Clarissa Character Analysis in The Glass Hotel

Clarissa is Marie Prevant’s psychic friend. Sometime before the events of the novel take place, she and Leon have a meaningful conversation about what Leon’s career in shipping means to him. Clarissa will eventually fall upon hard times and lose her house, forcing her to move into a van and live a transient lifestyle. The Prevants take inspiration from Clarissa when they decide to travel around the country in their RV after losing all their savings in Alkaitis’s Ponzi scheme.

Clarissa Character Timeline in The Glass Hotel

The timeline below shows where the character Clarissa appears in The Glass Hotel. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...guessed this. Inwardly, he reflects on the first person who intuited his relationship to shipping, Clarissa, Marie’s psychic friend from Santa Fe who had visited the couple when Leon was still... (full context)

Fraud and Constructed Identity Theme Icon

Alienation and Self-Knowledge Theme Icon

One night that summer, though, Marie mentions a conversation she had with her old friend Clarissa, who recently lost her house and is living out of a van. Marie talks of... (full context)