that, but she knows she needs to scram before her parents force her to marry Solmes.
• Clarissa agrees to leave with Lovelace, but she quickly has second thoughts.
• She runs down to the garden to tell Lovelace she's not going to leave with him, but he stages a distraction and sneaks her away from the Harlowe house.
• Clarissa's in some deep trouble with her family. They think she's a ruined woman.
• It's not for Lovelace's lack of trying. Clarissa stays strong and tells Lovelace to take her to a respectable house.
• Lovelace tricks Clarissa into staying at Mrs. Sinclair's house, which is actually a brothel. Oops. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire for Clarissa.
• Clarissa manages to escape to Mrs. Moore's lodging-house, but Lovelace tracks her down.
• He calms her down by saying his respectable cousins are planning to visit.
• Actually, the "respectable cousins" are prostitutes in disguise. They trick Clarissa into going back to the brothel.
• There, Lovelace drugs Clarissa with Mrs. Sinclair's help. He rapes her while she's unconscious.
• When Clarissa comes to, she's barely got a grip on reality.
• She tries to write letters like usual, but they sound (and look) like a crazy person's ramblings.
• Clarissa gets really, really sick. It's pretty clear she's not long for this world.
• The prostitutes have Clarissa thrown in jail for a debt she supposedly owes to Mrs. Sinclair. Way to heap it on the poor girl.
• Belford gets her out of prison and takes her to another boarding-house.
• By this point, Clarissa is telling everyone she's going to die.
• She buys a coffin and uses it as a writing-desk. Morbid much?
• Clarissa finally dies after writing letters of forgiveness to everyone who wronged her. Yes, even Lovelace. Girl, you so didn't need to do that.