Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

first encounter with her father. At the same time, Sir
John Belmont is in possession of a child he believes is
his true daughter.
The existence of a Belmont daughter is significant.
Because Belmont decided to raise his daughter, rather
than give her over to Villars' charge, he determined not
to let Villars have another chance to fail. Little does
he know that he has the wrong child. Villars knows, but
does not tell him. Could Villars be seeking retribution
for Belmont's snubbing him? If he is, then Villars'
silence, his distancing himself from Evelina and his lack
of explanation for his behavior becomes clearly a
conscious act on his part. He hides the real Evelina in
order to punish Belmont. He knows that Belmont's
"daughter" should not be allowed to carry on his lineage,
no matter her inheritance, but he does nothing to prevent
it.
One common threat to dynasty that strict settlement
tried to mend was the quality of family line. Those in
possession of wealth and power, bound by rules of strict
settlement and inheritance, had to worry about mistaken
identity and the possibility of bestowing their estates
on impostors. For Burney, the possibility of mistaken
identity encompasses more than titles and estates. For