Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

Clarissa Harlowe found that the Bible that ordains
parental control over children also ordains forgiveness
of her tormentors and provides her with a language that
overrides the legal and familial language that hounds her
for the last year of her life. Clarissa wills away her
secular trappings and inherits the Kingdom of God. Not
suited to the bonds of earthly marriage, she becomes a
bride of Christ. The mundane passing on of earthly
wealth and name cannot touch her one true language, a
language that allows her to find her Father in Heaven,
the true father who carries on a dialogue with her, an
inner narrative, and who teaches her the true meaning of
obedience and faith, allowing her to inherit the Kingdom
of Heaven.
The language of inheritance, however, does not end
with the demise of Clarissa Harlowe. Its power rages on
to the conclusion of the novel, involving itself directly
with the fates of all the other characters. Lovelace's
family grieves his death because he was the last male of
the line. With his death, the family dies ("Conclusion"
1489) . James, Jr., defies his father and mother once
again and marries into endless court battles trying to
realize a tenuous claim on his wife's portion of an as-
yet-unsettled estate. His life is consumed and ruined by