Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

a clandestine marriage with Sir John Belmont. Sir John,
a product of his time, is looking for the best match for
his estates and a match that will enhance his possessions
and his power. When the match falls through, he burns
the certificate and leaves his wife, denying their
marriage. The daughter of this marriage becomes our
heroine, while Sir John raises the nurse's daughter.
Had Evelina been a male, Sir John would have had a
much easier time reclaiming and attaching whatever
inheritance there could be to the Evelyn family name.
For, according to primogenitural law, a male child could
inherit directly, while in a family of daughters, the
inheritor would be a brother, or the husband of a sister
in line for the estate, though the line was through a
mother rather than father. Straub points out that
Evelina presents female experience as distinct and
separable while still deferring to patriarchal authority
(1) The patriarchal language of inheritance is so
pervasive that Evelina cannot resist, and the characters,
especially our heroine, succumb to the confusion and
silence it causes.
Sir John reforms and remains in society. By doing
so, he is privy to the gossip of his social class,
including any gossip regarding his secret marriage and