Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice
Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice 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
matter her inheritance; only patrilineage can elevate Evelina, and it will. Mrs. Selwyn is the product of an financially advantageous marriage to which she brought a goodly portion. Her marriage, however, cannot give much cover to her breeding as a "country gentlewoman," just as Captain Mirvan cannot overcome his own breeding. However, as Joanne Cutting-Gray observes, Captain Mirvan and Mrs. Selwyn are tolerated in upper class society because of their marriages. Madame Duval, however, is not, nor was she when she married John Evelyn. She was a bar-maid, having not even a whisper of respect. Her breeding cannot be overcome or tolerated by marriage, either in England or in France. She is the butt of jokes and tricks, and she is made to pay for her socially outrageous behavior because of her lack of breeding. Birth, breeding, title and wealth all are factors of class identification in eighteenth-century England. Many in Evelina are miscast because of misidentification. Mrs. Beaumont misidentifies Mrs. Selwyn, as pointed out above, and Evelina herself is misidentified several times. Mrs. Selwyn, in speaking of Mrs. Beaumont asserts that Mrs. Beaumont "thinks proper to be of opinion that birth and virtue are one and the same thing" (315). Her
- Page 101 and 102: Clarissa Harlowe found that the Bib
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- Page 119 and 120: Kristina Straub, Julia Epstein and
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- Page 137 and 138: (Spring 8-38). Caroline Evelyn is a
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- Page 163 and 164: Chapter Four Property Rites: Inheri
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matter her inheritance; only patrilineage can elevate<br />
<strong>Evelina</strong>, and it will.<br />
Mrs. Selwyn is the product of an financially<br />
advantageous marriage to which she brought a goodly<br />
portion. Her marriage, however, cannot give much cover<br />
to her breeding as a "country gentlewoman," just as<br />
Captain Mirvan cannot overcome his own breeding. However,<br />
as Joanne Cutting-Gray observes, Captain Mirvan and Mrs.<br />
Selwyn are tolerated in upper class society because of<br />
their marriages. Madame Duval, however, is not, nor was<br />
she when she married John Evelyn. She was a bar-maid,<br />
having not even a whisper of respect. Her breeding<br />
cannot be overcome or tolerated by marriage, either in<br />
England or in France. She is the butt of jokes and<br />
tricks, and she is made to pay for her socially<br />
outrageous behavior because of her lack of breeding.<br />
Birth, breeding, title and wealth all are factors of<br />
class identification in eighteenth-century England. Many<br />
in <strong>Evelina</strong> are miscast because of misidentification.<br />
Mrs. Beaumont misidentifies Mrs. Selwyn, as pointed out<br />
above, and <strong>Evelina</strong> herself is misidentified several<br />
times. Mrs. Selwyn, in speaking of Mrs. Beaumont asserts<br />
that Mrs. Beaumont "thinks proper to be of opinion that<br />
birth and virtue are one and the same thing" (315). Her