Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

George Brodrick notes that scarcely a wealthy family of
considerable antiquity remained whose estate had not
experienced descent to an heir or coparceners (daughters
who inherited land equally) because of strict settlement.
Brodrick reasons that this situation was usually caused
by a family not retaining the advice of a solicitor
accustomed to dispensing marriage settlement (94).
Mrs. Bennet's father was a lawyer in Meryton. His
daughter, then, was "marrying up," as Mr. Bennet
inherited Longbourn and had an income. Mrs. Bennet's
brother was a successful businessman, and her sister was
married to her father's former law clerk. Had there been
a foreseeable problem with the settlement, Mrs. Bennet's
father should certainly have been able to handle it. He
would have been part of the negotiations for the
settlement on his daughter's behalf, and he most likely
was involved in the marriage settlements for his son, as
well.
Mrs. Bennet's father was in a middle-class
profession. He made money and did not need to worry
about his children or their futures, for the money and
connections to make them happy and/or to help them marry
well were readily available; after all, beauty and four