Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

women" (65, 64). True as Newtonf s statement is, Austen
also shows menf s powerlessness to predict or produce the
proper heirs to their money.
Darcy is in possession of a good fortune when he
meets Elizabeth Bennet. For him, the terms of settlement
have worked so far. The terms of his resettlement at
marriage still lie in the future. Mr. Bingley's fortune
and estate are the result of his fatherf s hard work. He
is the first generation to inherit. The power of his
father's sweat has given Bingley, Jr., access to the
habits and culture of the upper classes. He, too, will
settle his estate in the future, at his marriage. For
Darcy and Bingley, inheritance practice and marriage
settlements work as they were intended. More
specifically, Darcy and Bingley are honest men who have
come by their money and power honestly.
The opening line, therefore, signals the importance
of marriage settlements and inheritance practices, but
the three minor male characters, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Collins
and Mr. Wickham, are pivotal to the inheritance plot of
the novel. Mr. Bennet is the most crucial of the three,
for it is his entail, the designated series of inheritors
that cannot be changed in any way, that sets the plot in