Irony of Clarissa
Clarissa is a completely flawed character who is neither likable not extremely unlikable. She is self-aware in the sense of her beauty and effect on the other people, especially those of the opposite sex, and is not reluctant to take advantage of that. As the plot progresses the reader starts to discover that Clarissa gave most of the surrounding people a reason for dislike. The irony lies in her death, which isn’t related to the threatening messages, but is related to her own shallowness and lack of moral. She makes advances on her stepson Simon, who is disgusted by her and ends up killing her.
The end
The novel has an unsatisfactory ending, where the main villain of the story succeeds in getting away. Ambrose, the main villain, and owner of the castle is confident with his manipulative abilities and that he will be able to get away with his crimes. He is a charming and masterful manipulator with a sense of detachment from the rest of the world, where everyone else are just pawns in his game. Despite the irony of the unsatisfactory ending where the main villain escapes, it matches with the rest of the novel with its portrayal of morally gray characters.
Educational weekend
While Ambrose is being questioned about Clarissa’s death and about Simon’s education, he makes a sarcastic comment how the weekend was more educational for Simon than she expected. This comment is even more ironic when the truth behind Clarissa’s death is revealed, and the first-hand education about death Simon received from her.
Life and death
Cordelia can’t help but notice how everyone quickly gets back to normal after Clarissa’s death. It is not only because of how little everyone cared about her, but also because how life is. She herself can’t help but be concerned about her own debts and money she expected from this mission. She thinks to herself that they are in life even in the midst of death, and that the petty concerns of life do not go away.
