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Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

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storyline follows the courtship of Fitzwilliam Darcy and<br />

Elizabeth Bennet, as well as the courtship of her sister<br />

Jane and Mr. Bingley. <strong>In</strong> each case, a single man in<br />

possession of a fortune bears out the truth of the first<br />

line. On a deeper note, however, the opening line also<br />

describes the courtship and marriage of Mr. and Mrs.<br />

Bennet and the courtship of Charlotte Lucas and Mr.<br />

Collins. Mr. Wickham, however, is a man who fervently<br />

wants to be mistaken for a man in possession of a good<br />

fortune in order to marry into one.<br />

The opening line does not say that a single man in<br />

possession of a good fortune must be in want of a good<br />

wife, nor does it tells us that a good man is in<br />

possession of that fortune. Austen subtly supports the<br />

eighteenth-century reality that strict settlement law may<br />

have intended perfect marriages among the landed classes,<br />

but sadly could not regulate the worthiness of those who<br />

married or the offspring they produced.<br />

Judith Newton claims that Austen's men enjoy the<br />

power and status of money: "Male privilege . . . and<br />

access to money in particular, makes men feel<br />

autonomous," and therefore "the [men] in <strong>Pride</strong> and<br />

<strong>Prejudice</strong> are conscious of having the power to choose and<br />

they are fond of dwelling on it, of impressing it on

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