Messenger and Pupils of Death in Samuel Richardson ' s Clarissa

Abstract

AbstractThis article looks at the didacticism associated with death that Samuel Richardsoncarefully crafted in Clarissa at a time when religion very much had a strongholdon the psyche of the society reading the work, but which still resonates with thecontemporary world ' s religious informed good dying and bestial dying, whichthe Tom captures in connection with the varying deaths of characters in theepistolary novel. The article demonstrates how the novel uses these characters topass on the didacticism on good/evil living and attendant dying. Its argument isthat the novel encourages people to live well to die well. In this regard, thenovel ' s themes emerges to be timeliness and relevant to the contemporary period.Key words:Didacticism, Good and Bestial Dying, Richardson, 18th Century Novel