"But by the fierceness of mine, as my trembling hands seized hers, I soon made fear her predominant passion."

— Richardson, Samuel (bap. 1689, d. 1761)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for S. Richardson
Date
1747-8
Metaphor
"But by the fierceness of mine, as my trembling hands seized hers, I soon made fear her predominant passion."
Metaphor in Context
With an erect mien she enter'd, her face averted, her lovely bosom swelling, and the more charmingly protuberant for the erectness of her mien. O Jack! that sullenness and reserve should give this haughty maid new charms! But in every attitude, in every humour, in every gesture, is beauty beautiful. --By her averted face, and indignant aspect, I saw the dear insolent was disposed to be angry--But by the fierceness of mine, as my trembling hands seized hers, I soon made fear her predominant passion. And yet the moment I beheld her, my heart was dastardiz'd, damp'd, and reverenced-over. Surely this is an angel, Jack! -- And yet, had she not been known to be a female, they would not from babyhood have dressed her as such, nor would she, but upon that conviction, have continued the dress.
Provenance
Searching "predominant passion" in HDIS
Citation
Published December 1747 (vols. 1-2), April 1748 (vols. 3-4), December 1748 (vols. 5-7). Over 28 entries in ESTC (1748, 1749, 1751, 1751, 1759, 1764, 1765, 1768, 1772, 1774, 1780, 1784, 1785, 1788, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1794, 1795, 1798, 1800). Passages "restored" in 3rd edition of 1751. An abridgment in 1756.

See Samuel Richardson, Clarissa. Or, the History of a Young Lady: Comprehending the Most Important Concerns of Private Life, 7 vols. (London: Printed for S. Richardson, 1748). <Link to ECCO>

Some text drawn from ECCO-TCP <Link to vol. I in ECCO-TCP><Link to vol. II><Link to vol. III><Link to vol. IV><Link to vol. V><Link to vol. VI><Link to vol. VII>

Reading Samuel Richardson, Clarissa; or, the History of a Young Lady, ed. Angus Ross (London: Penguin Books, 1985). <Link to LION>
Theme
Ruling Passion
Date of Entry
06/05/2004

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.