An Exploration into the Relationship of Sally Seton and Clarissa Parry
From
the moment Sally Seton is introduced as a character it is clear that she was very
important to Clarissa. One of the first things said when Clarissa thinks of
Sally is “But all that evening she could not take her eyes off Sally”. Clarissa
speaks of her as if she was a revelation in her life, someone she envied,
admired, and loved. It is clear by the way that Clarissa speaks of her that she
made a sizeable impact on her life. It is stated that “Sally it was who made
her feel, for the first time, how sheltered the life at Bourton was.” Clarissa
says that she taught her about everything from love to death. Sally told Clarissa
about her own political views and they made plans to reform the world
together. She experienced feelings with
Sally that she had never experienced toward any man before, or ever seems to
have experienced since.
Clarissa
was raised in an upper-class family during the Victorian era. As such, she was
raised to believe in what today we would consider extremely conservative
morals. She grew up being taught that her main goal in life was to find a dependable
and wealthy man to marry. So, Sally came as quite a shock with her entirely different
life, entering Bourton completely penniless, she had quarrelling parents that
didn’t seem to care much about what she did or where she went. She would smoke
cigars like a man and had a boldness about her that Clarissa would never have
imagined for an Englishwoman. She was known for her antics about Bourton, she
had streaked naked down the hall to grab her sponge- which was absolutely unthinkable-
and arranged her flowers in a new and “wicked” way. Sally served as a whole new
world for Clarissa; Sally helped her to think of herself as more than just a
future bride.
Possibly
the most important contribution Sally had to Clarissa’s life was teaching her
what love felt like. It is clear by the way that Clarissa thinks of her that
she had never felt the way she did about Sally about anyone else. Clarissa
would get excited at the mere thought pf being near Sally, silently thinking “She
is beneath this roof… She is beneath this roof!” and remembering how she would
go “cold with excitement, and doing her hair in a kind of ecstasy”. She felt
for Sally in a way she had never previously experienced; she thought of Sally, “when
one is in love (and what was that except being in love?).” Clarissa considered
the love she felt for Sally to be something only felt between women because in
her era and social placement the thought of being with a woman in romantic
terms wouldn’t have even crossed her mind. Sally gave Clarissa “the most exquisite
moment of her whole life” when she kissed her on the lips. Clarissa felt as
though this kiss was the greatest gift, a gift she could never look at.
Sally
taught Clarissa a lot about herself. What love felt like, how to start thinking
for herself, and that not everything has to be strictly by the rules. This is
why Clarissa looks back at her relationship with Sally so fondly and
nostalgically. She played one the most important roles in Clarissa’s life.
I really like the way you portray your points for Sally and Clarissa's relationship. When you see all of these moments between them and what Clarissa thinks of Sally, you can definitely see that their relationship is a lot stronger and more complex than those with Richard and Peter. You also make a great point that Clarissa's relationship with Sally has different qualities than her relationships with Richard and Peter, as she really loved Sally, but such a love was not even thought of back then. I also agree with your point that Sally has made Clarissa who she is now, and that Clarissa needed Sally to show her more about the world and expose her to different things.
ReplyDeleteI think you make some great points here! Sally seems to have had a huge influence on Clarissa's way of thinking as she contemplates her words a couple decades later. Nonetheless, I find it extremely ironic that after all that influence, not only did Clarissa end up getting married and hosting parties, but, so did Sally! It almost seems to me that Sally was convincing herself as well as Clarissa, with all her antics and ideas, and then when the time came, there was still only one option for the future, so she got married.
ReplyDeleteI really like the points you make about the relationships between Sally and Clarissa. I especially like your point about how Sally seemed so revolutionary to Clarissa because Clarissa had been brought up in an upper-class Victorian family. I think that this makes Sally seem even more exquisite to Clarissa because she has never met a person like Sally. However, like Lia mentioned in her comment, Sally ends up conforming to upper-class standards and marrying a rich man just like Clarissa did.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up great points not just about the relationship that Clarissa and Sally had in the moment, but the lasting affect that it had on Clarissa and the way that she thinks about herself, and about the world. Sally was a woman in almost complete juxtaposition to Clarissa, and Sally seemed to show another side of what being a woman could mean. You made a point about Clarissa being raised in a conservative environment and I like how that point puts in context how much of a contrast Sally must have been to everything that Clarissa was used to. Sally broke the mold of what Clarissa thought that a woman like her must be, and as a result put some air-holes in Clarissa's world view. Great post with some great points!
ReplyDeleteI think you do a great job of showcasing the true relationship between Sally and Clarissa, and the way that Clarissa really feels towards Sally. I like how you mention that they discussed politics and changing the world because that really shows how Sally changed Clarissa's life, not only at Bourton, but her viewpoint of the world from that point on. Also, Sally was important because she gave Clarissa at least a glimpse into being truly happy and in love, which is something that Clarissa has clearly carried with her to look back on fondly over the many years.
ReplyDeleteI like your celebration of Clarissa and Sally's relationship! Honestly, their relationship was my favorite part of the novel, while it also made me sad they can't be together forever. Clarissa and Sally's romance can be fit into the "just teenage exploration" box, but I think it's more meaningful than that, and I'm glad you acknowledged it in your post. Despite the fact that in the end Clarissa conforms to what society expects of her, she's unhappy about it, and Sally continues to be important to her adult life (though they no longer know one another).
ReplyDelete