Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice
Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice
Evelina Anville, as much Burney's child as Caroline Evelyn's. Indeed, in Frances Burney: The Life in the Works, Doody states that '[Iln 1814 Frances can remind her father that such shame was absurd, and that her productions were ultimately validated . . . when 'the mother of Evelina' and Evelina's mother-novel were placed on a pyre . . ." (37). With the birth of Evelina, Burney passed the legacy of the Evelyn family inheritance to Mr. Villars and Mrs. Selwyn, narrative guardians of Miss Anville. In both Burney and Evelina's lives, inheritance practice and its associated language weave in and out of their respective relationships. Burney witnessed problematic elopements, including her father's; endured inheritance problems with her stepmother; and was herself the object of the courtship of an eligible young man. The complications and family upheavals caused by such events as these helped to develop in Burney a sense of ambivalence concerning her position in society. Evelyn Farr tells us that Burney used Maria Allenf s, her half- sisterf sf secret marriage as an example and did 'commit the particulars to paper . . . in Evelina, where all the heroinef s difficulties arise from her father's repudiation of a secret marriage to her mother on the
Continent," though Maria's own life, unfortunately, did not have such a fitting romantic ending (16). Evelina witnessed inheritance problems in her own family, especially through her grandmother, and she developed a sense of her own ambivalence regarding Mr. Villars, who seems overly reluctant to prove her identity and recoup her true inheritance. Evelina' s ambivalence and Villars' reluctance are heightened by the silence surrounding the characters of Evelina. Unlike the unceasing vitriol spewed throughout the letters of Clarissa, Evelina gives us uneasy silences. Villars fails to speak out regarding Evelina's identity or her motherf s or her grandfatherf s. He fails to tell his side of the family history. He fails to warn Evelina of impending danger, and fails to keep her safe. The text, significantly, tells the story of his silence. Once Villars establishes his position with Lady Howard and Evelina, very few of the letters thereafter are his. On the other hand, others whom Evelina meets also keep their silence regarding their motives, their own legacies, and their desires to further their legacies. While much is silence, Burney's eighteenth-century readers would have understood the unstated. However, even such astute modern critics as Ian Watt perpetuate a
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Continent," though Maria's own life, unfortunately, did<br />
not have such a fitting romantic ending (16). <strong>Evelina</strong><br />
witnessed inheritance problems in her own family,<br />
especially through her grandmother, and she developed a<br />
sense of her own ambivalence regarding Mr. Villars, who<br />
seems overly reluctant to prove her identity and recoup<br />
her true inheritance.<br />
<strong>Evelina</strong>' s ambivalence and Villars' reluctance are<br />
heightened by the silence surrounding the characters of<br />
<strong>Evelina</strong>. Unlike the unceasing vitriol spewed throughout<br />
the letters of <strong>Clarissa</strong>, <strong>Evelina</strong> gives us uneasy<br />
silences. Villars fails to speak out regarding <strong>Evelina</strong>'s<br />
identity or her motherf s or her grandfatherf s. He fails<br />
to tell his side of the family history. He fails to warn<br />
<strong>Evelina</strong> of impending danger, and fails to keep her safe.<br />
The text, significantly, tells the story of his silence.<br />
Once Villars establishes his position with Lady Howard<br />
and <strong>Evelina</strong>, very few of the letters thereafter are his.<br />
On the other hand, others whom <strong>Evelina</strong> meets also keep<br />
their silence regarding their motives, their own<br />
legacies, and their desires to further their legacies.<br />
While much is silence, Burney's eighteenth-century<br />
readers would have understood the unstated. However,<br />
even such astute modern critics as Ian Watt perpetuate a
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