Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

(Spring 8-38). Caroline Evelyn is a prime example. Her
economic and class power is much stronger than Mr.
Villars'. He knows that instinctively. Caroline Evelyn,
however, did not live long enough to use her inheritance.
She died right after the birth of her daughter. Her
inheritance would become the property of her daughter,
Evelina, another heiress; but she, too, is kept from
receiving her due.
Villars, as a second son, may seem as powerless
legally as both Caroline and Evelina. However, Villars
himself holds the power of Caroline's demise and
Evelina's misidentification. While Caroline and Evelina
may have been heiresses, Villars was still a male with
the power of guardianship over both. As such, he did not
even need to do anything in order to do much. Doing
nothing to help Caroline, he contributed to her hasty
death; and with Evelina, he held the key to her identity
and did nothing with it.
Caroline Evelyn, then, becomes something of a second
son, like Villars. She is the second gift of the second
generation to Mr. Villars. He is bestowed with the cast-
off of the second family. The daughter of this family,
even if Mr. Evelyn had not abhorred his unfortunate
choice of wife, could never have belonged to Madame