Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

identity and name and Orville and marriage. Selwyn,
herself, however, represents a great deal more than alter
ego or family and marriage broker. During the first
pages of Volume Three, Mrs. Selwyn saves Evelina from a
ruinous encounter with several young men on the way to
the Pump-Room. Unlike Evelina's initial encounters with
Lovel, Willoughby and Orville, this encounter is
neutralized by Mrs. Selwyn's stern words and humor,
leaving Evelina relatively unscathed.
Mrs. Selwyn is a working example of what Burney, as
well as eighteenth-century society in general, would
expect to happen to a woman having too much money, too
much learning, and not enough male guidance. She is one
of Burney's characters who exemplify the blurring of
class lines through marriage or inheritance. Mrs. Selwyn
describes her own position while telling Evelina about
Mrs. Beaumont. Mrs. Selwyn did a favor for Mrs.
Beaumont, who at the time thought Mrs. Selwyn was a woman
of quality. Mrs. Selwyn suspects Mrs. Beaumont was
"miserable when she discovered me to be a mere country
gentlewoman" (315) . Evelina cannot fail to make the
comparison, for she, too, is a "mere country
gentlewoman." Mrs. Selwyn will always remain such, no