With Clarissa i do feel that she has never really experienced 'real love'. Peter got scared away because she was flirting with Richard poor Peter and thus ran way to India. Clarrisa married because Richard was the perfect type of man. Rich and reliable hoeber there is no spark there. I also feel that maybe Clrissa longs for someone to be close to and this is probably why she holds lots of dinner partys.
Pure love is unattainable.
In Lit Crit, arguing absolutes is not generally good form, let alone an attainable feat. I think that you certainly could write a paper using love in MD as a topic, but you'll want to have a much more focused thesis. Clarissa also has a love for the party and thus the group of invitees as a whole. Expand to a love for society, perhaps, with which she has been disappointed. My apologies for the possible botching of the character names.