Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

Juliet McMaster rightly asserts that Lady Catherine
de Bourgh's cradle arrangement for the marriage of her
sickly daughter to the vibrant son of her sister in order
to fulfill the family's dynastic ambition was botched
because Austen felt that an infusion of new blood into
the family would be a very healthy move (292). Miss de
Bourgh's sickliness implies inbreeding, an event common
given the relatively small number of aristocratic
families, and one which could be erased through marriage
of the aristocracy with the upwardly mobile and very
wealthy merchant and professional classes.
Mr. Bennet represents the best of the upwardly
mobile. He is a wealthy landowner who is the son of a
wealthy landowner. The Bennet family has been able to
pass down its estate through strict settlement practice
for at least two generations thanks to prescient planning
and good husbandry of the land. Mr. Bennet, however,
does not ascend to marriage; rather, he moves
collaterally, marrying the daughter of a professional who
will bring four thousand pounds to their marriage.
Little did he know what the future would hold. All the
prudent planning and care taking would prove useless.
Until recently, critics have felt that Mr. Bennet
was remiss with his family. There is a lingering